Don’t Know Much About History
Don’t Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned, by Kenneth C. Davis, HarperCollins, 2005
The word “Easter” is thought to come from either the Anglo-Saxon pagan goddess of Spring, Eastre, or possibly from the German word “eostarun”, meaning “dawn”.
“Hell” comes from the Norse goddess Hel, ruler of the icy underworld.
Pandora actually had a jar, not a box. The Blackfeet Indians had a similar myth, as did nomads in the Middle East, whose Pandora character was named Havva, who disobeyed her God by eating a forbidden tree. We know her as Eve.
“Myth” literally means “story”.
There are no historical references to Moses or the Jewish Exodus (except the Bible and Koran).
Most Old Testament stories are found in Sumerian and Assyrian myths, The Sumerians invented astrology (similar to how we have it) 60 minute hours, 7 day weeks (complete with 6 day creation story), writing, wheels, and beer.
“Palestine” is a variation of “Philistine”.
The Canaanites believed rain was the sperm of Baal falling from heaven. (Slightly logical considering the fairly new advent of agriculture.)
The “Golden Calf” referenced by The Ten Commandments was a reference to Baal, and by extension, Marduk, called “The Bull of Heaven” (Marduk being the first dragon slayer hero figure)
Zoroastrian belief focuses on the sun-god Mithra.
Aphrodite was the patron Goddess of prostitutes, which had two classes in Ancient Greece; hetaerae were the high class call girls, common whores were called Porne- pornography meaning originally “to write about prostitutes.”
Zeus, according to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, flooded the world to punish decadent humanity, sparing only one couple.
Christmas was set at December 25 in 350 by Pope Julius I to coincide with already occurring Saturnalia festivals. Around that time, the temple of the foreign Attis, god of vegetation, was taken over as the Vatican.
Throwing coins in a fountain comes from the Celtic tradition of making sacrifices-coins, swords or other objects- in water, which was considered sacred.
The pagan festival of Samhain was renamed All-hallowmass, and the night before it was called All-hallows Eve. It became a festival of all saints (a celebration of all hallowed people- a way to take the ceremony of the dead and focus on which dead are being celebrated.)
The portion of the book The Hobbit revolving around a dragon, a dwarf’s treasure, and a magic ring are all based on the Nordic myth of Sigurd (the hero) and Fafnir (the dragon)
Mahariva, founder of the Jains, was born in 540bc (compared to Siddhartha’s birth at 563)
The ancient Mayans played a game called Popol Vuh, literally “the ball game” which was played on a field 140 by 35 meters (longer and narrower than modern Soccer or American football fields) where opposing teams attempted to pass a rubber ball through rings on the opposite side.
Spaniards under Cortez’ command would make games of killing Aztecs, such as trying to cut a man in half with a single blow. They would also hang Aztecs in thirteens, in “honor” of Christ and the 12 apostles. (So says Fray Bartolome de las Casas in 1552, writing as a first hand witness)
A Native American school principal, reacting to the Disney film Pocahontas, equated the plot with a version of the diary of Anne Frank ending with Anne falling in love with a German soldier.
The word “Easter” is thought to come from either the Anglo-Saxon pagan goddess of Spring, Eastre, or possibly from the German word “eostarun”, meaning “dawn”.
“Hell” comes from the Norse goddess Hel, ruler of the icy underworld.
Pandora actually had a jar, not a box. The Blackfeet Indians had a similar myth, as did nomads in the Middle East, whose Pandora character was named Havva, who disobeyed her God by eating a forbidden tree. We know her as Eve.
“Myth” literally means “story”.
There are no historical references to Moses or the Jewish Exodus (except the Bible and Koran).
Most Old Testament stories are found in Sumerian and Assyrian myths, The Sumerians invented astrology (similar to how we have it) 60 minute hours, 7 day weeks (complete with 6 day creation story), writing, wheels, and beer.
“Palestine” is a variation of “Philistine”.
The Canaanites believed rain was the sperm of Baal falling from heaven. (Slightly logical considering the fairly new advent of agriculture.)
The “Golden Calf” referenced by The Ten Commandments was a reference to Baal, and by extension, Marduk, called “The Bull of Heaven” (Marduk being the first dragon slayer hero figure)
Zoroastrian belief focuses on the sun-god Mithra.
Aphrodite was the patron Goddess of prostitutes, which had two classes in Ancient Greece; hetaerae were the high class call girls, common whores were called Porne- pornography meaning originally “to write about prostitutes.”
Zeus, according to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, flooded the world to punish decadent humanity, sparing only one couple.
Christmas was set at December 25 in 350 by Pope Julius I to coincide with already occurring Saturnalia festivals. Around that time, the temple of the foreign Attis, god of vegetation, was taken over as the Vatican.
Throwing coins in a fountain comes from the Celtic tradition of making sacrifices-coins, swords or other objects- in water, which was considered sacred.
The pagan festival of Samhain was renamed All-hallowmass, and the night before it was called All-hallows Eve. It became a festival of all saints (a celebration of all hallowed people- a way to take the ceremony of the dead and focus on which dead are being celebrated.)
The portion of the book The Hobbit revolving around a dragon, a dwarf’s treasure, and a magic ring are all based on the Nordic myth of Sigurd (the hero) and Fafnir (the dragon)
Mahariva, founder of the Jains, was born in 540bc (compared to Siddhartha’s birth at 563)
The ancient Mayans played a game called Popol Vuh, literally “the ball game” which was played on a field 140 by 35 meters (longer and narrower than modern Soccer or American football fields) where opposing teams attempted to pass a rubber ball through rings on the opposite side.
Spaniards under Cortez’ command would make games of killing Aztecs, such as trying to cut a man in half with a single blow. They would also hang Aztecs in thirteens, in “honor” of Christ and the 12 apostles. (So says Fray Bartolome de las Casas in 1552, writing as a first hand witness)
A Native American school principal, reacting to the Disney film Pocahontas, equated the plot with a version of the diary of Anne Frank ending with Anne falling in love with a German soldier.