BOOK REVIEWS BY INNERTRADITIONS/BEAR & COMPANY

BOOK REVIEWS BY INNERTRADITIONS/BEAR&COMPANY
Impending Comet To Wreak Havoc Again?

In the year 2024, the comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is due to pass near Earth again for the first time in 3500 years. Graham Phillips’s The End of Eden presents compelling evidence that civilizations worldwide became warlike and monotheistic after Earth passed through the tail of this comet in 1500 B.C. He explores the violent effect of 12P/Pons-Brooks on peaceful cultures such as the Olmec of Mexico and the Megalithic people who built Stonehenge and shows how this comet’s appearance was taken as a significant religious event that still has repercussions today.

In 1500 B.C., Earth passed through the comet’s tail, and in the decade following, cultures the world over began to exhibit significant aggressive tendencies. Civilizations in India, the Middle East, China, Japan, Europe, and Central America suddenly abandoned their peaceful ways and devoted themselves with uncharacteristic fervor to making war on their neighbors and fighting among themselves.

But this was not the only effect that is linked to this celestial event. Sudden outbreaks of monotheism—the worship of a single god, and a new idea at the time—occurred simultaneously in locales spread widely throughout the world. Most of these monotheistic religions represented their god symbolically as a circle with a series of lines extending below—resembling a simple drawing of a comet.

Phillips argues that there is no other explanation for these changes other than the presence of this massive comet in the skies above Earth. He contends that debris in the comet’s tail contaminated the atmosphere with a chemical known to cause aggressive behavior, and that after little more than a decade, worldwide hostility abruptly abated. He also explores how the appearance of a celestial body that outshone the moon would have been interpreted as a significant religious event—the premier appearance of a powerful new god to supplant the deities previously worshipped around the world.

Graham Phillips is the author of The Templars and the Ark of the Covenant and Atlantis and the Ten Plagues of Egypt. He lives in England.
Homer’s Tales Take Place in Atlantic, not Mediterranean

In The Triumph of the Sea Gods, Steven Sora argues compellingly that Homer’s tales do not describe adventures in the Mediterranean, but are adaptations of Celtic myths that chronicle an Atlantic coastal war that took place off the Iberian Peninsula around 1200 B.C. Sora’s investigation of the geographical incongruities in Homer’s epics locates Troy on the coast of Iberia, and cites the rise in sea level in 1200 B.C. as leading to the invasion and victory of the Atlantean sea people over the goddess-worshipping Trojans who ruled the coasts.

It was a war between the pro-goddess Celtic culture that presided over what is now Portugal and the patriarchal culture of the sea-faring Atlanteans. The invasion of the Atlanteans brought destruction to the entire region stretching from Western Europe’s Atlantic border to Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. This was a turning point not only politically but also spiritually. The goddess became demonized, as seen in myths such as Pandora’s Box, in which woman was seen as letting evil into the world, and Homer’s epic tale of the Greek and Trojan war, which was triggered by the abduction of a woman.

The actual historical struggle described in Homer’s stories, Sora explains, occurred during what was the last in a series of rises in sea level that inundated various land masses (Atlantis) and permitted sea passage to areas previously accessible only by land. The “Sea Gods” (Atlanteans) attacked the tri-city region of Troia (Troy), near present-day Lisbon, which, shortly thereafter, fell victim to a devastating series of seaquakes and tsunamis. The war and the subsequent destructive weather broke the power of this seaboard civilization, leading to a wholesale invasion by the sea peoples and the rapid decline of the region’s goddess-worshipping culture that had reigned there since Neolithic times. Sora shows how Homer’s tales allow the modern world to glimpse this ancient conflict, which has been obscured for centuries.

Steven Sora has been researching historical enigmas since 1982 and is the author of The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar and Secret Societies of America’s Elite. He lives in Easton, Pennsylvania.

“Technological progress is like an axe in the hand of a pathological criminal”
-Albert Einstein

Everyday technology advances further into the depths of Science Fiction; while we as humans try to catch up (sociologically speaking). Half of the population keeps looking towards the stars and the future for answers while the other half looks towards the earth, looking at the past. Given that history is in a circular and progressive state of repetition, we can only assume that we once may have held fantastic knowledge in the palm of our hands. Archeologists are in a constant battle with foreign and domestic countries alike to research on various territories across the globe.

The past can lead us to the future but only if we can fully understand what it is that it’s trying to say. Communication has become branded with the World Wide Web. How did we get along with out? I can’t imagine. Hell, I couldn’t even write this article without it. The use of cell phones alone have led to what some thought impractical only twenty years ago. The Star Trek generation has come upon us faster then we could’ve anticipated. Everything from Bluetooth earpieces to portable DVD players are now in fruition.

Laptops are now equipped with finger print technology and Wi-Fi so we can have instant access to said World Wide Web, basically anywhere on the planet. Pretty soon we’ll have retinal scans and DNA samples just so we can boot up our home computer. Sony’s newest advancement is HDNA; High Definition combined with DNA.

“Sony Electronics is set to launch a $100M ad campaign in order to promote what they are calling HDNA - a combination of high definition (HD) and DNA. The campaign will focus on educating the public about Sony high definition products, including Sony Blu-ray players, and how they all integrate to provide the ultimate high definition experience.”1.

