It's been a while since I've posted and the main reasons for this is my family - they came up to visit me these last few weeks which has been nice. Nice, to spend some time with them and also nice to get away from the constant drudgery of work.
But after talking to a very nice man last night, I have been thinking of bigger new projects to start. As I have always written, whether poetry, articles, novellas and novels, I am thinking of writing a book on mythology.
Mythology has always been a big part of my life. Not having a lovely childhood in the neighbourhood that I lived in as a child, these ancient stories gave me a way out of that horrible place. They clamed me down, fascinating and entertaining me all at the same time. I want to do that for someone else.
So, a book on mythology it is. But what aspect? Do I write one for children or adults? Where do I lean towards - Greek, Norse, Chinese, Native American, Mesoamerican, Mesopotamian? Shall I go for places that are not quite well known, like the myths and legends from the Pacific Islands or Africa or Central Asia?
The possibilities are endless! And so are the myths! What should I do?
This is where you come in, my friends! Yes, ha ha ha, you are going to get caught into my sticky little web of mythology.
What I would like is a few suggestions as to what myths and legends YOU would like to know about. After a few suggestions I will then know what direction I should be heading in.
As I was talking to my friend last night, I realised that I had missed writing books (I do write alot of articles but its not the same). This book I intend to write has filled me with excitement. I hope to do the same for you.
Sweet dreams to you all,
The Archaeology Queen.
aka Lian.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sunday, October 04, 2009
The History and Significance of the goddess Guanyin
Although the Buddhist religion venerates the Buddha, there are, in fact, a range of deities that continue to be worshipped. The Chinese Buddhist goddess Guanyin, or Kuan Yin, is one of these and a very popular deity throughout history.
The goddess of compassion and/or mercy, Guanyin is an interesting deity as she developed from the male bodhisavatta, or ‘buddha-to-be’, Avalokiteshvara. Throughout the years that Buddhism was introduced into China (around the first century CE), Avalokiteshvara developed female characteristics until he was completely female and was renamed Guanyin. In Japan, she is known as Kwannon.
There is another myth that claims that the goddess was originally born a mortal princess, named Maio Shan, who strangled herself. However, the Buddha revived her and placed her upon an island where she stayed for nine years before she became a goddess.
Another legend tells that she refused to marry and in retaliation her father sentenced her to death. However, when the executioner brought down the sword to behead her, the sword broke and she was unharmed. Later, her father had her smothered and she died. Upon arriving in the underworld, the gloomy place was transformed into a paradise which was not suited to Yama, the ruling god, so he had her revived.
Throughout history, Guanyin was highly popular with women and children and there have been sources which state that a month after a young woman’s marriage, she would be gifted with a pair of candlesticks and a censor with the image of Guanyin on them. These objects would be items where she could turn to, if times were troubled.
There has been much debate as to her origins and the transformation of her gender. Indeed, when she was first introduced into China, she had male attributes and one scholar suggests that it is the romantic legend of the princess Maio Shan that encouraged her feminine attributes.
Indeed, according to some scholars, there was no goddess of mercy in China before the arrival of Buddhism from India, although it should be stressed that not all scholars agree with this point. However, despite this, it is clear that she has strong Indian roots and was considered male until around the seventh or eighth century CE when she was transformed into a female form. From the 12th century onwards, this became her general form and when she was considered a goddess.
Her name can be translated as meaning ‘she who hears the sounds (prayers) of mortals; she who looks down upon the world and hears its cries’ and is also called the ‘Goddess of the Southern Sea’. She is commonly depicted with 1000 arms and eyes, due to the Maio Shan legend where her father commissioned a statue in her honour, but due to a misunderstanding with the artisan, he sculptured her likeness but with 1000 arms and eyes.
It is likely that she is a goddess of the sea due to her legend where she was placed on an island by the Buddha, or when the god Yama had her reborn on an island after her death. In this role, she is often depicted in temples with the waves of the sea and rocks around her. Before sailors set off for voyages, she was prayed to for protection, and those who had escaped shipwrecks often offered her gifts for her protection.
