14/01/2022
Eclipses are not the only source of folklore from the ancient world.
1. Blood Sacrifice
Most cultures had gods that needed to be appeased and there is evidence of not just sacrifice but human sacrifice all over the world.
2. Great Flood Stories
Most ancient cultures lived in river valleys and there are flood stories from all over the world.
3. Paradise Lost
Nostalgia for carefree lives from a simpler time is common even today and there are Garden of Eden or Atlantis or some type of paradise lost story from all over the world because things were great once and now, they suck.
4. Cosmic War
The struggle between life and death, good and evil, light and dark is a basic concept and there are epic cosmic battle stories of angels fighting demons, heroes fighting monsters and good gods fighting bad gods from all over the world. Is a pattern emerging?
5. Mythological Creatures
People believed in mythological creatures and dragons all over the world and who can blame them? Dinosaur and other fossils, strange giants in the sea all had to be explained somehow. Early nature books from the 17th century depicted mythical creatures like giant sea serpents, a 7 headed hydra, a goat man, and of course dragons. Some scientists still thought dragons were real as recently as the 19th century when dinosaurs were usually thought of as slow and bulky. The irony is that some dinosaurs as we understand them today, proto birds with feathers look more like dragons than drawings from the 1800's.
6. Resurrection happened so many times it's a wonder that anybody ever dies. And the stories of resurrection haven't stopped or even slowed down. Cat woman, Neo from the Matrix, Eric Draven from the Crow, Frank Bannister from the Frighteners, Imhotep from the Mummy, Barbosa from Pirates of Caribbean, Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Optimus prime and Megatron, Harry Potter, Spock, Ghost Dad, Gandalf the White, and of course who could forget Mr. Jingles in the Green Mile. And if you're thinking those are all made up and obviously not real. I know that. Do you see a pattern?
7. Miraculous Conception
Miraculous conception or Virgin Birth or Gods giving birth were all common from all over the world and strangely, this appears to validate leadership.
8. Ascension
As with birth there is death but some very special people in history are so special, they were teleported straight to heaven body and all, no need for a burial or search party. This supernatural phenomenon is known as ascension. The list is, again, long but some notables that I'll be talking more about are the prophets Elijah, Muhammad, and of course Jesus.
It's impossible to say how many gods total have been worshipped but it's in the thousands. In Greek mythology alone there's old and new, anywhere from 12 to 37, but those numbers keep growing if you add lesser gods and heroes or kings granted special powers.
9. This inevitably brings us to deification, which is not only claiming that a person is super special, but they are a god. The list of those exalted is so long that I can't help but feel relieved. We must be lucky to have so many saviors. It seems impossible the world will not be saved. Many cultures have elevated their leaders to God status such as North Korea, Japan, China, Rome, Egypt and even the United States. That's right, the Apotheosis of Washington is a painting completed in 1865 in the United States Capitol Building. It depicts George Washington, a very much mortal, toothless man in a wig; exalted and surrounded by Roman goddesses. The word Apotheosis is Greek and means "to deify". Not bad George, not bad.
Eclipses are not the only source of folklore from the ancient world. 1. Blood SacrificeMost cultures had gods that needed to be appeased and there is evidenc...