Sony’s latest home entertainment invention is the PS3, complete with Blue-Ray technology. In case you’re confused about what Blue-Ray really is let me explain.
Blue-Ray is a Blue-Violet laser. Just like the red laser you were once used to seeing at the check out lines in your local grocery stores. However the Blue-Violet laser is significantly smaller, about 245 Nano-meters smaller to be exact. Meaning, that you can now store that much more information on a single disc; more information in less space. Why? I ask if we live in a forever expanding universe do we want to continually create smaller and smaller items, cell phones, laptops, and even cars. With the 65 inch television and Hummer being two of the few exceptions.

But, now we can have the ultimate in gaming experience with the PS3. I’m more of an Xbox fan myself, but that’s a different story. The Blu-Ray offers fantastic elements to any game on the PS3. Let’s say Tomb Raider; Legend for example. This by the way, is a game placed in the present focusing on the past using instruments of the future; (i.e. waterproof PDA.) This is great game using medieval, mythological, and historical ideology to help Lara Croft on her quest to put Excalibur back together from pieces scattered all over the world.

The idea of believing that the past is the key to the future holds true to me. I trust that if we search long enough the past will reveal hidden truths about us as humans. But technologically speaking as consumers we are in the past and the future is continually just out of reach. As soon as we have our hands on the latest technology something newer, better, and more significant comes along. First there was Film, then it moved to tape or VHS, and then it became Laserdisc (that was too complicated and who really wants to stop in the middle of Tango and Cash to flip the disc over?).

That led to DVD and wow that is amazing. Nothing beats that two disc set of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I own the box set but that’s all blown apart with Indiana Jones part four coming out. Nothing beats DVD, except Blu-Ray. Like I’ve said just when we have our hands on the latest technology something newer and better comes along. Not that I’m complaining mind you. But I’m still a huge fan of High Definition in the end. It’s affordable and there’s enough of it out there that we can purchase top quality merchandise and not have to sell our house to do so. Robert Rodriguez is one of the most influential film makers of today and he shoots on HD instead of film. Why?

“HD; its revolutionary. You'll see, man. They're going to wonder how I'm making three movies a year and they all look better than their movies—and they're cheaper. So they're all going to start getting into it. But right now they've still got their blinders on.”2.

So, in the end cost.

But, once Blue-Ray makes its way into the film scene for the consumer then we’re going to see some fantastic films being made. Personally I’m a fantasy buff, I like Medieval and mythological and even theological films, the most recent being Pathfinder; The tale of Viking child who grows up with and indigenous tribe only to have to fight his own ancestors to save his foster family.

For now though I’ll stick with HD for watching and making movies and Blu-Ray for playing videos games. Speaking of video games I’ve decided to make wish list of games I’d like to see. Maybe Sony will take notice. 1. An ancient Egyptian based game about the fall of the empire. Or loosely based on Stargate the movie. 2. A Medieval game where you are a king and the decisions within the game decide the fate of your people and their kingdom. 3. You are an archeologist who has discovered an ancient alien artifact and accidentally activated it. Now, several alien species are after you. And you must fight or hide to stay alive. Let’s call it Unearthed.

Homer’s Tales Take Place in Atlantic, not Mediterranean

In The Triumph of the Sea Gods, Steven Sora argues compellingly that Homer’s tales do not describe adventures in the Mediterranean, but are adaptations of Celtic myths that chronicle an Atlantic coastal war that took place off the Iberian Peninsula around 1200 B.C. Sora’s investigation of the geographical incongruities in Homer’s epics locates Troy on the coast of Iberia, and cites the rise in sea level in 1200 B.C. as leading to the invasion and victory of the Atlantean sea people over the goddess-worshipping Trojans who ruled the coasts.

It was a war between the pro-goddess Celtic culture that presided over what is now Portugal and the patriarchal culture of the sea-faring Atlanteans. The invasion of the Atlanteans brought destruction to the entire region stretching from Western Europe’s Atlantic border to Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. This was a turning point not only politically but also spiritually. The goddess became demonized, as seen in myths such as Pandora’s Box, in which woman was seen as letting evil into the world, and Homer’s epic tale of the Greek and Trojan war, which was triggered by the abduction of a woman.

The actual historical struggle described in Homer’s stories, Sora explains, occurred during what was the last in a series of rises in sea level that inundated various land masses (Atlantis) and permitted sea passage to areas previously accessible only by land. The “Sea Gods” (Atlanteans) attacked the tri-city region of Troia (Troy), near present-day Lisbon, which, shortly thereafter, fell victim to a devastating series of seaquakes and tsunamis. The war and the subsequent destructive weather broke the power of this seaboard civilization, leading to a wholesale invasion by the sea peoples and the rapid decline of the region’s goddess-worshipping culture that had reigned there since Neolithic times. Sora shows how Homer’s tales allow the modern world to glimpse this ancient conflict, which has been obscured for centuries.

Steven Sora has been researching historical enigmas since 1982 and is the author of The Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar and Secret Societies of America’s Elite. He lives in Easton, Pennsylvania.