It is likely that it is her relationship with the sea that she is often prayed to for rain. When villages experience drought, the people often take her statues out of the temples and carried out in procession.
Guanyin, in both her mythology and the historical influence she had, is of great interest to historians. Indeed, her Indian and male roots and then the merging of feminine characteristics from a highly popular myth to create a fully female deity makes her a fascinating character who offers great insight into not only the history of the Indian and Chinese cultures, but to the history of religion as a whole.
Bibliography:
Chamberlayne, John H. (1962) The Development of Kuan Yin: Chinese Goddess of Mercy, Numen, BRILL.
The goddess of compassion and/or mercy, Guanyin is an interesting deity as she developed from the male bodhisavatta, or ‘buddha-to-be’, Avalokiteshvara. Throughout the years that Buddhism was introduced into China (around the first century CE), Avalokiteshvara developed female characteristics until he was completely female and was renamed Guanyin. In Japan, she is known as Kwannon.
There is another myth that claims that the goddess was originally born a mortal princess, named Maio Shan, who strangled herself. However, the Buddha revived her and placed her upon an island where she stayed for nine years before she became a goddess.
Another legend tells that she refused to marry and in retaliation her father sentenced her to death. However, when the executioner brought down the sword to behead her, the sword broke and she was unharmed. Later, her father had her smothered and she died. Upon arriving in the underworld, the gloomy place was transformed into a paradise which was not suited to Yama, the ruling god, so he had her revived.
Throughout history, Guanyin was highly popular with women and children and there have been sources which state that a month after a young woman’s marriage, she would be gifted with a pair of candlesticks and a censor with the image of Guanyin on them. These objects would be items where she could turn to, if times were troubled.
There has been much debate as to her origins and the transformation of her gender. Indeed, when she was first introduced into China, she had male attributes and one scholar suggests that it is the romantic legend of the princess Maio Shan that encouraged her feminine attributes.
Indeed, according to some scholars, there was no goddess of mercy in China before the arrival of Buddhism from India, although it should be stressed that not all scholars agree with this point. However, despite this, it is clear that she has strong Indian roots and was considered male until around the seventh or eighth century CE when she was transformed into a female form. From the 12th century onwards, this became her general form and when she was considered a goddess.
Her name can be translated as meaning ‘she who hears the sounds (prayers) of mortals; she who looks down upon the world and hears its cries’ and is also called the ‘Goddess of the Southern Sea’. She is commonly depicted with 1000 arms and eyes, due to the Maio Shan legend where her father commissioned a statue in her honour, but due to a misunderstanding with the artisan, he sculptured her likeness but with 1000 arms and eyes.
It is likely that she is a goddess of the sea due to her legend where she was placed on an island by the Buddha, or when the god Yama had her reborn on an island after her death. In this role, she is often depicted in temples with the waves of the sea and rocks around her. Before sailors set off for voyages, she was prayed to for protection, and those who had escaped shipwrecks often offered her gifts for her protection.
It is likely that it is her relationship with the sea that she is often prayed to for rain. When villages experience drought, the people often take her statues out of the temples and carried out in procession.
Guanyin, in both her mythology and the historical influence she had, is of great interest to historians. Indeed, her Indian and male roots and then the merging of feminine characteristics from a highly popular myth to create a fully female deity makes her a fascinating character who offers great insight into not only the history of the Indian and Chinese cultures, but to the history of religion as a whole.
Bibliography:
Chamberlayne, John H. (1962) The Development of Kuan Yin: Chinese Goddess of Mercy, Numen, BRILL.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
The History and Significance of the god Ninigi
Ninigi, who is also known as Honinigi, is one of the great ancestral deities from the Japanese Shinto belief system. He was the son of Ame-no-Oshiho-mimi and the grandson of Taka-mi-musubi and the sun goddess Amaterasu.
