This is a compilation of the seven-part series on Orphism by F.S. Darrow, A.M., Ph. D. (Harv.), that originally was published in the Theosophical Path from April, 1912 to March, 1913 (see tuponline.org). The work of G.R.S. Mead may also interest you: https://www.academia.edu/112722856/ORPHEUS_GRS_Mead_electronic_text_edition_jan_1_2024 (See link in dropdown menu)

The Macedonic cult of Dionis (Paionian Dyalos; lat. Dionysus), Sabazius, Bachus, Nimrod, Tammuz/Dumuzi, Zagreus, Osiris-Serapis, etc. is one of the oldest mythological appearances known to humanity. His name is founded in immemorial timeworn forgotten past. According to his astrological and animalistic attributes, the time frame of his conception coincides with the Zodiacal Era of Bull, which spans from 4th to 2nd millennium BCE. The Macedonic Paionians gave the origin of the name Dyaus, from a root-word which means ‘to shine’: Dya/Da - ‘to’, and Us - ‘rising, up’ (like the sun) and/or Usvity - ‘incandescent’. Same meaning is to be found in the Sanskrit ‘Vas-anta’ - spring, from the word root ‘vas’ - shine, heat. Russian prominent linguist Vadim Tsymbursky proposed interpretation of the name Dionis on the basis of Macedonic onomastics: "Our God” – ‘Douh-naš’ in plain Macedonian. When these first Pre-Indo-Europeans fashioned the other gods out of the forces and forms in nature, this root-name was implied for Dionis as well. His primordial cult is strongly associated with the archaic mythological creatures as kentaurs, maenads, satyrs, sileni, etc. Dionis was originally a god of the fertility and nature, associated with wild and ecstatic religious rites; in later traditions he was also the god of wine, of ritual madness and ecstatic behavior, who loosens inhibition and inspires creativity in music and poetry. Initiates worshipped him in the Dionisiac Mysteries, which were comparable to and intricately linked with the Eleusian and Orpheic Mysteries, which are again one and the same with the manifestations of most primordial mysteries of Cabiri , mentioned already by Herodotus as thought by Pelasgians to the men from the isle of Samothrace.

The large 3rd book of the Masonic guidebook is great, teaching superb Scottish Freemason doctrines, mainly of world history and religions and Masonic principles, with a grand total of 485 sub-divisions and 15,155 verses, carefully arranged by the 1870 authors. Turned out real nice. Should be nearly the exact numbering plan! This is an historic document of grand proportions. If you have never looked into it, you might want to! It is one of the only books around that talks about the ancient mysteries religions of ancient Egypt and Greece. Will be published on Amazon, sooner than later.

Previous research has revealed that Sirius and Hephaistos myths and legends were strongly present in Bronze Age Mediterranean communities via an interrelated cultural network amongst various cultures and societies (Laoupi, 2006a & b; Laoupi, 2011). The aim of the present monograph is to deepen this research, enrich it with the latest evidence and cover broader geographical and chronological boundaries. The Sirius, Moon and Venus cults came from the Paleolithic Times amazingly enriched by their “journey” into the human psyche starring at the Cosmos. Especially, Sirius cult was a pivotal cult of the Pelasgian substratum coming from Neolithic and late Paleolithic Times.

Ophiolatreia was published in London in 1889 anonymously. The full title of the work is Ophiolatreia: An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in Various Parts of the World, Enriched with Interesting Traditions, and a Full Description of the Celebrated Serpent Mounds and Temples, the Whole Forming an Exposition of One of the Phases of Phallic, or Sex Worship. Its author, Hargrave Jennings (1817-1890), is said to have held the occupation of secretary to an opera manager named Colonel Mapleson. Jennings, who was an enthusiast of the Rosicrucians, corresponded with Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the author of Zanoni, and was a friend to Paschal Beverly Randolph, who is recently attracting considerable attention due to his writings on sexual magic.

