Myths and Legends of the World

Martin Luther King Jr. was a social activist and Baptist minister who played a key role in the American civil rights movement from the mid-1950s until his assassination in 1968. King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986. At the time, however, that was not the case. In 1963, most Americans disapproved of the event, many congressmen saw it as potentially seditious, and law enforcement from local police to the FBI monitored it intensively (under code name Operation Steep Hill). Indeed, it was after King’s speech at the March o...

Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that remained green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung evergreen boughs over their doors and windows. In many countries it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness. In the Northern hemisphere, the shortest day and longest night of the year falls on December 21 or December 22 and is called the winter solstice. Many ancient people believed that the sun was a god and that winter came every year because the sun god had become sick and weak. They celebrated the solstice because it meant that at last the sun god would begin to get well. Evergreen boughs reminded them of all the green plants that would grow again when the sun god was strong and summer would return. During the Roman festival of Saturnalia, celebrants often decorated their ...

Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so, For, those, whom thou think’s, thou dost overthrow, Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures bee, Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee doe go, Rest of their bones, and souls’ delivery. Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell, And poppies, or charms can make us sleep as well, And better then thy stroke; why swell’s thou then? One short sleep past, wee wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.   - John Donne Today, a crowd of about 5,000 visitors will gather in Arlington National Cemetery to pay their respects to the soldiers and other enlisted personnel who are buried here. Like Memorial Day itself, the origin of Arlington Cemetery dates back to the Civil War. A tragic side effect of ...

Here is some of the Father Gods of the Ancient World Ra Egyptian sun god can be likened unto the Christian God, as a supreme deity and creator. He created the 8 great gods and the human race came from his tears.  Ra is usually depicted as a human with a falcon or a ram head. The sun was either his eye or his body. He traveled the sky every day, passing over the lands and then going into the underworld. Because of this legend, he is considered to be the god of the underworld.  Ra is stated to be the "heart" of the Egyptian gods and, by extension, the entire universe. Even if the others do not acknowledge it or possibly don’t even know it as Isis presumably didn’t know the consequences, without Ra, the rest of the gods would eventually fade into nothingness. Ra is the most powerful among all the other gods and is only contested by Apophis in power and might. As the god of creation and renewal, he is able to replenish energy and give vitality by just his presence...

PTSD Post Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be defined as an emotional illness rooting from anxiety that happens when a person was exposed to a scary, dangerous, and even life threatening event. The diagnosis may be given when a group of symptoms, such as disturbing recurring flashbacks, avoidance or numbing of memories of the event, and hyperarousal, continue for more than a month after the occurrence of a traumatic event. More than 5 million Americans are affected by post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) each year. The history of post traumatic stress disorder was not well documented until it was appropriately defined in modern times. From Ancient Times Post traumatic stress disorder has existed as long as there has been trauma. Although PTSD is not limited to war experience, it was battle that brought it to public attention. PTSD has been documented for having going on for thousands of years, although went through history being called different names. During early war...

Freya (Freyja) Goddess of Love and Beauty Goddess of Magic and War Queen of Valkyries Freya (fray-ah) is a mysterious and loved lady, surrounded by shouting Ragnarok-bound beefcake, can always use a spotlight moment! She is the Goddess of Female power in numerous forms; she is the Goddess of Sex, Beauty, Love, and all things romantic and steamy, frequently called upon by women during her time of worship to give them her blessings and famous for her sexual exploits with gods and other creatures. She is also a warrior and the leader of the Valkyries, who collect the slain from the battlefield and deliver half their souls to live in eternal bliss.  Freya actually going onto the battlefield, she would gather them up and take them back with her to spend the after-life in her home in perpetual rest and recreation in her pleasant fields and hall of Folkvangr. A sweet and generous woman, she always invited their wives or lovers to come and live with them. The other ha...