New Article: The Disturbing Myth Of The Horatii And The Curiatii

According to tradition, the kingdom of Rome began in the mid 8th century BCE. Despite its centuries of existence, Greek scholars did not start taking serious interest in Rome until the 4th and especially the 3rd century BCE, by which time Rome had become the undisputed dominant power in Italy and began clashing with its Mediterranean rival, Carthage. The Romans, themselves, apparently never produced a historian until around 200 BCE, around which time Senator Quintus Fabius Pictor began writing the first official native Roman historical works. Unfortunately, by the time Pictor began writing, much of Rome’s written records were likely destroyed in the Gallic sack of Rome in the early 4th century BCE, and the surviving oral history about Rome’s founding would have been incredibly corrupted after untold generations of retellings. Therefore, when a Roman scholar such as Livy (c. 59 BCE-17 CE) set out to tell the story of the founding of Rome, he had to work with dubious documentation, such as historic names without historical context, and folkloric tales that were often adapted to the structure of preexistent stories of Greek mythology.

The tragic and disturbing tale of the Horatii and the Curiatii is one of the myths that Rome created as an explanation as to how Rome expanded its influence over the nearby community of Alba Longa. Historically, Alba Longa is believed to have been in existence well before 1,000 BCE and was a powerful city in Italy until the 7th century BCE, when it was presumably challenged by Rome and ultimately destroyed around 600 BCE. While we will never know specific details of the conflict between Rome and Alba Longa, writers such as Livy preserved the conflict, albeit in a dramatic and embellished fashion, within their works on the folklore of early Rome.

 

Continue reading about the disturbing and tragic tale of the Horatii and the Curiatii, HERE.

New Article: The Fatal Curse Over The Yngling Dynasty

King Harald Finehair brought all of Norway under his influence in the later half of the 9th century and continued to rule over Norway until his death around the year 940. His successors are often labeled as the Finehair Dynasty, but Harald supposedly claimed lineage from an even more ancient line royal line, which was said to link all the way back to the Norse gods.

According to Scandinavian tradition, Harald Finehair was a member of the Yngling Dynasty. The Icelandic scholar, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241), wrote an account of this peculiar family in his Yngling Saga. He began with pure myth and gradually moved through legend, semi-legend, and finally folklore-laden history to reach the more factually-grounded time of Harald Finehair. According to legend, the first two members of the family were gods and, if calculations are correct, Harald Finehair was supposedly the thirty-fifth ruling member of the Yngling Dynasty. Yet, despite the supposedly divine origin of their family, the Ynglings were very, very unlucky—according to the saga, twenty-five of Harald’s thirty-four predecessors died violent, accidental, or simply unnatural deaths.

The Yngling Saga begins with an interesting theory that suggests Odin and the Norse gods migrated from a location near the Black Sea and eventually traveled across Europe to ultimately settle Sweden, where Odin founded a kingdom. After a long reign, Odin handed the control of his kingdom over to another god from outside his family. The successor’s name was Njord and he was technically the founder of the Yngling Dynasty. The dynasty, however, was actually named after Njord’s son and successor, Frey, a popular god who apparently also went by the name Yngvi, hence the family name of Yngling. In the saga, the reigns of Njord and Frey were portrayed as golden ages of prosperity, as would be expected from gods. The personal luck of these two god-kings were said to have been very positive during their time as rulers over a Swedish kingdom and their aura of good fortune spread over the entire kingdom during their reigns. Of course, Frey was prophesied in the Norse religion to eventually fall during the apocalyptic battle of Ragnarok, but that did not stop his mythical days as a monarch from being considered the epitome of good fortune.

After the reign of Frey, however, the Yngling Dynasty suffered an unbelievable fall from grace. Here are the bizarre fates of the Yngling Dynasty members, beginning with Frey’s son and ending with Harald Finehair’s father, Hálfdan the Black. Enjoy the stories, but keep in mind that the Yngling Dynasty is considered mythical or extremely legendary, with Harald Finehair, and to a lesser extent, Hálfdan the Black, being the only members of the dynasty generally accepted as historical figures.

Continue reading about the bizarre fates of these 34 Yngling monarchs, HERE.

New Biography: Leucothea—A Mortal Greek Woman Of Myth Said To Have Become A Goddess

(Odysseus and Ino/Leucothea, by Alessandro Allori  (1535–1607), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Among the exclusive club of Greek deities that could claim to have originally been mortal humans was an interesting immortal named Leucothea the White Goddess. She began her days as a proud Greek princess in an important Boeotian city, but, after a life of tragedy and madness, she became a protective goddess of the sea.