Rejuvenating the Temples of Egypt

By Robert M. Schoch
Boston University

I always return from Egypt with mixed feelings, a combination of joy and sadness, elation and exhaustion, and this time was no different. I spent Spring Recess (the second full week of March 2007) touring Egypt with a mixed group composed of university students and interested persons. We visited as many of the major sites as possible in the allotted time: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, The Valley of the Kings, The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Dendera, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae/Agilika, and of course the Giza Plateau with the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx. In addition, we had the chance to explore Aswan (visiting a mosque and a small Nubian village on the Nile), Luxor, and Cairo (including the Egyptian Museum, perhaps now most famous for housing the artifacts from Tutankhamen’s tomb). While in Cairo/Giza we stayed at the historic Mena House Hotel (dating back to the middle nineteenth century and within walking distance of the Great Pyramid - - the view is spectacular). In Luxor we stayed at the modern Egyptian “art deco” Sonesta St. George Hotel, and between Luxor and Aswan we made our home on the H.S. Radamis II Mövenpick, one of the many cruise ships that ply the Nile.

Egypt is a beautiful and magical place at its best, but it is also a land where ancient mysteries have been exploited and holy places violated for the purpose of tourism and entertainment. The temples are crying. The souls once interred and at peace have been disturbed. The walls protecting the sanctuaries where the sick of body and spirit could go to heal have been breached. Sacred spaces are being lost to the profane and the mundane. Wading through the throngs crowding the temples and tombs, making my way through the bustling masses of humanity, elbowing in close to inspect a particular relief, while one more traveler thoughtlessly slammed her daypack or smashed his camera bag into an ancient inscription, there was many a time I wondered if all the magic was gone. But the power of the ancient structures is irrepressible, and even in their violated condition they have much to offer. During a quiet moment in an inner room, standing in a courtyard away from the bustle, or contemplating an obscure symbol in a dark corner, one can still feel the ancient ritual and mystery.

Despite the sprawl of modern shops catering to the tourists with their cheap trinkets and over-priced batteries and other camera supplies, I can still manage to catch glimpse of what was and, I hope, will be. The Temple of Horus (son of Osiris and Isis) at Edfu still memorializes the drama of Horus as he avenges his father’s death at the hands of Set. The temple at Kom Ombo is jointly dedicated to the crocodile-headed Sobek (mummified crocodiles found in the vicinity are currently on display) and the falcon-headed Haroeris (known also as Horus the Elder). Here is honored the eternal cycle of the universe. Sobek, allied with Set (who, after killing Osiris, fought Horus), was a God of Death and what simplistically might be seen as “evil,” yet not evil in any absolute sense, but the other side of good, for by one way of thinking without evil there cannot be good or redemption, and without death there cannot be resurrection and life. Haroeris in some ancient texts was equated with Day while Sobek was associated with Night. To the trained eye and informed mind, in Egypt every temple has a different story to tell.

Our group was indeed fortunate in that by special arrangement we had the entire Great Pyramid to ourselves for about an hour and a half. I have spent many hours in the Great Pyramid in various guises and contexts: as researcher, as tourist, as postulant. This time it was a pleasure to introduce this greatest wonder of the world to about two dozen people who had never been to Egypt before. We made good use of our time, visiting the Subterranean Chamber, the Grand Gallery, the King’s Chamber, and the Queen’s Chamber. By the time we had to leave, I hoped that all attending had experienced, even if for just a few moments and at an incipient level, the ancient magic. As we departed, the throngs of tourists once again entered.

Still, I was not totally satisfied. I want to do more to rejuvenate the ancient magic, to bring back the sacred and holy aspects of the ancient monuments, to cleanse and purge them of their abusers. To this end, I am developing a plan with several of my colleagues. In brief, we would like to organize healing trips to Egypt during which sacred rites and rituals associated with the mystery schools, ancient and modern, can once again be carried out in the temples, perhaps culminating with initiation ceremonies in the Great Pyramid. There are still active organizations and schools that have guarded and revived the ancient rites, and learning from them and working with them could be a way to restore the true magic of the monuments. Perhaps we cannot reconstruct the ancient rites exactly to the letter, but we can capture their spirit and significance in modern terms. What I have in mind is a group composed exclusively of devotees who will view the trip as a sacred pilgrimage, taking the matter extremely seriously while also being open to the transformative powers of the ancient ritual and context. As we return to Egypt with the right mindset and intentions, we will not only heal and rehabilitate ourselves, but begin to cleanse and rejuvenate the monuments as well. Perhaps this has been a long time coming, but the mysteries of Egypt are eternal and transcend the boundaries of time.


Photos:

The Temple of Sobek and Haroeris, Kom Ombo. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

Ancient mummified crocodile preserved at Kom Ombo. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

The Temple of Luxor, March 2007. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

Robert Schoch at the Temple of Horus, Edfu, March 2007. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

Biblical Archaeology Quotes

"I know of no finding in archaeology that’s properly confirmed which is in opposition to the Scriptures. The Bible is the most accurate history textbook the world has ever seen." - Dr Clifford Wilson, formerly director of the Australian Institute of Archaeology (quote obtained from: Archaeologist Speaks Out)

"Through the wealth of data uncovered by historical and archaeological research, we are able to measure the Bible's historical accuracy. In every case where its claims can thus be tested, the Bible proves to be accurate and reliable." - Dr. Jack Cottrell, The Authority of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1979), pp. 48-49.

"In every instance where the findings of archaeology pertain to the Biblical record, the archaeological evidence confirms, sometimes in detailed fashion, the historical accuracy of Scripture. In those instances where the archaeological findings seem to be at variance with the Bible, the discrepancy lies with the archaeological evidence, i.e., improper interpretation, lack of evidence, etc. -- not with the Bible." - Dr. Bryant C. Wood, archaeologist, Associates for Biblical Research [1]

"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a Biblical reference. Scores of archaeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or exact detail historical statements in the Bible. And, by the same token, proper evaluation of Biblical description has often led to amazing discoveries." - Dr. Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, (New York: Farrar, Strous and Cudahy, 1959), 136.