A lively, illustrated overview of the variety of mystery religions that flourished at the dawn of the Christian era. In clear, enlightened text and striking images, Mystery Religions holds up a "distant mirror" to our own times, showing that the quest for spiritual illumination from Eastern religions, and emphasis on spiritual development and experience, and a concern for hidden knowledge are deeply rooted in Western culture. Mystery Religions brings the myths, the magic, their rites and the wisdom of a bygone age to compelling life, making them comprehensible to modern readers... Here is a compelling account of the forms mystery religions took, from the cults of Mithras, Dionysus, and Orpheus to those of the Goddess, esoteric Christianity and Judaism, and Gnosticism. Godwin offers a rich and varied selection of illustrations; the symbolism of paintings, statues, releifs, and other visual imagery provides a wealth of additional information about these religions.Zeus and the other gods of shining Olympus were in reality divine only by popularconsent. Over the course of time Olympian luster diminished in favor of religious experiences more immediate to the concerns of people living in an increasingly cosmopolitan ancient world. These experiences were provided by the mysteries, religions that flourished particularly during the Hellenistic period and were secretly practiced by groups of adherents who decided, through personal choice, to be initiated into the profound realities of one deity or another. Unlike the official state religions, in which people were expected to make an outward show of allegiance to the local gods, the mysteries emphasized an inwardness and privacy of worship within a closed band of initiates.What is the strange fascination of the Mystery-Religions for the ancient world and today, some 2,000 years later, for moderns? Why are these colorful ancient cults so little known, all information about them suppressed or distorted by centuries of official religion in Europe? What did these ancient beliefs have that exacted the respect of Socrates, Plato, Virgil, Apuleius, and other great men of the classical age? Was the religion that stamped them out, Christianity, itself originally a Mystery-Religion, with secret teachings that only initiates could comprehend and psychological techniques not generally revealed? This volume, generally considered the most useful single work in English on the subject, attempts to answer such questions, while at the same time offering a sound, solid background in the various forms of religious experience that are grouped together under the term Mystery-Religions. From the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece through the Asiatic cults of Cybele, the Magna Mater, and Attis; the strange rompings of the Dionysian groups; Orphics with their impact on Greek philosophy; the Mysteries emergent from Egypt — Hermes Trismegistos, the Pymander, Isis, and Osiris; on up to the religion that swept the Near East and Europe, carried by the Roman legions, and that almost became central for us today — Mithraism. Each of these religions offered something to its devotees that the older ethnic and state religions could not: a sense of the value of the individual; heightened areas of experience, even to the manipulations of sensory experience; psychological insights that are only now being appreciated. Yet they all died out within a couple of centuries of the Christian era, Gnosticism (apart from a few vestigial groups in the Near East and Europe) subsuming their heritage last.The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia prospered between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates over 4,000 decades back. The myths gathered here, initially written in cuneiform on clay tablets, comprise parallels with the biblical tales of the Creation and the Flood, along with the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, the narrative of a man of great strength, whose epic quest for immortality is hurried through a single moment of weakness. Recent improvements in Akkadian grammar and lexicography imply this translation-finish with notes, a glossary of deities, place-names, essential provisions, and examples of these mythical creatures featured in the text-will replace the other versions.Among the world’s top geneticists, Bryan Sykes has helped tens of thousands find their ancestry from the British Isles. Saxons, Vikings, and Celts led to a systematic ten-year DNA poll of over 10,000 volunteers trace the British Isles’ authentic genetic makeup and its descendants. Taking readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales into the resting area of “The Red Lady” of Paviland and King Arthur’s tomb. Genealogy is becoming a favorite pastime of Americans interested in their tradition, which is the best job for anybody interested in locating their legacy in England, Scotland, or Ireland. In the first days of human history into the end of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE, Li Feng, professor of Ancient Greek History and Archaeology at Columbia University, guides readers through the origins of Chinese culture and culture. In the origins of language into the rise of religions into the changing art of warfare and the empire’s construction, this fully-illustrated text draws on the most recent scholarship and archaeological discoveries. Does this book bring to life the oldest aspects of Chinese background, but it reveals how these ancient events shaped contemporary life in China and worldwide. Available for almost any Western reader, this text is a helpful introduction to a Massive area. Babylon by Paul Kriwaczek Many historians place the cradle of early civilization thousands of years back in the Fertile Crescent, involving the Tigris and Euphrates rivers’ floodplains. The cities which were assembled here were dwelling to monumental moments ever. In Babylon, the BBC’s Paul Kriwaczek paints a picture of those first days of human history, from the earliest settlements in Mesopotamia into Babylon’s collapse in the sixth century BCE The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall ofnt History: AConcise Overview of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome: Including the Egyptian Mythology, the Byzantine Empire and the Roman Republic A History of Ancient Rome World History: From the Ancient World to the Information Age ma across the known world. The tumultuous years from 133-80 BCE set the platform for the collapse of the Republic.The Republic confronted issues like increasing economic inequality, increasing political polarization, the army’s privatization, endemic societal and cultural bias, rampant corruption, and continuing military dilemmas. Along with the ruthless ambition and unwillingness of both elites to do anything to reform the system in time to rescue it-a scenario that attracts many parallels to present-day America.These problems are among the reasons why the Roman Republic will collapse. And as all of us know, people who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.The Eternal Army: The Terracotta Soldiers of the First Emperor A vast “military” of over 7,000 terracotta figurines of soldiers encircles the grave of the first emperor of the Qin dynasty from the Shaanxi province in northwestern China. These attentive soldiers happen to be on duty for 2,000 decades, but does anybody know what kind of ruler Qin Shi Huang has been? Why did his grave need to be musicians, by Julius Caesar to Barack Obama, provide insight into their own lives and additional historical insight in these world-changing episodes.The History Book creates the previous 4,000 decades of history available. It provides enlightenment about the forces which shaped the planet as we understand it now, for students and history buffs alike.The Penguin Historical Atlas of Ancient Civilizations by John Haywoodhis brand new historical atlas – richly illustrated with photos, art recreations, and full-color maps – investigates the world’s oldest civilizations in Mesopotamia’s first farming settlements, through Egypt, Greece, and Rome, into the civilizations of the Far East, Europe, and America. Informatively written, also perfect for both pupils and the general reader, it plots the rise and fall of empires, the essence of different societies, and technology growth.Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others by AnonymousThe ancient civilization of Mesopotamia prospered between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates over 4,000 decades back. The myths gathered here, initially written in cuneiform on clay tablets, comprise parallels with the biblical tales of the Creation and the Flood, along with the famous Epic of Gilgamesh, the narrative of a man of great strength, whose epic quest for immortality is hurried through a single moment of weakness.Recent improvements in Akkadian grammar and lexicography imply this translation-finish with notes, a glossary of deities, place-names, essential provisions, and examples of these mythical creatures