Articles written by Joshua Mark

Though obscured by folklore and legend, The Land of Punt not only existed but, once upon a time, provided ancient Egypt with much of its wealth.

Mar 25, 2010 - Joshua Mark

In the afterlife of the Field of Reeds the deceased was required to answer for work; unless, of course, accompanied by Shabti dolls.

Mar 25, 2010 - Joshua Mark

Thales of Miletus was the first man, on record, in ancient Greece to suggest that perhaps humans were not the creation of the gods; perhaps all came from water.

Nov 20, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The Pre-Socratic philosopher Xenophanes affirmed the existence of a single god but denied that humans could ever fully articulate who that god was.

Nov 20, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Jezebel has been portrayed for centuries as a wicked harlot; recent scholarship and archaeological evidence argue otherwise.

Nov 20, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The open-air market of ancient Athens was more than just the place to do one's shopping; it was the center for political, philosophical and civic debate.

Aug 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The utterances of the Pyramid Texts guided the soul of the dead pharaoh safely to the seat of Ra and assured the living that death was not the end.

Aug 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The great city of Parsa, known by the Greeks as Persepolis, flourished as the capital of the Persian Empire for two hundred years until destroyed by Alexander the Great.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The way in which human beings treat their dead has changed little since the time of ancient Babylon. The burial of the dead remains an important aspect of every culture.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The priestesses of the goddess Vesta were accorded a level of respect not afforded to most women in ancient Rome; the price was their life-long chastity.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The pyramids and wind-swept sands of the Giza plateau have come to symbolize the ancient glorly and mystery of Egypt, originally a vast necropolis and thriving complex.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Rameses II, known as `The Great', was the longest-lived Pharaoh in Egyptian history and, when he died, many feared the life of Egypt would end with him.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The great Greek statesman Pericles breathed life and inspiration into his city; when he died, the glory of Athens died with him.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

From ancient Sumeria through the Roman Empire, walls served mainly to protect cities but, early on, to mark national boundary lines.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

For over one hundred years the Sea Peoples harried the coasts of the Mediterranean until, after their defeat by Rameses III in 1178, they disappeared.

Aug 15, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Hypatia, the much loved pagan philosopher of Alexandria, Egypt, has long been acknowledged as the symbol of the passing of the old ways and the triumph of the new.

Mar 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Contrary to religious skepticism, Paley argues that the world and human existence is too perfectly constructed to have happened by mere chance; it is all God's design.

Mar 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

If there is a personal, loving God, who is able to prevent suffering, why does he not do so? William Rowe suggests that perhaps it is because he does not exist.

Mar 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Pascal, the great mathematician and philosophical thinker, claimed that if you bet God existed, you stood the chance to win all and lose nothing.

Mar 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Zeno of Elea, following Parmenides' claim that one cannot trust one's senses, wrote his famous paradoxes to validate that claim; in so doing he created dialectic.

Mar 17, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Protagoras, claiming truth was relative to the individual, and so charged by the Athenians with impiety, was vindicated in the sentencing and death of Socrates.

Jan 28, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Heraclitus and Carl Jung both agree that change and conflict are necessary and normal aspects of human existence; to resist change is to resist life.

Jan 28, 2009 - Joshua Mark

If you were dropped on the planet earth, without ever having heard of a God, would you find any evidence that such a being exists? Hume's answer is No.

Jan 26, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Often underrated, Plato's Euthyphro is a comic tour-de-force examining the meaning of piety while illustrating the peril of pretending to knowledge one does not have.

Jan 26, 2009 - Joshua Mark

In an infinite universe, with no god to direct it, the finite experiences of human existence must necessarily repeat themselves eternally.

Jan 26, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Until Sir Arthur Evans unearthed the palace of Knossos, the half-man-half bull killed by Theseus was considered just a popular legend; archeology changed that.

Jan 14, 2009 - Joshua Mark

What, exactly, this mystic ritual was, no one knows; but why the ancient Greeks participated in it can be understood by the testimonials of the initiated.

Jan 14, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Though the Battle of Cynocephalae in 197 BCE is often cited as the birth of the Roman Empire, the equally famous Battle of Actium is a better candidate.

Jan 13, 2009 - Joshua Mark

The Goddess Hathor bestowed many blessings; remembering at least five of them at all times kept at bay the `gateway sin' of ingratitude.

Jan 13, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Women in ancient Rome, even of the upper classes, were sometimes drawn, whether by a need for applause or for cash, willingly into the gladitorial conflicts of the arena.

Jan 13, 2009 - Joshua Mark

Earth spirits in ancient Rome, as well as the spirits of those who had died, watched over the every day lives of the Romans cheerfully - unless one forgot to give thanks.

Dec 15, 2008 - Joshua Mark

Plato, whose dialogues on Truth, Good and Beauty have significantly shaped Western thought and religion, wrote and taught under a nickname. His real name was Aristocles.

Dec 15, 2008 - Joshua Mark

Is it possible to have a heart that is lighter than a feather? To the ancient Egyptians it was not only possible but highly desirable.

Dec 3, 2008 - Joshua Mark

Among the most important duties one owed one's deceased loved ones was continual remembrance of them in order to assure them of eternal life in a land of bliss.

Dec 3, 2008 - Joshua Mark

Dogs may be man's best friend but, for the Persian army at The Battle of Pelusium in 525 B.C., it was the cat who won the day.

Nov 25, 2008 - Joshua Mark