"Archaeology has confirmed countless passages which have been rejected by critics as unhistorical or contradictory to known facts......Yet archaeological discoveries have shown that these critical charges.....are wrong and that the Bible is trustworthy in the very statements which have been set aside as untrustworthy.....We do not know of any cases where the Bible has been proved wrong." - Dr. Joseph P. Free, Archaeology and Bible History. Scripture Press, Wheaton, IL, 1969, pg. 1

"The reader may rest assured that nothing has been found [by archaeologists] to disturb a reasonable faith, and nothing has been discovered which can disprove a single theological doctrine. We no longer trouble ourselves with attempts to 'harmonize' religion and science, or to 'prove' the Bible. The Bible can stand for itself." - Dr. William F. Albright, eminent archeologist who confirmed the authenticity of the Dead Sea Scrolls following their discovery

"There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of Old Testament tradition." - Dr. William F. Albright, Archaeology and the Religions of Israel. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1956, p. 176.

"On the whole, however, archaeological work has unquestionably strengthened confidence in the reliability of the Scriptural record. More than one archaeologist has found his respect for the Bible increased by the experience of excavation in Palestine....Archaeology has in many cases refuted the views of modern critics. It has shown, in a number of instances, that these views rest on false assumptions and unreal, artificial schemes of historical development. This is a real contribution and not to be minimized." - Millar Burrows, Professor of Archaeology at Yale University, What Mean These Stones?, Meridian Books, New York, NY, 1956, p. 1

"The excessive skepticism of many liberal theologians stems not from a careful evaluation of the available data, but from an enormous predisposition against the supernatural." - Professor Millar Burrows (Professor of Archaeology at Yale University), What Mean These Stones?, Meridian Books, New York, NY, 1956, p. 176.

"It is therefore legitimate to say that, in respect of that part of the Old Testament against which the disintegrating criticism of the last half of the nineteenth century was chiefly directed, the evidence of archaeology has been to reestablish its authority and likewise to augment its value by rendering it more intelligible through a fuller knowledge of its background and setting. Archaeology has not yet said its last word, but the results already achieved confirm what faith would suggest – that the Bible can do nothing but gain from an increase in knowledge." - Sir Frederic Kenyon, a former director of the British Museum, The Bible and Archaeology (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1940), page 279.


"I set out to look for truth on the borderland where Greece and Asia meet, and found it there. You may press the words of Luke in a degree beyond any other historian's and they stand the keenest scrutiny and the hardest treatment." - Sir William Ramsey (eminent archaeologists who changed his mind regarding Luke after extensive study in the field), (1915), The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1975 reprint), page 89.

Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of facts trustworthy; he is possessed of the true historic sense...In short this author should be placed along with the very greatest of historians." - Sir William Ramsey (archaeologist), The Bearing of Recent Discovery on the Trustworthiness of the New Testament, 1915, pages 81, 222

Jacob Grimm on Nordic Religion

It seems to have been instilled by Nature into every people that it should keep itself closed-off and untouched by alien elements. It can only guard its tongue, its ethos, within a closed circle. Only as long as it flows between its own banks does a river keep its waters pure. All pristine strength and the undisturbed expression of its deepest instincts emanate from this center and we see our oldest language, poetry and legend assert this very characteristic. However, a river has not only to accept the streams which bring down fresh water to it from mountain and hill but must ultimately flow out into the wide waters of the ocean. Peoples border upon peoples, peaceful commerce, war and conquest merge their destinies. Such intermingling may bring unexpected results, the advantages of which must be weighed against the loss which suppression of the native elements brought about. Yet the language, poetry and religion of our forefathers were unable everywhere and at all times to guard themselves against the onset of what was foreign, and they have experienced the most shattering transformation through the conversion of the people to Christianity.