According to mythology, Amaterasu had been desperately trying to find someone worthy of ruling over earth. Initially, she sent her son, Ame-no-Oshiho-mimi, to rule but as he looked over the Floating Bridge of Heaven, he saw the many disturbances on earth and refused to go.
The gods gathered and decided that Ame-No-Hohi should be sent. However, after three years the gods had not heard from him so they decided that his son, Ame-No-Wakahiko, should investigate. Before he left, they gave him a bow and arrows.
Ame-No-Wakahiko went to earth and eventually married Shitateru-Hime, the daughter of Okuninushi, the god of medicine and magic. This time, eight years passed without any word to the rest of the gods. Determined to find out, they sent a pheasant down to watch him.
The pheasant perched outside a tree of the god’s house. When one of the women of the house saw it, she told Ame-No-Wakahiko that it was a bad omen and immediately, the god shot it. However, the arrow passed straight through the bird and entered heaven, falling straight at the feet of Amaterasu. Recognising the arrow, she flung it back at the direction it came in fury, where it killed Ame-No-Wakahiko.
Two of the gods then visited earth themselves and came before Okuninushi, who told him that they had come on the sun goddess’ orders to bring peace and prosperity to the land under her control. Okuninushi spoke to his sons; the elder son agreed to worship Amaterasu but the younger son refused. The two gods then overcame the younger son who then promised not to resist the goddess. Okuninushi also agreed to recognise the sun goddess’ rule, on the condition that a place should be reserved for him amongst the major deities worshipped at the Izumo shrine. This Amaterasu agreed to.
The great sun goddess finally sent her grandson, Ninigi, to earth. Before he left, he was given many divine objects, including the mirror that Amaterasu had gazed into when she first emerged from the cave. He was also given the jewels that had produced Amaterasu’s sons and the storm god Susano-Wo’s sword, Kusanagi. It was these signs that would become the emblems of Japanese imperial power in later years.
On earth, Ninigi married Kono-Hana-Sakuyu-Hime, the daughter of a mountain god. When she conceived their child on the first night of their marriage, Ninigi suspected that she had been unfaithful to him. He built her a house with no doors and when she was ready to give birth, she entered it. She stated that if she had been unfaithful then her child would die. Eventually, Kono-Hana-Sakuyu-Hime gave birth to three sons; one of them, Hikohohodemi, would later go on to father a child who, upon his death, would be known as Jimmu-Tenno. It would be Jimmu-Tenno that would be the founder of the imperial line of Japan.
Looking at the history and significance of the god, one scholar states that Ninigi was the “exemplary ‘archetype’ of the historical Japanese emperors who, based on the richness and abundance of the rice harvest, maintain the cosmic order overarching the three cosmic zones”. His myth also establishes the most important event in the traditional, official myth structure of early Japan, accentuating the divine derivation of the imperial family line and the kinship theology, established in the Kojiki (compiled 712 CE) and the Nihongi (720 CE).
Bibliography:
Waida, Wanabu (1976) Sacred Kingship in Early Japan: A historical Introduction, History of Religions, The University of Chicago Press.
Waida, Wanabu (1973) Symbolism of “Descent” in Tibetan Sacred Kingship and Some East Asian Parallels, Numen, BRILL.
According to mythology, Amaterasu had been desperately trying to find someone worthy of ruling over earth. Initially, she sent her son, Ame-no-Oshiho-mimi, to rule but as he looked over the Floating Bridge of Heaven, he saw the many disturbances on earth and refused to go.
The gods gathered and decided that Ame-No-Hohi should be sent. However, after three years the gods had not heard from him so they decided that his son, Ame-No-Wakahiko, should investigate. Before he left, they gave him a bow and arrows.
Ame-No-Wakahiko went to earth and eventually married Shitateru-Hime, the daughter of Okuninushi, the god of medicine and magic. This time, eight years passed without any word to the rest of the gods. Determined to find out, they sent a pheasant down to watch him.
