Tag Archives: Mythology

King Arthur’s World

18 August 2024 By in Books Nonfiction, Mythology Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Chivalry ‘framed an ideal of the heroic character, combining…strength and valor, justice, modesty, loyalty to superiors, courtesy to equals, compassion to weakness, and devotedness to [God],’ as defined by Bulfinch in his 1858 ‘The Age of Chivalry, or Legends of King Arthur’.

Chivalry in the Middle Ages was a lifestyle and a philosophy. A lifestyle that guided a knight’s actions and decisions backed-up by a philosophy that defined chivalrous principles and virtues.

Every year the Knights of the Round Table renew their oaths of chivalry as proclaimed by the King Arthur during the Christian holiday of Pentecost.

The time of Pentecost was likely chosen because it was a time of renewal and commitment for Christians.

Source: Bulfinch’s Mythology, 1991. Graphic: Knight Rescuing a Maiden, AI generated.

Mesopotamian Life After Death

12 July 2024 By in History, History, Philosophy Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Five thousand years ago, Sumerians and Akkadians, occupying what is now southern and central Iraq, respectively, believed souls or spirits after death occupied a subterranean world called Kur or Irkalla.

All those who entered this underworld could not leave but it was not hell or heaven but more of a place to exist after death; as a ghost of your past.

There is no record that Mesopotamians in 3000 BC believed in reincarnation, resurrection, or any form or transmigration of the soul.

With many exceptions, the spirit or ghost that existed in the netherworld maintained the social status that they had when alive. Thus, kings were still kings, slaves were still slaves.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, he and his friend Enkidu ventured into this underworld to retrieve their lost magical objects and to seek immortality. They did not find the magical objects, but they did find the Plant of Immortality but promptly lost it to a serpent, learning one of the earliest lessons for humanity: never entrust your life to a snake.

Source: Epic of Gilgamesh. Mesopotamian Beliefs by Chaksi, 2014, World History. The Afterlife by Enlightenment Journey. Graphic: Ziggurat of Ur, 21st century BC, dedicated to the Moon god Nanna.