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The Anunnaki gods were worshipped by the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia long before the Greeks praised the Olympian gods or the Egyptians prayed to Osiris. While Zeus and the rest of the Greek gods resided at the top of Mount Olympus, and Osiris was the god of the earth and the underworld, the Anunnaki were winged deities who lived up in the heavens and came down to Earth to decide on people’s destiny. The Sumerians had many myths involving the Anunnaki gods passing judgment on humans. The gods were described as children of the Earth and sky. This indicates they...

The ancient mysteries such as who built the pyramids and other massive structures have gained numerous followers in the age of social media where pseudoscientific explanations proliferate. Through elaborately created videos posted on YouTube, theories about aliens visiting the Earth lending a hand (or tentacle) to the Egyptian laborers to lift the impossible-to-lift stone blocks or drawing with laser beams the Nasca lines from their spaceships are fun ideas for one to entertain. And, why not, believe? Many of us, young and old, willingly suspend our disbelief to watch for two hours Spiderman saving New York from the evil Mysterio,...

Achilles, the main character of the Iliad, remains one of the emblematic heroes of Greek mythology and modern literature for his bravery and fierceness in avenging the death of his best friend, Patroclus. Homer’s epic poem, along with The Odyssey, has retained enormous influence on Western literature to this very day, and this is also true for Achilles, the fearless warrior who became the very symbol of gallantry. “Sing, Goddess, of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,” is the opening line of the Iliad, the poem that describes a few weeks of the ten-year Trojan War, mainly the many feats...

An ancient cemetery for infants in Astypalea. Credit: Dodecanese Ephorate of Antiquities The study of the largest ancient cemetery for infants found on Astypalea island in Greece continues, shedding light on the worship of the goddess of childbirth and the Earth mother. The Dodecanese Ephorate of Antiquities that is carrying out the study has found that almost all the infants buried there were newborns or, at most, a few months old. There are also a few toddlers that were up to two years of age. The bodies of the babies were placed in ceramic containers, mainly amphorae or hydrias, whichwere...