Spear: Did you mean...?

Sif is a fertility goddess in Norse mythology, wife of the thunder god Thor, best known for the story in which the trickster god Loki cuts her hair as a prank and is forced to replace it with a magical headpiece, leading to the creation of...

Anna Komnene (aka Anna Comnena, 1083-1153 CE) was the eldest daughter of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081-1118 CE) and the author of a lengthy biography of her father's reign, the Alexiad. Although not an impartial history, Anna's...

The Nihon Shoki ('Chronicle of Japan' and also known as the Nihongi) is an official history of Japan which was written by a committee of court scholars in 720 CE. It is a compilation of myths and legends concerning the Shinto gods and episodes...

Anglo-Saxon warfare was characterised by frequent and violent conflicts between petty kings, which ultimately led to the rise of larger kingdoms such as the Kingdom of Mercia, the Kingdom of Northumbria, and the Kingdom of Wessex. In early...

Andromache is a Greek tragedy written by Euripides (c. 484-407 BCE), one of only 19 plays (out of 92) to survive. The play is actually in two parts, and like Sophocles' Women of Trachis, it has no central character. The first part of the...

Viriathus (c. 180-140 BCE) was the leader of the Lusitani in their war with Rome. In 150 Viriathus escaped the Roman massacre and enslavement of Lusitani who had surrendered peacefully. Viriathus continued to fight in the resistance and rose...

Ancient Persian Mythology is the term now referencing ancient Iranian religion prior to the rise of Zoroastrianism between c. 1500-1000 BCE. This was a polytheistic faith with a pantheon led by the supreme god Ahura Mazda (“Lord of Wisdom”...

Obsidian is a dark volcanic glass which provides the sharpest cutting edge available in nature. Ancient Mesoamerican cultures greatly esteemed the properties of obsidian, and it was widely traded across the region. Obsidian was used to create...

The Jolly Roger with its white skull and crossbones set against a black background has become a rather jovial part of pirate folklore but, in its day, this flag and others with similar blood-curdling designs, had a single and terrifying purpose...

The Hymn to Inanna (also known as The Great-Hearted Mistress) is a passionate devotional work by the poet and high priestess Enheduanna (l. 2285-2250 BCE), the first author in the world known by name. The poem is significant as one of the...