These most alarming archaeological finds will make you contemplate how complicated, odd and in some ways dreadful our past used to be, with their grisly corpses, enormous underground armies, and indecipherable texts. However, there are some artifacts that can cause us to radically reevaluate our place in history. Most artifacts left behind by ancient humans are broken, buried, and challenging to identify.
Hercules: 12 Labors RANKED by Difficulty, Safe to Suicidal
In today’s video we’re going to be discussing Hercules: more specifically, his 12 labors, ranking them from least to most dangerous. Before we jump into the list, though, we’re going to quickly touch on why it was that Hercules had to complete 12 nigh-impossible, death-defying labors.
This Desert Discovery Will Give You Chills
To anyone passing by in the vast desert, it might be difficult to recognize one patch of sand from the next. But if you look past the billions of grains of sand, you might spot an oasis out in the distance or a hidden tomb that hasn’t been explored in centuries! Is it possible you might even see a wrecked ship? The only way to find out is to check out the 20 Strangest Things Found In The Desert!
10 Shocking Sea Creatures That Actually Exist!
Although two-thirds of the earth is covered with water, the world's oceans still represent the great unknown for us. Despite all expeditions, only five percent of our oceans have been explored - which is why nobody can say with certainty which bizarre creatures are really hiding in the secluded deep sea! Together with you we would like to take a closer look at some shocking sea creatures that let the mystical underwater world shine in a completely new light!
Laser-Cut Pre-Flood Temples: The Ellora Caves
In this video we will explore laser-cut pre-flood temples, and more specifically the Ellora Caves. Enjoy!
Most AMAZING Archaeological Discoveries EVER
From the 1,000-year-old tomb of ancient human sacrifices discovered in Peru to the ancient city of Troy where possibly the Trojan War happened, here are some of the Most Amazing Archaeological Discoveries Ever. Enjoy!
Lilith: The Mother of Demons or The First Woman?
Today we look at one of the most notorious female figures in the field of Demonology and ancient religion religion, Lilith the first wife of Adam or the mother of demons? Enjoy!
Top 10 Oldest Technologies That Scientists Can’t Explain
The history of mankind is quite impressive. We have come a long way but it's undeniable that the ancient civilizations that existed before us are all brilliant and amazing. They've built many incredible things and some of their inventions were far too advanced for their time. Archeologists and historians can easily explain most of the ancient inventions but there's still a plethora of mysteries and questions out there. Most of the time, people attribute unexplainable things to extraterrestrial beings, but maybe it's about time we give our ancestors more credit. From the Damascus steel to the Ancient Flying Machine.
The tragic myth of the Sun God's son
Dive into the Greek myth of Helios and Phaethon, where the Sun God allows his mortal son to drive his chariot for a day.
Every morning, Helios unleashed his golden chariot, and set out across the sky. As the Sun God transformed dawn into day, he thought of his son, Phaethon, below. To prove to Phaethon that he was truly his father, Helios decided to grant him anything he wanted. Unfortunately, what Phaethon wanted was to drive Helios’ chariot for a day. Iseult Gillespie shares the tragic myth of the charioteer.
Most INCREDIBLE Archaeological Discoveries EVER
From the World’s Oldest Surviving Royal Library, the Library of Ashurbanipal to the Holey jar which was discovered in a bomb crater outside of London after WWII, here are some of the Most INCREDIBLE Archaeological Discoveries EVER! Enjoy!
Researcher Found A Horrifying Discovery in Ancient Egypt
Despite her fame, Cleopatra's tomb remains a mystery. She was the legendary queen of ancient Egypt, remembered for thousands of years as a beautiful seductress. The most recent discovery at Taposiris Magna, may provide the key to finding Cleopatra's tomb, which has been the subject of much speculation. Could this have been the answers we needed?
The most recent discovery at Taposiris Magna has been called "sensational" by researchers, as it demonstrates the significance of a necropolis that is increasingly being linked to her. Let’s find out if this horrifying discovery may lead to Queen Cleopatra herself.
Ottoman Sultans Family Tree
We will now talk about the Ottoman Sultans family tree. Watch the video below and enjoy!