Read about this goddess' tragic story, HERE. 

New Article: The Story Of Grettir And The Undead Glam—One Of The Greatest Medieval Horror Stories

("The Sea Troll" by Theodor Kittelsen  (1857–1914), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

According to the medieval Icelandic text, Grettir’s Saga, an unlucky 11th-century farmer named Thorhall had an extensive farmstead in the Vatnsdal region of northwestern Iceland. His land was called Shady Valley (Forsaeludal) and he had a very grim family—literally, his father and his son were both named Grim. As befitting a grim family living in a place called Shady Valley, Thorhall’s lands were notoriously haunted. His farmstead had such a bad reputation that Thorhall was constantly short on farmhands and herdsmen. Each year he traveled to the Althing, the governing body of Iceland, to beg for farmhands and to seek advice on how to keep his employees around for longer spans of time. Thorhall became so desperate that he sought out the wisest man on Iceland, Skapti Thoroddsson, hoping that the wiseman could find a solution to his problems.

Skapti did not know how to stop the hauntings, but he did know of a Swedish immigrant to Iceland who was hardy enough in strength and skeptical enough of spirits to thrive at Thorhall’s farm. The man Skapti had in mind was Glam, a blue-eyed, grey-haired giant of great size and strength. Glam happened to be at the Althing, so Thorhall interviewed him and determined that he would be a fine herdsman. With the interview over, they arranged for Glam to arrive at Shady Valley in October.

 

Continue reading about the spooky descent of Glam and the story of how Grettir the Strong saved the farm, HERE.

New Article: The Otter’s Ransom—A Norse Tale Of A Dragon And Cursed Gold

(Sigurd and Fafnir, c. 1906, painted by Hermann Hendrich (–1931), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

A certain tale from Norse mythology, which has come to be known as “The Otter’s Ransom,” has had a great deal of influence on writers of the fantasy genre. One such visionary who drew inspiration from the tale was J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. “The Otter’s Ransom” was featured in the 13th-century Saga of the Volsungs, a book about the Volsung family, with the most notable sections of the text being about Sigurd the dragon-slayer. Snorri Sturluson (c. 1179-1241), the greatest of the medieval Icelandic scholars, also recorded the tale in his own work, The Prose Edda.

Read about the exciting tale origin tale of the Norse serpent, Fafnir, HERE. 

New Guest Article: 16+1 Dark And Vicious Ancient Greek Deities

(Guest Article)

As well as being talented and innovative in science and philosophy, the ancient Greeks were also a very religious and devout people. They believed in many gods and deities. Many of these could be kind and fair, but the deities were also frequently evil, wrathful and merciless. Many of them were considered to be daemonic winged spirits, malevolent or benevolent, who, along with their lord, Hades, spread terror, panic, misery, unluckiness, disaster, violence and suspicion among their victims.

16. Ate

 (Thetis and other deities dipping Achilles in the River Styx, by Donato Creti (1671–1749), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Ate was the personification and deity of damage, devastation, delusion, mischief and infatuation. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Eris (strife), while according to Homer her father was Zeus. She led people in the path of destruction and was responsible for corrupted minds and recklessness of people, as well as for the results of such acts. She led not only mortals, but also gods in divergence and irresponsibility, blurring their minds and inducing catastrophe. After every accident caused by Ate, the Litai (prayers) came in to deal with it.

Continue reading about all of these dark and vicious deities, HERE.

New Guest Article: 10 Legendary Figures From Ancient Greek Folklore And Mythology

(censored and cropped version of The Apotheosis of Hercules, by Noël Coypel (1628–1707), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Numerous heroes, due to their super-human strength, cunning and courage, were worshipped as gods or demigods. Their diligence in doing their duty for the good of all mankind, as well as their guts to slay monsters, have made their stories truly immortal.

Continue reading about ten of these immortalized heroes from Greek myth and legend, HERE.

