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Zeus, Thor, Brigid – are they just fanciful tales, imaginary divinities passed down to us by our less sophisticated ancestors, or are these mythical figures based on real people? BY ARTEMIS GOUROS Ancient astronauts or mythological gods? As a student of history I know that many times in the past we have not only questioned our origins but also believed we were at the end of times. And yet we are still here and still asking where we came from. Religions have been born and died countless times, we have looked at creationism and promoted the theory of evolution. However we are now living in an era of scientific, psuedo-scientific and new age philosophies. There are theories and sects to suit almost anyone, and we can shop for the idealogy that best matches our lifestyle, hopes or fears. No longer do we have to subscribe to one belief system. Extra-terrestrial ancestors? Are we questioning the established religions and embracing scepticism because we are intelligent, or are we merely fooling ourselves? Whatever the answer it seems that most of us can no longer look to the establishment for answers. But then where do we look? It is all very well to be open minded but being bamboozled by slick theories doesn’t appeal either. For years now I have been researching theories alternative to organised religion. But the more I look the more questions I have. The biggest one is about the ancient gods. Scratch the surface and you find that, just as enlightened creeds have tried to tell us, all gods are one and the same. For instance, every single culture has a flood story, and most of them predate Noah. And most gods have near identical counterparts in other cultures for instance Zeus and Thor – similar divinities from different times and places. But what does that tell us? That as people we tend to tell the same stories regardless of our backgrounds, or that all of our mythologies have a common source? Is it really so inconceivable that our ancient gods are aliens? This theory was propsed to me when I was quite young and naturally it captured my imagination. As a teenager I found a copy of Erich von Daniken’s controversial Chariots of the Gods in a secondhand bookshop and I was mesmerised. Much of what he says has been proven as nonsense but there is also food for thought there. Look at history a certain way and you begin to see the parallels between old cultures which is the basis for the gods/astronauts theory. But do ancient rock paintings really depict helmeted astronauts and spacecrafts, or are we seeing things where there is nothing out of the ordinary. Far be it from me to state that our old gods are visitors from another planet who dazzled us with their technology and then departed. All I am saying is that in this day and age, with what we know and the things that we don’t, is it not a theory worth considering? Were we visited by superior beings? Why not research and decide for yourself. There are books and websites aplenty on the subject and I can recommend it as a fascinating study! |
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