The pheasant perched outside a tree of the god’s house. When one of the women of the house saw it, she told Ame-No-Wakahiko that it was a bad omen and immediately, the god shot it. However, the arrow passed straight through the bird and entered heaven, falling straight at the feet of Amaterasu. Recognising the arrow, she flung it back at the direction it came in fury, where it killed Ame-No-Wakahiko.
Two of the gods then visited earth themselves and came before Okuninushi, who told him that they had come on the sun goddess’ orders to bring peace and prosperity to the land under her control. Okuninushi spoke to his sons; the elder son agreed to worship Amaterasu but the younger son refused. The two gods then overcame the younger son who then promised not to resist the goddess. Okuninushi also agreed to recognise the sun goddess’ rule, on the condition that a place should be reserved for him amongst the major deities worshipped at the Izumo shrine. This Amaterasu agreed to.
The great sun goddess finally sent her grandson, Ninigi, to earth. Before he left, he was given many divine objects, including the mirror that Amaterasu had gazed into when she first emerged from the cave. He was also given the jewels that had produced Amaterasu’s sons and the storm god Susano-Wo’s sword, Kusanagi. It was these signs that would become the emblems of Japanese imperial power in later years.
On earth, Ninigi married Kono-Hana-Sakuyu-Hime, the daughter of a mountain god. When she conceived their child on the first night of their marriage, Ninigi suspected that she had been unfaithful to him. He built her a house with no doors and when she was ready to give birth, she entered it. She stated that if she had been unfaithful then her child would die. Eventually, Kono-Hana-Sakuyu-Hime gave birth to three sons; one of them, Hikohohodemi, would later go on to father a child who, upon his death, would be known as Jimmu-Tenno. It would be Jimmu-Tenno that would be the founder of the imperial line of Japan.
Looking at the history and significance of the god, one scholar states that Ninigi was the “exemplary ‘archetype’ of the historical Japanese emperors who, based on the richness and abundance of the rice harvest, maintain the cosmic order overarching the three cosmic zones”. His myth also establishes the most important event in the traditional, official myth structure of early Japan, accentuating the divine derivation of the imperial family line and the kinship theology, established in the Kojiki (compiled 712 CE) and the Nihongi (720 CE).
Bibliography:
Waida, Wanabu (1976) Sacred Kingship in Early Japan: A historical Introduction, History of Religions, The University of Chicago Press.
Waida, Wanabu (1973) Symbolism of “Descent” in Tibetan Sacred Kingship and Some East Asian Parallels, Numen, BRILL.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The History and Significance of the god Qormusta Tengri
In the East it is perhaps the Hindu, Chinese and Japanese deities that the general public will recognise more than the native gods and goddesses from Central Asia or in other parts of Asia. However, there is a rich mythology belonging to different countries that offers us a great deal of information on the cultural elements of these people and an insight to their history.
For example, the god Qormusta Tengri, also known as Chormusta (to the Buriats he is called Esege, the Malan calls him Tengeri and the Yakut’s call him by the name Tangara), is the supreme god of the Mongolian deities. We know that Qormusta Tengri is the king of the Tengri, the realms of heaven where he rules supreme over the other deities, not unlike that of Zeus, of the ancient Greek religion.
There are not many reliable sources of information on Qormusta Tengri, since he comes from a shamanistic religion where myths and legends and stories are passed down orally. We do know that, according to Mongolian belief that Qormusta Tengri lives in the centre of the world and is the consort of Itugen (an earth or fertility goddess) or Umai (a mother goddess).
Qormusta Tengri is said to be a creator god and populated the world with humans by combining fire, water and wind. He then populated the world with his own offspring who eventually became the rivers, trees, mountains and everything else in the world.
In recent decades there has been a sharp increase in the interest of shamanistic religions, especially in the Mongolian region where the faith is still going strong and continues to be practiced, despite the exorcising of Lamas (Tibetan Buddhist priests) after 1945 and after the Cultural Revolution in China.