Emperor Ashoka and the Spread of Buddhism in the Graeco-Indian Kingdoms
By Dr. Dimitrios Vassiliadis
Megasthenes (early 3rd century B.C.), who served for 10 years as ambassador of the Seleucid king Nikator at the court of Chandragupta Maurya, describes in detail in his book titled 'Indica' the existing Brahmanic and Sramanian traditions of India, without making any specific reference to Buddha and his followers. This fact suggests that Buddhism was still a relatively unknown and geographically limited religion at the time of Megasthenes.
Two generations later, Buddhism began its transformation into a world religion under the strong patronage of Emperor Ashoka (c. 304-232 BCE), who made it the official religion of the Maurya Empire. During his reign, the spread of Buddhism seems to have reached the southern regions of Afghanistan, which became part of his empire. This is confirmed by the testimony of Chinese pilgrims who recorded the existence of the first Buddhist monuments (stūpa-s) in the Jalalabad region of Afghanistan.
Territories of the Maurya Empire conceptualized as core areas or linear networks separated by large autonomous regions
Ashoka grew up in a society that was in close contact with the Greeks ("Yavana" and "Yona" in Sanskrit). British historians Sir William Tarn and George Woodcock even suggest that he may have been half or a quarter Greek, since Seleucus Nikator's daughter Helena was married to Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta and she could have married none other than the emperor himself or his son and Ashoka's father Bindusara.
In history, a number of Greeks became vassals of the expanding Maurya Empire, especially after the signing of the peace treaty between Seleucus and Chandragupta, which ceded much of the eastern territories of the Seleucid Empire to the Indians.
Megasthenes in Chandragupta's palace, depicting Seleucus' daughter Helen seated next to the Indian emperor.
Greek mercenaries seem to have been used by the Indian kings during this period, as suggested by references in the Indian epics to the participation of Yavana armies in their civil wars. Several Greek craftsmen, physicians, astrologers, and merchants settled in the great commercial centers of India, and the Maurya emperors received Greek ambassadors in their palaces.
The influence of Greek sculpture will be particularly evident three centuries later in the Greek Buddhist sculptures of Gandhara and Mathura, but there is nothing to suggest that Greek sculptors and architects were active in India much earlier. The development of stone sculpture, which was hardly used in India before the time of Ashoka, can be attributed to some extent to the Greeks. The lions on Ashoka's pillars, for example, resemble the lions erected by the Macedonians as victory monuments. Greek art was well known to the Indians, as Greek statues with lamps were used as decoration by the Sakyas at Kapilavastu, the home of Gautama Buddha.
Pillar of Ashoka and the Leon of Amphipolis.
The close relationship of the Greeks with the Mauryas is also evidenced by the rock carvings of Ashoka. A bilingual inscription in Greek and Aramaic unearthed during excavations in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1958 indicates that the Greeks who settled there were well aware of Ashoka's dharmic (moral and religious) instructions. The Greek portion of the inscription contains the edict attributed to Asoka, which forbids his subjects to harm all living beings.
Similar proclamations showing Ashoka's compassionate attitude and relationship with the Greeks are found in other inscriptions. In the second inscription, the Yona king Antiochus (Antiyako Yona Raja) is mentioned by name. In the fifth and ninth inscriptions, the Yonas are mentioned as subjects of the king who were devoted to Dharma (Buddhism). The 13th rock inscription declares that there is no place except that of the Yonas where the orders of Brahmins and Sramanas do not exist. At the end of the same inscription, we read that the king's rule was extended to various populations, including the Yonas.
Bilingual inscription of Ashoka in Greek and Aramaic
The Dharma teachings prevailed everywhere. Even in the lands where Ashoka's emissaries did not go, the people who had heard of the practices and teachings of the Dharma followed it and would continue to do so in the future. The names of the Greek kings are mentioned in connection with the spread of the Dharma within King Ashoka's territory and all its boundaries, extending to six hundred yojanas (one yojana equals 12-15 kilometers), where the Greek king Antiyako Yona Raja(Antiochus II ' God of Syria, 260-246 BC) ruled and even further, where four other kings reign-Tulamaye (Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt, 283-246 BC), Aṅtekine (Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia 278-239 BC), Makā (Magus of Cyrene, 300-250 BC), and Alikyașudale (Alexander of Epirus or Corinth, 272-258 BC).
