Ghosts: Did you mean...?

Join World History Encyclopedia as they chat with Flora of Flaroh Illustration, a freelance illustrator who loves to create art inspired by archaeological artefacts and myths. Kelly (WHE): What is your process in creating art based on history...

Who doesn't love a good ghost story, especially during the spooky season and Halloween? Well, the belief in an afterlife was a common feature in all historical civilisations in the ancient world and this encouraged the belief in ghosts as...

J. E. Lendon in his book, Soldiers and Ghosts: A History of Battle in Classical Antiquity, uses Greek and Roman culture to explain fundamental changes in the conduct of war. Lendon persuasively argues that competition and an obsession with...

The Hungry Ghost Festival, also known as the Ghost Festival is celebrated either on the night of the 14th or the 15th day (depending on where you live in China), of the seventh month of the lunar year, known in the West as August. In other...

Egyptian Ba amulet. The ba was a human-headed bird aspect of the soul, which could speed between earth and the heavens. Gold and stone inlay. 3rd century BCE. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Anubis is the Egyptian god of mummification and the afterlife as well as the patron god of lost souls and the helpless. Modern reproduction.

Egyptian 'Voodoo Doll', Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Leiden.

Siddhartha Gautama (better known as the Buddha, l. c. 563 - c. 483 BCE) was, according to legend, a Hindu prince who renounced his position and wealth to seek enlightenment as a spiritual ascetic, attained his goal and, in preaching his path...

Shinto means 'way of the gods' and it is the oldest religion in Japan. Shinto's key concepts include purity, harmony, family respect, and subordination of the individual before the group. The faith has no founder or prophets and there is...

Shiva (Siva) is one of the most important gods in Hinduism and a member of the holy trinity (trimurti) with Brahma and Vishnu. Shiva is a complex character who may represent goodness and benevolence, and he serves as the Protector. Shiva...