During the 1970’s a scholar journeyed to East Mongolia to record shamanistic practices since no records were ever produced in this region. He records that “The prayers and incantations of the above-mentioned Khortsin shamans invoke Tngri for help, with Qormusta tngri as the highest embodiment of charismatic power; they further address spirits (sunesun) of ancestors, other objects of veneration (situgen), Ongghot and descending helpful spirits”. It is only the most powerful shamans who can communication with the god.
In shamanistic belief there are three realms – earth, heaven and the underworld. In both heaven and the underworld there are nine realms, the highest realm in heaven is where Qormusta Tengri dwells, where he is said to be without anthropomorphic form.
Qormusta Tengri was worshipped fervently by the great Genghis Khan who regarded him (or the Everlasting Blue Sky) as “the supreme deity above the gods he worshipped”.
There is a source which mentions his great belief in Tengri before his campaigns into China. “On one occasion before starting for a campaign into China, Chingis Khan consecrated himself by shutting himself up in his tent, remaining there for three days, the surrounding soldiers and people exclaiming at intervals in the meanwhile "Tengri!, Tengri! Sky! Sky !". On the 4th day he came out of his tent and announced that the Everlasting Sky granted him victory, and that now they were to go and punish the Kins”.
Genghis Khan’s belief in Qormusta Tengri can be summed up in his own phrase – “The Sky has ordered me to rule all nations”.
Bibliography:
Earthy, Dora E. (1955) The Religion of Genghis Khan (A.D. 1162 – 1227), Numen, BRILL.
Heissig, Walther (1990) New Material on East Mongolian Shamanism, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
Moses, Larry (1986) Triplicated Triplets: The Number Nine in the “Secret History” of the Mongols, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
For example, the god Qormusta Tengri, also known as Chormusta (to the Buriats he is called Esege, the Malan calls him Tengeri and the Yakut’s call him by the name Tangara), is the supreme god of the Mongolian deities. We know that Qormusta Tengri is the king of the Tengri, the realms of heaven where he rules supreme over the other deities, not unlike that of Zeus, of the ancient Greek religion.
There are not many reliable sources of information on Qormusta Tengri, since he comes from a shamanistic religion where myths and legends and stories are passed down orally. We do know that, according to Mongolian belief that Qormusta Tengri lives in the centre of the world and is the consort of Itugen (an earth or fertility goddess) or Umai (a mother goddess).
Qormusta Tengri is said to be a creator god and populated the world with humans by combining fire, water and wind. He then populated the world with his own offspring who eventually became the rivers, trees, mountains and everything else in the world.
In recent decades there has been a sharp increase in the interest of shamanistic religions, especially in the Mongolian region where the faith is still going strong and continues to be practiced, despite the exorcising of Lamas (Tibetan Buddhist priests) after 1945 and after the Cultural Revolution in China.
During the 1970’s a scholar journeyed to East Mongolia to record shamanistic practices since no records were ever produced in this region. He records that “The prayers and incantations of the above-mentioned Khortsin shamans invoke Tngri for help, with Qormusta tngri as the highest embodiment of charismatic power; they further address spirits (sunesun) of ancestors, other objects of veneration (situgen), Ongghot and descending helpful spirits”. It is only the most powerful shamans who can communication with the god.
In shamanistic belief there are three realms – earth, heaven and the underworld. In both heaven and the underworld there are nine realms, the highest realm in heaven is where Qormusta Tengri dwells, where he is said to be without anthropomorphic form.
Qormusta Tengri was worshipped fervently by the great Genghis Khan who regarded him (or the Everlasting Blue Sky) as “the supreme deity above the gods he worshipped”.
There is a source which mentions his great belief in Tengri before his campaigns into China. “On one occasion before starting for a campaign into China, Chingis Khan consecrated himself by shutting himself up in his tent, remaining there for three days, the surrounding soldiers and people exclaiming at intervals in the meanwhile "Tengri!, Tengri! Sky! Sky !". On the 4th day he came out of his tent and announced that the Everlasting Sky granted him victory, and that now they were to go and punish the Kins”.