HEROES AND WISE WOMEN, ELVES AND GIANTS, THE HIGHEST BEING

Deities form the essence of all mythology. Ours were buried out of sight and had to be unearthed. Their traces were able to be discerned partly in names that stubbornly refused to be rooted out and yet offered only an empty sound and partly with changed shape in the fluid but more complete form of popular legend. Upon closer inspection, all individual deities appear to be emanations and segments of one single deity: the Gods as sky, the Goddesses as earth, the former as fathers, the latter as mothers, the Gods creating, ruling, leading, governing victory and fortune, air, fire and water—the Goddesses nourishing, spinning, cultivating the fields, beautiful, adorned and loving. In all German tongues the Highest Being has always with one accord been called by the general name: God. In curses and exclamations our people, from fear of desecrating God s name, resort to some modification of this, saying potz wetter or kotz wunder instead of "Gottes"—however, I cannot trace this practice back to our ancient speech. Some remarkable uses of the word "God" in our older language and that of the common people may also have a connection with pagan ideas. In Middle High German poems one encounters the expression for a hearty welcome. gote unde mir wilekomen ("Welcome to God and me" ). Upper Germany has retained this form of greeting to the present day. The Highest Being is conceived as omnipresent and is expected like a host to take the newcomer under his protection. In the same way the name of the omniscient emphasizes an affirmation of knowledge or ignorance: das weiz got unde ich = God and I know that. Poems of the Middle Ages attribute human passions to God: especially is He often described as in a condition of placidity and joy or again in the contrary state of wrath and vengeance. The former is favorable for the endowment of distinguished and happy men. It is an equally pagan sentiment that imputes to God a wish to gaze at human beauty or at whatever men do. In the Middle Ages a wicked man was called gote leide, a sorrow to God. There is a parallel formula which substitutes the sun for God and so heightens the pagan complexion. A man so accursed does not deserve to have the sun shine kindly upon him. Such a hostile relationship results now and then in a rebellious spirit in man which breaks forth in Promethean defiance and threats or even takes a practical turn. If the God denied the assistance prayed for, his image was flung into the river by the people, immersed in water or beaten. In the Carolingian romances we repeatedly come upon the incident of Karl (Charlemagne) threatening the deity that if his aid is denied, he will cast down his altars and make the Church with all its priests leave the land of the Franks. The all-governing God is at the same time the all-seeing, all-knowing, all- remembering. Hence it is said of fortunate men that God saw them and of unfortunate ones, that God forgot them. Among appellations are several which God has in common with worldly rulers: the name Father is above all conspicuous. In the Edda the name Alfödr (All Father) is applied to Odin as the father of all Gods, humans and created things. This compound may have sounded pagan. However, the idea of God the Father became more familiar to Christians than to pagans. Most epic formulas are taken from God's dwelling place, his omnipotence, omniscience and truth. Many other expressions are indisputably connected with the pagan way of thinking. Since the Gods are represented as dwelling on high, in the heavens, upon mountain heights, it is natural that individuals should have certain particular mountains and abodes consigned them.

WORSHIP AND SACRIFICE

Because the Gods show favor more often than wrath and men are happily disposed rather than oppressed by their own sins and faults, thanksgiving sacrifices were the earliest and most frequent, sacrifices out of expiation rarer, more poignant. What can be offered to the Gods from the plant realm is serene, innocent, but also less significant than animal sacrifice. The flowing blood, the life shed, seems to assert stronger binding and appeasing power. Animal sacrifices are natural to the warrior, hunter and shepherd, while the farmer will give grain and flowers. The great yearly festivals of the pagans allude to folk gatherings and popular courts. Human sacrifices absolve according to their nature and origin. A great misfortune, a serious crime, can only be conjured away and expunged through human blood. Sacrifices were made by all peoples of antiquity, there is undoubted evidence of this in Germany. As a rule, victims to be sacrificed were captive foes, purchased serfs or extreme criminals. On the other hand, the death penalty was rare or unheard of among the ancient peoples. In folk legends there are still traces of the sacrificing of children. Rare cases could even demand the death of a king's son and daughters, indeed of a king himself. Animal sacrifices were chiefly made as thanksgiving, but also as expiation and as such they often represent moderation in place of older human sacrifices. Only such animals were suitable whose flesh was fit for human consumption. It would have been inappropriate to offer the God a food which the sacrificers had themselves scorned. At the same time these sacrifices also appear as feasts. An allotted portion of the slaughtered animal was brought to the sacrifice, and the remainder cut in pieces, shared out and consumed by the assembly. The people entered as a result into fellowship with the holy sacrifice, just as the Gods were held to be joint feasters at their meal. It was commanded of kings that at great sacrifices they taste all foods. Superstitious people later still placed food at one side for the house spirits and dwarfs. In the oldest times chiefly horses seem to have been sacrificed, undoubtedly their flesh was universally eaten before the introduction of Christianity. Missionaries found nothing so repellent about the pagans, as the latter would not abandon the killing of horses and enjoying of their flesh. The cutting-off of the horse's head which was not eaten but dedicated to the God must not be overlooked in this connection. I believe that among all known sacrifices only those of the horse were celebrated at the nine year festivals. Among all animal sacrifices that of the horse was the most noble and the most solemn. Our forefathers had it in common with several Slavic and Finnish peoples, with Persians and Indians. The horse was held by them all to be a particularly sacred animal. Along with cattle, sacrifices of boars, pigs and rams were not rare; we are uncertain about other sacrificial animals. The dove was a Jewish and Christian animal sacrifice, cocks were offered by the Greeks to Aesculapius to heal an infected finger, and it was the custom in the Touraine to sacrifice a wild cock to Saint Christopher. Among game only edible beasts were sacrificial: deer, roes, wild pigs, but never wolves or foxes to whom even a ghostly nature is attributed. In paganism, wild animals seem to have been preferred for sacrifice. The animals dependent upon man, his house animals, have to suffer upon his death, with his sacrifice and punishment. Besides the sex, weight was certainly laid upon the color of the animal and white was favored most of all. One can imagine that the beast was decorated and embellished for sacrifice. Some details suggest that before sacrifice the animals were led around in the midst of the popular assembly. While the animal lost its life on the sacrificial stone, all the flowing blood was caught either in a specially arranged trench or in vessels. The holy tables and vessels and the participants were sprinkled with the sacrificial blood. Prophecies were probably made from the blood, and it is possible that a portion of it was mixed with beer or mead and drunk. The distribution of the pieces among the people was probably carried out by a priest. On great feast days the banquet was held directly during the popular assembly. Several reports reveal that the animal was transformed to ashes on the wood pile. Also no importance was attached to smoke offerings. The sweet incense of Christians was something new to the pagans. An animal blood sacrifice is more social, more universal; it was customary that the entire people of the community brought this. Fruit or flowers, milk or honey every household and even an individual could offer. These fruit offerings are therefore more isolated, more impoverished. History scarcely mentions this, but they have lasted all the longer and more firmly in folk custom. The farmer, when he cuts his corn, leaves a heap of ears standing to the God who blessed the corn, and decorates them with ribbons. Even now during the fruit harvest in Holstein, five or six apples are left hanging untouched on every tree, then the next crop prospers. At the solemn handing over of landed properties, branches with leaves, apples or nuts serve as signs of trade. To this also belongs the hanging of the image of the God with garlands, of a sacred tree or a sacrificial animal with leaves and flowers. In the Scandinavian sagas not the slightest trace of the latter is revealed. On Ascension day in more than one district of Germany the girls wind garlands of white and red flowers and hang them up in the kitchen or the stables over the cattle, until they are replaced the next year by fresh ones. Here pagan custom appears to have been transferred to Christian festivals: Just as it was a very ancient and widespread custom to leave back at a feast a portion of the food for the household Gods and in fact a dish with broth was placed for Berchta and Holda, the Gods were allowed to enjoy a festive drink. The drinker, before he enjoyed it himself, was accustomed to pour out something for the God or household spirits. Connected with this are Norwegian legends about Thor, who appears at weddings and accepts or empties enormous barrels of beer. It was the custom to honor an absent or dead person by mentioning them at the assembly and feast and downing a cup to their memory. In like manner as by observing this drinking custom which was continued into later time, research into pagan mythology will find it advantageous to study the designs used in baking which either still imitated the old idol's shape or retained the prescriptions of an offering. Thus, much which would not really be applicable in the offerings and customs of the people—the color of the animal, the leading around of the boar, the flowers, the drinking of toasts, even the shape of cakes, is still a memory of the offerings of paganism. Besides the prayers and offerings, an essential part of the pagan cult must still be emphasized: the solemn carrying or leading around of the images of the Gods. The deity was not to stay in only one place but show its presence through the entire circumference of the land. Thus Frau Nerthus drove around, thus Fro [Freya] moved from place to place in the Spring, thus the sacred ship, the sacred plough, were led about. Holda, Berchta, and all similar beings held their walk at appointed times of the year, to the joy of pagans, to the horror of Christians. Even Wodan's wild hunt can be so interpreted. A comparison can be made of customs of public law, the riding around of newly crowned kings through the streets of the land, the solemn recording of paths, the beating of the bounds, at which priests and images of the Gods will have been present in ancient times. After the conversion to Christianity, the Church also allowed such processions, except that an image of Mary or other sacred images were carried, namely when drought, crop failure, sickness or war had broken out, in order to cause rain, fertility of the fields, recovery from illness and gaining of victory. Even at the outbreak of fire sacred images were applied against this.