New Article: The Outrageous Childhood Of the Semi-Mythical Viking-Poet, Egil Skallagrimsson

(Ingolf settling Iceland, painted by Johan Peter Raadsig (1806 - 1882), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Egil Skallagrimsson was one of several prominent Vikings whose lives were recorded by the Icelanders in the form of a saga. Egil’s Saga was anonymously composed around the 13th century, with the Icelandic historian and scholar, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241), being one of the likeliest authors of the piece. While most of Egil’s Saga is folklore and embellished history, many historians think that the plentiful poems contained in the saga may have indeed been written by a historical Viking-poet from the 10th century. So, like many other figures from the sagas, Egil Skallagrimsson is often considered to be a historical person whose reputation, over time, became exaggerated to the point of bordering on mythical.

 

Continue reading about the absurd life of the semi-mythical Viking-poet, Egil Skallagrimsson, HERE.

New Article: Mistletoe, The Killer Of Gods

(Baldr and Nanna (by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (1845-1921) over mistletoe, both [Public Domain] via Creative Commons and pixabay.com)

Baldr (or Baldur), a Norse god of light and beauty, was loved by almost all of creation, from the divine Æsir all the way to the plants and stones of the earth. As such, when Baldr began to have dreams and premonitions of his own death, the Æsir held a council and decided to make everything in the world swear an oath to never harm Baldr, an oath that most living beings and elements would be more than willing to make.

According to The Prose Edda, a collection of Norse myths compiled by the powerful Icelandic leader, Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241), Baldr’s mother, Frigg, obtained promises from fire, water, metals, stones, plant life, animal wildlife, poisons and even diseases and viruses, all swearing that they would not harm her son. When all of the oaths were collected, Baldr was so invulnerable that the mighty gods, themselves, amused themselves by punching, throwing stones, shooting arrows, even striking or stabbing at Baldr, all to no effect. Baldr’s newfound defensive prowess was lauded and praised by the gods—well, all except one. Loki, the usual delinquent deity of Norse mythology, loathed Baldr’s invulnerability. Therefore, Loki began to investigate, hoping that, like Achilles, a vulnerable chink could be found in Baldr’s supernatural armor.

Continue reading to find out how Loki found and exploited Baldr's weakness in this tragic story, HERE.

 

New Article: Dwarves Made Most Of The Amazing Items Used By The Gods Of Norse Mythology

(Cropped painting of Thor by Mårten Eskil Winge (1825–1896), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Interestingly, the gods of Norse mythology often had little-to-no innate power when compared to the divinities of other mythologies. At times, the band of deities led by the High One, Odin, seemed to be merely equivalents to Greek or Roman demigods. A prime example is that the immortality of the Norse gods did not occur naturally—to stay alive, the gods were said to eat magical apples of youth, tended by the goddess, Idunn. Also, the gods of Norse mythology were some of the most vulnerable and mortal deities ever worshipped; almost all of the major Norse gods were prophesied to die at Ragnarok. Yet, despite all of their handicaps and vulnerabilities, the Norse gods did become incredibly powerful. Curiously, however, the brilliant workmanship of the dwarves played a huge part in making this happen.

In Norse mythology, the dwarves were the go-to craftsmen for the gods. The great Icelandic chronicler of Norse mythology, Snorri Sturlusson (1179-1241), wrote about several of the magnificent items that the dwarves created for the gods. From tools, to weapons, to livestock, the dwarves could create it.

Read about some of the greatest masterpieces that the dwarves produced for the Norse gods, HERE.

 

New Article: Love Killed The Norse God, Frey

(Gerd by W. G. Collingwood (c. 1908) and Frey from Journey Through Bookland (c. 1920) in front of sunburst through a cloudy sky via pxhere.com, all [Public Domain] via Creative Commons or pxhere.com)

On a fateful day, Frey ascended to the top of Hlidskjalf, a watchtower near the center of Asgard. From his vantage point on the tower, the god of sun and rain looked to the north and saw an enormous, beautiful home that belonged to a family of mountain giants. The residence was magnificent, even by the standards set in Asgard. Either inside the house or absent from the property were the giants Gymir and Aurboda, yet their daughter, Gerd, was presently in front of the home, about to approach the door.

As soon as Frey laid his eyes on the young giantess, he was drawn to her grace and beauty. Yet, it was when Gerd lifted her arm to unlock her door the Frey became completely and utterly smitten. With awestruck eyes, Frey watched as his own rays of sunlight reflected against the delicate skin of Gerd’s raised arm, magnifying the radiance of the air, land and sea that lay around her home. She literally and figuratively brightened Frey’s world.

Continue reading about Frey's dooming sacrifice for love, HERE.