From the above descriptions we can conclude that Ashoka, like his predecessors, received ambassadors from the Greek kingdoms at his court and that he sent his own ambassadors to them. However, there is no Greek literature from this period that attests to the arrival of these ambassador-missionaries. Buddha and Buddhism are unknown in Greek texts until the early Christian period. The name Buddha is first mentioned in Greek literature by the Christian writer Clement of Alexandria (154-222 AD).
Inscription of Ashoka in Greek (Kandahar, Afghanistan)
References to missionaries sent to spread the principles of the Dharma in foreign nations, including the Yonas, are found only in Indian inscriptions and ancient Buddhist texts such as the Dīpavaṁsa and Mahāvaṁsa in Sri Lanka. This suggests that the appeal of Buddhism to a considerable number of Greeks took place within the Indian subcontinent and did not extend beyond it. Most Greeks living under Indian influence embraced Buddhism, and to some extent their contribution to the doctrinal, ritual, and esthetic metamorphosis of Buddhism from anthropocentric Theravada to metaphysical Mahayana was significant.
Buddha and Zeus holding thunderbolt (Vajrapani) in Gandhara Greco-Buddhist art.
The Greek-Indian kingdoms continued to issue coins with representations of the Greek pantheon. But there were also indirect and direct influences through trade, military campaigns, and travelers that later extended to the great cosmopolitan centers of Damascus and Alexandria and influenced the worldview of Neoplatonism and the asceticism of the Jewish and early Christian religious communities.
*Dr. Dimitrios Vassiliadis is Director and Professor of Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, History and Culture at the Center for Indian and Greek-Indian Studies in Athens and Professor of Hindi at the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the College of Athens. He has authored several studies on Indological and Greek-Indian topics, including the books "Greeks and Buddhism - An Intercultural Encounter" (Athens, 2016) and "The Greeks in India - A Review of Philosophical Understanding" (New Delhi, 2000) ), published in English.
A brief history of alcohol
Trace the 7,000 year old history of alcohol, from its first known origins in China to cultures all over the world fermenting their own drinks.
Nobody knows exactly when humans began to create fermented beverages. The earliest known evidence comes from 7,000 BC in China, where residue in clay pots has revealed that people were making an alcoholic beverage from fermented rice, millet, grapes, and honey. So how did alcohol come to fuel global trade and exploration? Rod Phillips explores the evolution of alcohol.
60 Unsolved Mysteries That Cannot Be Explained
There is nothing more tantalising to the human species than a good mystery. Thrillers in the forms of novels, movies, and even campfire tales are often consumed by the thousands by those who love the adrenaline rush of solving a mystery. However, some of the most pervasive mysteries are those that occur in real life, and these are the ones that are often most difficult to solve.
So today, here at unexplained mysteries, we take a look at these 60 unsolved mysteries that cannot be explained. Enjoy!
Aristotle's Quotes you should know before you Get Old
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Lyceum, the Peripatetic school of philosophy, and the Aristotelian tradition.Aristotle provided a complex synthesis of the various philosophies existing prior to him.
These are vivid sayings and quotes from Aristotle. The best quotes and aphorisms of Aristotle that will make you think about many things in life. Life quotes from Aristotle are definitely worth your time.
The Most Mysterious Recent Discoveries
In today’s video we will explore the most recent and mysterious discoveries. Enjoy!
Scientists Just Found The Tomb Of Egyptian God Osiris Next To The River Nile
In the video below we will be exploring the tomb of Egyptian god Osiris, which was recently found by scientists next to the river Nile. Enjoy!
Scientists Terrifying New Discovery In Egypt Shocked The Entire Industry
Four thousand years ago, Egypt was one country that was filled with intriguing structures and traditional practices. The city is a mysterious one, and every other day, a new discovery is being made. You'll be surprised at how much each discovery tells us about what life was like in ancient Egypt.
Today, we'll be looking into the 15 Strangest Things Recently Discovered in Egypt Research. Get whatever you'll need now; we're about to go excavating!
SCARY Discoveries In The Egyptian Temple Of Mut That No One Was Supposed To See
According to the locals, The ancient Egyptian temple of Mut was a sacred place, but when the few brave explorers ventured inside, the discoveries were genuinely terrifying. They found that the temple contained dark secrets that no one was supposed to see, and all of a sudden, the whole perspective had been changed for this world. The temple was steeped in mystery and shrouded in secrecy.