Genghis Khan’s belief in Qormusta Tengri can be summed up in his own phrase – “The Sky has ordered me to rule all nations”.
Bibliography:
Earthy, Dora E. (1955) The Religion of Genghis Khan (A.D. 1162 – 1227), Numen, BRILL.
Heissig, Walther (1990) New Material on East Mongolian Shamanism, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
Moses, Larry (1986) Triplicated Triplets: The Number Nine in the “Secret History” of the Mongols, Asian Folklore Studies, Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture.
The History and Significance of the goddess Benten
Japanese mythology is full of interesting deities; for the scholar it can be somewhat difficult to unravel the ties between Shinto, the native religion of Japan, and the Indian gods that travelled with Buddhism to the country during the sixth century CE.
One of the most interesting goddesses in the Shinto pantheon is Benten, who is also known as Benzai-ten. She was a sea-goddess, a goddess of music and one of the seven Shinto deities of good fortune known as the Shichi Fukujin.
The Shichi Fukujin was a group of seven deities that were assembled sometime during the 17th century CE by a monk; it was his intention to present them as a symbol of all the virtues that a man of his time should inspire to.
Benten can be compared to that of the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Hindu Sarasvati, in that she was known as the Queen of Love. She is believed to help humans in acquiring material gains and to bring good fortune in marriage. Benten is also the patron of geishas and worshipped by gamblers and jealous women. As well as this, she is the goddess of oratory, happy wisdom, longevity, freedom from harm, and victory. The island of Enoshima is sacred to her and, according to the noh drama Chikubushima, is where the goddess resides.
According to mythology, Benten was said to have descended to earth where she met and married a dragon in order to stop him eating young children. Because of this, she is sometimes depicted as riding a dragon in art.
Another legend tells of how the goddess helped the young poet Baishu. He had found a poem written by a maiden and had fallen in love with her, despite never having seen what she looked like. Praying to the goddess for help, Benten arranged for the young poet and the girl to meet outside the shrine. Later, it turned out that the young girl Baishu had fallen in love with was actually the soul of the women he later met and married.
In art, Benten is sometimes shown with snakes. Some statues of her reveal eight arms, six of these which are raised and the hands holding different objects. These include a bow and arrow and two hands are folded in prayer.
Bibliography:
Shokyu, Arii and Sato, Hiroaki (2002) Record of an Autumn Wind: The Travel Diary of Arii Shokya, Monumenta Nipponica.
One of the most interesting goddesses in the Shinto pantheon is Benten, who is also known as Benzai-ten. She was a sea-goddess, a goddess of music and one of the seven Shinto deities of good fortune known as the Shichi Fukujin.
The Shichi Fukujin was a group of seven deities that were assembled sometime during the 17th century CE by a monk; it was his intention to present them as a symbol of all the virtues that a man of his time should inspire to.
Benten can be compared to that of the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Hindu Sarasvati, in that she was known as the Queen of Love. She is believed to help humans in acquiring material gains and to bring good fortune in marriage. Benten is also the patron of geishas and worshipped by gamblers and jealous women. As well as this, she is the goddess of oratory, happy wisdom, longevity, freedom from harm, and victory. The island of Enoshima is sacred to her and, according to the noh drama Chikubushima, is where the goddess resides.
According to mythology, Benten was said to have descended to earth where she met and married a dragon in order to stop him eating young children. Because of this, she is sometimes depicted as riding a dragon in art.
Another legend tells of how the goddess helped the young poet Baishu. He had found a poem written by a maiden and had fallen in love with her, despite never having seen what she looked like. Praying to the goddess for help, Benten arranged for the young poet and the girl to meet outside the shrine. Later, it turned out that the young girl Baishu had fallen in love with was actually the soul of the women he later met and married.
In art, Benten is sometimes shown with snakes. Some statues of her reveal eight arms, six of these which are raised and the hands holding different objects. These include a bow and arrow and two hands are folded in prayer.
Bibliography:
Shokyu, Arii and Sato, Hiroaki (2002) Record of an Autumn Wind: The Travel Diary of Arii Shokya, Monumenta Nipponica.