PLACES OF WORSHIP

A temple is simultaneously a wood. What we think of as a walled building, merges, the farther back we go, into a sacred place untouched by human hands, in a grove and enclosed by dense trees. There the God dwells, veiling his form in the rustling foliage of the boughs. There is the place at which the hunter has to present him with the game he has killed and the herdsman his horses, oxen and rams. I am not maintaining that this forest worship exhausts all the conceptions which our ancestors had formed of the deity and its dwelling-place. It was only the principle. Here and there a God may haunt a mountain top, a cave in the rocks, a river. But the solemn general worship by the people had its seat in the grove. And nowhere could it have found a better one: it was customary with many peoples. At a time when crude beginnings were all that existed of the builder's art, the human mind must have been aroused to a higher devotion by the sight of lofty trees under an open sky than it could ever feel inside the stunted structures reared by unskilled hands. When, long afterwards, the architecture peculiar to the Germans reached its perfection, did it not in its boldest creations aim at reproducing the soaring trees of the forest? Would not the childlike imaginative power of primeval times have felt itself estranged by the disproportion of poorly carved or painted images of the God which it imagined as enthroned on the leafy top of a sacred tree? In the blowing of the wind, under the shade of primeval forests the soul of man felt itself filled by the presence of the ruling deities. What a deep influence forest life had from of old on all circumstances of our people is shown by the preservation of the Guilds of the Marches (Markgenossenschaften). Marka, the word from which they bear their name, first signified forest and then also boundary. In the course of centuries and until the introduction of Christianity the custom was served of worshipping the deity in the sacred forests and trees. Among the Saxons and Frisians the worship in the groves lasted far longer. In various parts of Lower Saxony and Westphalia traces of sacred oaks have been preserved until recent times, to which the people showed a half-pagan, half-Christian reverence. I am inclined to trace back the naming of sacred forests, which appears almost everywhere in Germany, to paganism. One would hardly have called the forests sacred after Christian churches which were built in them and usually no such church is found in the forests. Even less can the naming be explained from the prohibited royal forests of the Middle Ages. Conversely these forest preserves seem themselves to have emanated from pagan groves and in place of the cult appears the law of the king who withdrew the sacred forest from the use and common ownership of the people. Such forests were also, in many places, a refuge for malefactors. In the course of centuries this ancient forest worship became displaced -- more with some peoples, less with others -- in favor of the erection of temples. We see all Christian missionaries eagerly lay the axe to the sacred trees of the pagans and set their temples on fire. It would almost seem as if the unfortunate people were not even asked for their agreement and only the rising smoke announced to them the broken power of their Gods. But with closer study of the circumstances it is revealed from the less boastful accounts that neither the pagans were so cowardly and simple nor Christians so thoughtless. Boniface resolved to cut down the thunder oaks only after careful consultation with the already converted Hessians and in their presence. The Thuringian king's daughter would never have halted her horse and given the command to set fire to the Frankish temple, if her followers had not been numerous enough to oppose the pagans. It is expressly remarked in most reports that in place of the pagan tree or temple a church was erected. In this way the customs of the people were spared and it was made credible that the ancient sacredness of the place had departed but henceforth was dependent on the presence of the true God. At the same time one discovers from this the cause of the almost total lack of remains of pagan monuments. They were either leveled to the ground in order to build a Christian church over them or their walls and halls were even used for the latter. One may restrain oneself from having a high opinion of the architecture of the pagan Germans, but they must have understood how to arrange appreciable masses of stone and to cement them firmly. Evidence of this is provided by the burial mounds and places of sacrifice preserved in Scandinavia and partly still in Friesland and Saxony, from which some important conclusions can be drawn about the old pagan worship of God. On many German mountains traces of Gods and heroes are found which allude to ancient places of worship: on the Taunus of Brunnhilde, on the Harz of Gibich and Dietrich.