New Article: Origin Myths Of The Ancient Scythians

(Scythian gold comb housed in the Hermitage museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

The bulk of what is known about the Scythian people was recorded by the Greek historian, Herodotus, in the 5th century BCE. In more modern times, archaeologists have broadened the historical perspective on the Scythians by studying sites found within the territory of the ancient Scythian empire. From unearthed relics and artifacts, archeologists have found that the Scythians possessed bronze armor of Greek design and swords of Persian style, as well as ample gold, art and jewelry.

In book four of The Histories, Herodotus gave three possible scenarios that led to the creation of the Scythian people as he knew them in the 5th century BCE. Of the three possibilities that were recorded, Herodotus favored one about nomadic migration. In the model, the Scythian people moved from central Asia into Russia and Ukraine between the 8th and 7th centuries BCE, displacing the Cimmerians as they flooded into the region.

Although Herodotus favored the nomadic model mentioned above, that did not stop him from recoding two other interesting and entertaining Scythian creation myths. The two myths relayed to the reader by Herodotus differed greatly, but they had two great similarities. In both myths, three children played a great role in the story, with the youngest child always taking the most prominent role.

Continue reading abut the interesting Scythian creation myths recorded by Herodotus, HERE.

New Article: The Gods Of Norse Mythology And Their Mead of Poetry And Knowledge

(Odin entertaining guests in Valhalla, by Emil Doepler  (1855–1922), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

According to the stories of Norse mythology, the gods in Asgard possessed vats of mead that turned the drinker into a poet or a scholar. Yet, the mead itself is not the best part of this interesting tale. Before the mead reached its final resting place in Asgard, the special brew underwent a tremendous journey from its creation to its acquisition by the Norse gods. It is a story that starts and ends with the Norse divinities, but in between, dwarves, giants and murder all make a showing.

Continue reading about this peculiar mead of the Norse gods and its gruesome tale of its creation, HERE.

(New Article) Virgil's Underworld: A Land Of Death...And Reincarnation

  (Dante and Virgil in Hell, by Crescenzio Onofri  (–1714) and Livio Mehus  (1630–1691), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

In The Aeneid, an epic poem written by the Roman poet, Virgil (70-19 BCE), the main character of the story (Aeneas) traveled into the underworld to meet his father. The scenes that Virgil painted about the realm of the dead in book six of his masterpiece are likely some of the most vivid and elaborate illustrations of the ancient Greco-Roman underworld.

Virgil’s description of the underworld was so compelling that it undoubtedly served as an inspiration for Dante Alighieri’s conception of Hell in his famous work, The Divine Comedy. Despite Virgil’s disquieting portrayal of the gloomy, depressing and gruesome side of the underworld, he also described a highly interesting system of reincarnation that occurred in the Fields of Elysium. Although Virgil was not the only person from ancient Greece and Rome to envision reincarnation—Pythagoras and his followers also believed in rebirth—it is, nonetheless very interesting to read about souls in Greco-Roman mythology participating in a system of reincarnation similar to what can be found in Buddhism and Hinduism. 

Journeying to the Underworld

  (Aeneas and the Cumaean Sibyl, by François Perrier  (1594–1649), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Aeneas’ adventure to the underworld began when he decided to break into the realm of the dead to speak with his father. He sought out a renowned Sibyl in Cumae to teach him how a living man could enter the realm of the dead. She directed him to a Stygian marsh, where he needed to obtain a golden bough that would be vital to them during their journey into the depths of the underworld.

Continue reading about Aeneas' journey into the land of the dead, where souls were being reborn into the world, HERE.

New Biographical Article: The Unlikely Man Who Popularized The Stories Of King Arthur—Geoffrey of Monmouth

(Painting of King Arthur by N.C. Wyeth (1882–1945), from Sir Thomas Mallory, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons

In 12th-century Britain, a peculiar churchman, historian and teacher named Geoffrey of Monmouth launched the mystical tale of King Arthur and the magician Merlin on its path to world acclaim with the debut of his book, The History of the Kings of Britain. Though the adventures of King Arthur and his chivalrous knights were eventually accepted and admired in Britain, the road to acceptance was rough. Geoffrey of Monmouth’s writing was initially widely criticized in the British scholarly world, but it found quick admirers in medieval French literature and poetry. Later, the tales of King Arthur sluggishly crept back to Britain, only becoming truly mainstream after the 16th century with the help of literary masters such as Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Tennyson.

Continue reading about the odd pseudo-history book that popularized the stories of King Arthur, HERE.

