Sacred Places of the Ancient World

Hear the Oracle at Dodona whispering in the wind, gaze upon the final resting place of Cyrus the Great, and brood over the rugged beauty of Croghan Bog as you explore the spiritual heartlands of antiquity, uncovering the hidden rituals, mysterious deities, and powerful beliefs that shaped ancient civilizations. Sacred places are a defining feature of human societies, though they may take many forms. In prehistoric times the natural world served as the stage for spiritual experience, while later vast architectural wonders were raised as religious spaces. Covering four thousand years of human history--from Celtic sacrifices to Greek mystery cults, Egyptian temples, and the earthly homes of Mesopotamian gods-- Sacred Places of the Ancient World examines the myriad ways that we have communed with the divine. By exploring the physical traces of these arcane rites left to our modern world, Philip Matyszak sheds light not only on the strange and spellbinding sites themselves, but also on the people who built them.