PRIESTHOOD

The German priests were active as guardians of divine and worldly law, together with religious worship and popular courts. In campaigns by the army they alone controlled discipline, not the generals, since the entire war was conducted as if in the presence of the deity. From the sacred grove they took with them the images and insignia into the field. If the future were to be predicted from the neighing of the publicly maintained white horse, priests accompanied the sacred wagon and authorized the proceedings. Only the priests might touch the wagon of the deity; the latter's approaching presence was recognized by him, he accompanied it respectfully and ultimately led it back into the sacred abode. The rareness of records which mention the priests were a reason why their office was long overlooked. Undoubtedly, they were also responsible for the uttering of solemn prayers, the killing of sacrificial animals, the consecration of the dead, perhaps also of marriages and the administering of oaths. The Nordic priest's office reached deeply into the practice and guardianship of the law. Gestures and postures necessary for certain legal transactions are reminiscent of many priestly rituals during offerings and prayers. In such a capacity the priests seem to have had an important influence on the people while there is little mention of their political influence on the kings' courts. Even after the introduction of Christianity the Icelandic judges retained the name and many powers of the pagan priests. I have not come across any references to the clothing worn by the Northern priests. Among many Aryan peoples the priest's robe was of white color. Was the office of a poet connected with the latter? Even by Christian poets, after the conversion, one or other thing is still related which has been passed on to us by pagan Skalds. History has not preserved the name of any vates, a singer and soothsayer at the same time, although soothsaying was the office of the priest, and the names of several prophetesses are known. Tacitus mentions the Veleda as prisoners in the triumphant march of Vespasian. The Nordic sources stress the priestly office of women less than their gift of prophecy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Languages at the Time of Jesus

by Deanna Gallo

Various languages were spoken in Roman-occupied Palestine during the first century AD, which was the world and time of Jesus. The most prominent of these languages were Aramaic, Hebrew and Koine Greek. The Latin spoken by the occupying Romans held only a minor place in comparison with these three languages.

ARAMAIC

Aramaic is a Semitic language, related to both Hebrew and Arabic. This was the language spoken originally in Mesopotamia, and as empires rose and fell in the millennium before the birth of Jesus, the Aramaic language was used as the vehicle of communication among people of different nations, eventually spreading as far west as Egypt and becoming the lingua franca of the entire area.

Many scholars believe that the Jewish people first acquired Aramaic during the years of the Babylonian captivity, and that centuries later, their descendants brought Aramaic with them into Israel. Parts of the Old Testament, in fact, are written in Aramaic rather than Hebrew.
In the third century BC, when Greek began overtaking Aramaic as the dominant language in much of the region, Aramaic was still extensively spoken in Palestine. By the first century, it had diverged into an array of dialects, which some historical linguists prefer to consider separate Aramaic-based languages.

Aramaic is thought to have been the native language of Jesus.

HEBREW

Like Aramaic, Hebrew is a Semitic language, and one with writings that date back to the tenth century BC. Hebrew is the traditional language of the Jewish people, and has always been the language of prayer and worship.
There is some debate among language historians over the precise status of Hebrew during the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Some scholars claim that Aramaic was the day-to-day language of the Jewish people during this time, and that Hebrew was used mainly for religious study and liturgical purposes. Other scholars disagree, and point to newer evidence suggesting that Hebrew functioned as a living language alongside Aramaic until the end of the Roman period.
It is not known for certain whether or not Jesus spoke Hebrew. Many religious scholars claim that he did, and they support this claim by citing his knowledge of Hebrew scripture and theology.

KOINE GREEK

Koine refers to the common dialect of Greek, which, beginning in the third century BC, became the lingua franca for the entire region conquered by Alexander the Great. Koine Greek remained the common trade language of the region during Jesus' time; it was widely spoken in Palestine, and even the Romans made use of it in their administration of the province. It is thought likely that Jesus would have had some familiarity with this language.
A few decades after the crucifixion, the books of the New Testament were composed in Koine Greek, which made them accessible to people of many nations.