New Biography: The Megalithic Poet, Homer

The Obscure Legend And His Epic Tales

(Statue of Homer, photographed by Rufus46, via Creative Commons (licensed CC 3.0), cropped and edited)

All around the world, and in almost every country, countless educated people have heard of, or read, the famous works by the ancient Greek poet, Homer. His two masterpieces, The Iliad and The Odyssey, are widely considered to be the first two works of ‘Western’ literature. In addition to that, Homer (along with his possible contemporary, Hesiod) was one of the first Greeks to drag the gods of Olympus down from their obscure mountain and make the deities relatable and personified with emotions in ways that the average person could understand. The poet’s works would go on to be preserved, edited and translated into numerous languages, serving as a core component of literary education—and it is still taught in schools, today. Yet, except those general truths, much about Homer remains a mystery. Who was he? When did he live? Was Homer one man or many? To these questions, historians can only shrug their shoulders and hypothesize.

Continue reading about Homer, the timeless poet, HERE.

New 'Did You Know' : The Sibylline Books Are One Of The Most Important Topics of Roman History, But Remain One Of Rome’s More Obscure Mysteries

(Woodcut of Sibyl Almathea from a German translation by Heinrich Steinhöwel of Giovanni Boccaccio, c. 1474,via Creative Commons 2.0 (CC 2.0)

Thankfully for us, ancient Romans were avid writers. Poets wrote of Roman mythology and legends. Historians detailed the events of the Roman Republic, the empire and the numerous emperors. Julius Caesar wrote an elaborate autobiography. Emperor Marcus Aurelius left us his book of insightful meditations, and Emperor Julian the Apostate published his learned attacks against Christianity in favor of the traditional gods of Rome. Yet, with all of the abundant information available about the Roman Empire, one subject of immense importance remains infuriatingly mysterious—the Sibylline Books.

 

Continue reading about the Sibylline Books, HERE.

New 'Did You Know?' : Virgil’s Aeneid Contained Some Peculiar Nautical Sea Nymphs

(THE NYMPH ROSE FROM THE SEA AND BORE THE VEIL AWAY, by William Heath Robinson (1872-1944), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Ancient origin myths and creation stories can be really strange. So, too, are many of the creatures and monsters found in mythology weird and bizarre. Therefore, it is not surprise that the origin stories of some mythological beings are especially odd.

 

Continue reading about the strange nymphs found in Virgil's Aeneid, HERE.

New 'Did You Know?' : Most Of The Names J. R. R. Tolkien Used For His Dwarves In His Books Were Actual Names Of Dwarves In Norse Mythology

(The Dwarves at Work, c. 1871, engraved by George Pearson (1850-1910), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

J. R. R. Tolkien’s books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, have inspired a new wave of fantasy novels that take place in a highly detailed, fantastical worlds. Though Tolkien had an incredibly imaginative and ingeniously creative mind, he drew his ideas heavily from Norse mythology. Not only did he find the concepts of elves, dwarves and magical rings from Nordic tales, but he also gathered names for his characters from Scandinavian mythology—especially the dwarves. For example, almost all the names of the J. R. R. Tokien’s dwarves in The Hobbit can be found in one passage from The Prose Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson. The dwarves in The Hobbit are Dwalin, Balin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur and Thorin Oakenshield. You will find most of their names, and that of Gandalf, in the following excerpt from The Prose Edda:

Continue reading about Tolkien's use of Norse names, HERE.

New 'Did You Know?': The Groundbreaking Akkadian Priestess Enheduanna Is Mankind’s Oldest Known Author To Have Signed Her Work

She also may be the mother of hymns, poetry and verse, and likely influenced Homer and the authors of the holy texts of Abrahamic religions

(Calcite disc of Enheduanna discovered by Sir Leonard Wooley in 1927 depicting Enheduanna and her attendants, photographed by Mefman00 and cropped, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons)

Enheduanna was born in Akkad (thought to be within modern Iraq), the capital city of the Akkadian Empire, which may be the world’s first multi-ethnic empire. While dating the lives of people from earth’s most ancient civilizations is often unreliable, the scholars seem to be comfortable placing Enheduanna’s life between 2285 and 2250 BCE. Enheduanna was an incredibly bright princess, was the daughter of the empire’s equally brilliant king, Sargon I of Akkad (2334-2279 BCE), also known as Sargon the Great.

Continue reading about this mother of hymns and poetry, HERE.