Welcome to The Archaeology Queen!
Welcome to everyone who has stumbled into The Archaeology Queen....
This is a site dedicated to archaeology, anthropolgy, history, art history, mythology, religion and everything else that has links to the past. It is intended to be a haven of information for all age ranges, for those pursuing a career in history and for those who are just interested in the subject.
Let me introduce myself; my name is Lian Slayford and I am an archaeology student as well as an editor and freelance writer. I am continuing to study at university in order to specialise in religious archaeology; more specifically, symbolism in ancient religions. Think of me as Dan Brown's character, Robert Langdon, in the Da Vinci Code - only blonde, female and a lovely English accent!
Archaeology has always fascinated me since I was a little girl and I have devoured books on mythology and history since then. Because of this, I know (for the most part) nearly all the myths and legends that have emerged from the Classical world. In recent years, however, I have found myself being drawn to the east, to the worlds of ancient China, Korea and Japan (and it's not just because of the gorgeous men!).
I currently live in Birmingham, UK, although I was born and raised in Woking, Surrey. I moved to the West Midlands last year and although I miss having the British Museum on my doorstep, I must admit I do live living in Birmingham. I have 2 dogs - Medea, a pure white Siberian husky girl (who was, yes, named after the Greek Medea - my favourite mythological character) and Thorne, a massive Northern Inuit, who, like most male dogs, is a big wimp!
I intend to post articles relating to the subjects that hold my heart; you will find many articles on the world's different deities, civilizations and specific incidents. You will also find that I will post places of interest to the subject of archaeology and sites where I believe offer interesting, insightful and reliable information.
You can find many of my articles on Helium.com where I am the sub-channel steward for the Asian, African and Middle Eastern History channels, as well as the Asian Languages channel due to my knowledge on these subjects. You can go straight to my profile there by here www.helium.com/users/508025
Well, that's all I think I should state at this moment in time. New articles will be posted regularly and I hope that you, the reader, will enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.
The Archaeology Queen.
aka Lian.
This is a site dedicated to archaeology, anthropolgy, history, art history, mythology, religion and everything else that has links to the past. It is intended to be a haven of information for all age ranges, for those pursuing a career in history and for those who are just interested in the subject.
Let me introduce myself; my name is Lian Slayford and I am an archaeology student as well as an editor and freelance writer. I am continuing to study at university in order to specialise in religious archaeology; more specifically, symbolism in ancient religions. Think of me as Dan Brown's character, Robert Langdon, in the Da Vinci Code - only blonde, female and a lovely English accent!
Archaeology has always fascinated me since I was a little girl and I have devoured books on mythology and history since then. Because of this, I know (for the most part) nearly all the myths and legends that have emerged from the Classical world. In recent years, however, I have found myself being drawn to the east, to the worlds of ancient China, Korea and Japan (and it's not just because of the gorgeous men!).
I currently live in Birmingham, UK, although I was born and raised in Woking, Surrey. I moved to the West Midlands last year and although I miss having the British Museum on my doorstep, I must admit I do live living in Birmingham. I have 2 dogs - Medea, a pure white Siberian husky girl (who was, yes, named after the Greek Medea - my favourite mythological character) and Thorne, a massive Northern Inuit, who, like most male dogs, is a big wimp!
I intend to post articles relating to the subjects that hold my heart; you will find many articles on the world's different deities, civilizations and specific incidents. You will also find that I will post places of interest to the subject of archaeology and sites where I believe offer interesting, insightful and reliable information.
You can find many of my articles on Helium.com where I am the sub-channel steward for the Asian, African and Middle Eastern History channels, as well as the Asian Languages channel due to my knowledge on these subjects. You can go straight to my profile there by here www.helium.com/users/508025
Well, that's all I think I should state at this moment in time. New articles will be posted regularly and I hope that you, the reader, will enjoy them as much as I enjoy writing them.
The Archaeology Queen.
aka Lian.
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