LATIN

Latin was the language of the occupying Roman army. However, in Palestine the status of Latin was different from its status in the Romanized provinces of Western Europe, where Latin came to displace the native languages altogether. In the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, Latin did not have great influence over the populace and never held the role of a dominant language. Most of the people who lived in the Roman province of Palestine during the life of Jesus did not speak Latin.

STONE ‘SHIP’ MAY BE VIKING BURIAL MOUND

The Ancient American, Volume 1, Issue 6
By Carol Bass

An unusual mound of stones in the shape of a ship which could date back to Viking settlements in the New World has been discovered in an area forest. History experts who have visited the site suspect the 65-foot stone structure may be a large “cairn,” an ancient European burial site constructed for the dead by the Viking and Celtic cultures. The exact location of site, which is in Windham County, is being kept under wraps to avoid the possibility of vandalism.
When first sighted through undergrowth, the ‘cairn’ appears to be just another short stretch of old New England stone wall, but on closer inspection, the boat shape of the stone pile becomes immediately apparent. The ‘cairn’ is close to 50 feet long and at its widest point measures 30-40 feet wide, and is four feet high. It is a near exact stone replica of a New England dory, a narrow at the bow and stern, with a very wide-mid-section. It is in fairly good shape and is only slightly damaged on one side where a growing tree has caused part of it crumble.
The structure was discovered by photographers Virginia and William Welch of Hampton. The couple saved it from near demolition by officials who have been planning to reforest the area. The state Department of Environmental Protection has now flagged the site to protect it for further observation and study.
The site has been viewed by several regional historical societies, including the Early Sites Research Society of Rowley, Mass., and the Gungywump Society of Noank. Officials from the societies agree that the site is ‘Nordic’ in nature, although no definitive conclusion has been reached about the origin of the artifact.
All who have viewed the site, however, agree with David Barron, president of the Gungywump Society, the structure is ‘very definitely not just a pile of stones. It was deliberately laid, deliberately set out, and has a deliberate plan to it.”
The Gungywump Society is a group of avocational archaeologists and historians who study historical phenomena throughout the state.
The mounds origins remain unknown now, although it is known that Vikings were in Canada. Barron said he wouldn’t suggest the mound is Viking in origin, because he said, “There is no evidence yet beyond the fact that it is unique and in the shape of a boat.”
Welch noted that the centerpiece of the structure, which he described as a ‘a slab that appears to have been standing,” resembles European burial places, or ‘cairns’.
This particular cairn, if that is what the structure is, is unusually large, according to Barron.
The presence of Viking in the New World before Columbus has been a debatable topic for years. It is agreed that the Vikings visited ancient Russia, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, Iceland and Greenland.
Experts who have visited the Windham Country site are cautious to theorize about its origins. They all agree with Welch, however, that it is ‘something that appears to be very old. It’s an artifact that goes far beyond the English-Colonial period,” he said.
“Our main objective right now is to keep it low key Riggio said, “One of the problems we have today is that field, stone is in such high demand there pillaging of old stone walls and their stones get robbed every day.” Welch thinks the structure has at least ‘superficial similarities’ to European cairns which commemorate burial sits.”

America's Viking Heritage

Frank Joseph
(The Ancient American, Volume 1, Issue 6)

Through the ominous visor of the helmet feature on this month’s cover once peered the eyes of a Norse warrior. Found at a Swedish site belonging to the 7th century A.D., it predates the generally accepted beginning of the so-called “Viking Age,” 200 years later. For unknown millennia before, culturally related Germanic peoples inhabited the lands of the Baltic and Scandinavia, steadily growing in the number of settlements, until the relationship between burgeoning population and shrinking living space made the Norse look beyond Northern Europe, around the turn of the 9th Century . It was then that they began referring to th4emselves as “Vikings”, or “Bay-raiders”, after their early sorties among the fjords of their own homelands. And, while the title persisted for the duration of the Viking Age, the Norse very quickly expanded their activities far beyond local bays and inlets. Their great courage and incomparable long-ships took them throughout Russia to North Africa, as far as Ireland, Greenland, Iceland and . . . America.
Most salaried historians have long demonstrated a knee-jerk rejection of any notion that Vikings actually landed here, dismissing such embarrassing suggestions as many tall tales. Even after the critics were forced to acknowledge 40 years ago that a northern Newfoundland site, L’Anse aux Meadows, yielded physical evidence of an 11th Century Norse settlement, they continue to deny the Vikings any farther. Clearly, Establishment academics are clinging to a deteriorating position. The two widely this issue are certainly authentic artifacts which confirm Viking impact on America. The very text of the Kensington Runestone establishes its authenticity, even down the smallest detail. For example, the runic author describes his Minnesota location as an “island”. Nowhere in the broad vicinity of its discovery does the area remotely resemble anything like an island. Yet, at the same time of the date inscribed on the Stone, 1362, the present location of Kensington was an island surrounded by a shallow lake that has long since vanished, a fact not recognized until long after the deaths of all persons who found the Stone in the late 19th Century. Moreover, modern stone-carvers have affirmed that the Runestone was inscribed by an expert mason, while the artifact’s discoverers were only simple farmers, with no such skills.
A contrary view is taken by rune-researcher, Jane Sibley. Kensington SAtone is not authentically Viking. But unlike other critics, Jane makes a provocative presentation of new evidence and challenges the defenders of the runestone to find convincing responses. Whatever we may think of her assessment, her advocacy of new testing for the controversial artifacts points future research in the right direction.