Images

Surya, the Sun God. He holds lotuses, a mace, and a water pot. Not visible clearly in this picture is a also a time wheel that's in one of his bottom left hands. He wears a breastplate. His charioteer, Aruna, sits at the front. Khajuraho...

Ganesha dancing, his pendulous belly moving with the beats of the drummer almost hiding behind. Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India, 11th CE.

Vishkanya. They were courtesans, brought up since they were little on increasing doses of poison. A grown Vishkanya would be fatal to anyone getting too close, and they were, therefore, often used as honey traps by the state. Khajuraho, Madhya...

Agni, the fire god. He holds a sacrificial altar, the Vedas, and a water pot, and is surrounded by four smaller fires, their skeletal forms showing the effect they have on humans. Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh, India, 11th CE.

A small bust of Akhenaten (r. 1353-1336 BCE), pharaoh of Egypt in the 18th Dynasty. He is wearing the crown of Egypt. Cairo Museum.

An incense burner of a deity with a headdress of the rain god Tlaloc. Produced by the Tarascan civilization which flourished in western Mexico between 1350 CE and 1522 CE. (Snite Museum of Art, Indiana)

A silver coin of Alexandria depicting Alexander the Great. Reign of Ptolemy I (366 BCE – 282 BCE). (British Museum, London)

The Roman theatre of Alexandria, Egypt.

A map illustrating the various political states within the Fertile Crescent c. 1450 BCE.

An 11th century CE slate relief of a dancing Ganesha from North Bengal, India. (Asian Art Museum of Berlin)