Search Results: Liver

A bronze model of a sheep's liver which was used to train Etruscan priests so that they could divine meaning from the livers of sacrificed animals. The liver is divided into 40 sections with 24 gods named in the inscriptions. From Piacenza...

A detailed baked clay model of a sheep's liver from ancient Babylon. Written records may be representative of signs on the organ and were probably used to improve divination. Old Babylonian period, Sippar, 1900-1600 BCE. The British Museum...

In Greek mythology, the Titan Prometheus had a reputation as being something of a clever trickster and he famously gave the human race the gift of fire and the skill of metalwork, an action for which he was punished by Zeus, who ensured everyday...

Medical practice in ancient Egypt was so advanced that many of their observations, policies, and commonplace procedures would not be surpassed in the west for centuries after the fall of Rome and their practices would inform both Greek and...

The religion of the Etruscans, the civilization which flourished from the 8th to 3rd century BCE in central Italy, has, like many other features of the culture, long been overshadowed by that of its Greek contemporaries and Roman conquerors...

In Europe, in the 19th century CE, an interesting device began appearing in graveyards and cemeteries: the mortsafe. This was an iron cage erected over a grave to keep the body of the deceased safe from 'resurrectionists' - better known as...

The Bound Children is a Sioux legend highlighting the importance of proper behavior, not only among family members but within one's community. The widow, who does not properly care for her children, is punished, along with those who support...

Pluto is the god of the Underworld in Roman mythology. His Greek counterpart was Hades. Pluto chose never to sit on Olympus with the other gods and goddesses, preferring to remain in the Underworld. Family Pluto (Hades) was the son...

Galen (129-216 CE) was a Greek physician, author, and philosopher, working in Rome, who influenced both medical theory and practice until the middle of the 17th century CE. Owning a large, personal library, he wrote hundreds of medical treatises...

The Theogony is an 8th-century BCE didactic and instructional poem, credited to the Greek poet Hesiod. The Theogony was, at first, not actually written down, rather, it was part of a rich oral tradition which only achieved written form decades...