In Greek mythology, nymphs are supernatural, female nature spirits associated with various natural elements such as mountains, forests, rivers, and springs. They are often depicted as beautiful and youthful beings, and they play important roles in many myths and stories. There are several types of nymphs, each associated with different aspects of nature. Whilst they …
Japanese Mythology, in its broadest sense, is a pastiche of different traditions and myths, derived mainly from Shintoism and Japanese Buddhism. Both provide Japanese Mythology with a pantheon of elaborate and varied deities, guardians, and “kami” – holy spirits and forces associated with the natural world and its features. Additionally, more localized Japanese folklore constitutes …
From Zeus and Jupiter to Poseidon and Geb, there were many pagan gods around the world. The word “Pagan” derives from the Latin “Paganus”, which was reappropriated by Christianity, first in the fourth century AD, to alienate those who did not adhere to the Christian religion. Originally it had signified that somebody was “rural,” “rustic,” …
Whilst Emperor Aurelian only ruled for five years as leader of the Roman world, his importance to its history is immense. Born in relative obscurity, somewhere in the Balkans (possibly near modern Sofia) in September 215, to a peasant family, Aurelian was in some ways a typical “soldier emperor” of the third century. However, unlike …
Lucius Septimus Severus was the 13th emperor of the Roman Empire (from 193 to 211 AD), and quite uniquely, was its first ruler who hailed from Africa. More specifically, he was born in the Romanized city of Lepcis Magna, in modern-day Libya, in 145 AD from a family with a long history in local, as …
Lucius Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus, commonly known more briefly as Commodus, was the 18th emperor of the Roman Empire and the last of the widely praised “Nerva-Antonine Dynasty.” He was, however, instrumental in the downfall and demise of that dynasty and is remembered in sharp contrast to his close predecessors. Indeed, his image and identity …