Showing results by author "Matt Clayton" in All Categories

The Aztecs believed offerings of human blood and human lives were necessary to the continued running of the universe. Indeed, in Aztec myths, the gods themselves make sacrifices of their own blood and even of their entire bodies in order to create a universe humans can live in and, in one story, to create humans themselves. To the ancient Aztecs, these practices seemed fitting, necessary, and honorable, helping to connect the world of humans to the divine world of the gods, a universe that in Aztec myth took shape in cycles of creation, destruction, and rebirth.

This amazing collection of Chinese myths will allow you to enter the Chinese mind, so you can gather secrets and wisdom from a proud and respected country.

Who says history has to be boring? Greek mythology has it all! Almighty gods, brave heroes, epic battles, and terrifying monsters all make this audiobook less of a history lesson and more of a history adventure! You’ll be amazed to find out just how much Greek mythology has inspired and shaped the world we live in today, especially modern-day cinema! These legendary myths will come to life with helpful pronunciation tips for those tricky new words, fun facts, and activities to test your knowledge! History has never been this much fun before!

This isn't the Christian history you think you know. Forget the familiar narratives of crusades, European reformation, and colonial missions. This audiobook is a journey into the forgotten landscapes of Christian history, revealing the stories of diverse communities that shaped the faith in extraordinary ways. Discover the hidden chapters that lie beyond the Roman Empire, in places like ancient India, the deserts of Egypt and Syria, and the Celtic lands.

An empire that was once larger than the Roman Empire at its peak and most people have never heard its story. Inside this audiobook, you'll discover: The Clash—The fierce battle between King Porus and Alexander the Great, and why Alexander's own soldiers refused to march further into India. The Mystery—What really caused the sudden collapse of the Harappan civilization, one of the oldest urban societies on earth. The Kingmaker—How a humiliated Brahmin mastermind helped place Chandragupta on the throne and built an empire from nothing.

The Empire That Built Your World (and Set It on Fire)You may have slept through history class, but Rome has been shaping your life this whole time. The alphabet you’re reading right now? Built on Latin. Your calendar? Roman. Your laws, your government buildings, and your favorite dramas packed with power plays and betrayal? They all carry echoes of a civilization that never really died. This is not another dusty textbook or a glorified list of emperors. It is a fast-paced, brutally honest ride through 1,200 years of violence, innovation, chaos, and unlikely survival.

You’ve seen the pyramids. You’ve heard of Anubis and mummies. But do you know the epic myths that gave them meaning? Whether you’re new to mythology or curious to go deeper, this guide invites you into a rich, symbolic world shaped by creation, death, resurrection, and cosmic order, a world that influenced over three thousand years of civilization.

This audiobook brings you the lesser-known moments that shaped Rome’s history. It doesn’t just focus on the powerful emperors; it also examines the people who worked behind the scenes and shaped the empire in their own way. From Julius Caesar’s personal worries to the mystery of the missing Ninth Legion, these stories reveal the real lives behind the famous Roman names.

Born from a strange mixture of divine blood, severed genitals, and seafoam, Aphrodite washed up on the shores of Cyprus long before the emergence of her fellow Olympians. A figure who is as petty as she is relatable, she is not only a key deity of the Greek pantheon, but she is also a central figure in many of the myths we know and love. While it would be impossible to gather all the different stories related to Aphrodite in their entirety in one collection, this audiobook provides a nice, if modest, assortment of narratives that display different facets of this fascinating goddess.

Japanese mythology offers a fascinating lens from which to gaze upon the natural world. Through tales of heroic samurai, creepy vengeful ghosts, and deities that wield the mighty powers of nature, these stories and mythical figures emphasize the importance of humans living harmoniously with their surroundings. It is often said that in order to understand a country’s culture and history, one needs to simply look at the stories they tell about the world around them.

The Caucasus Mountains straddle the isthmus between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The Circassian and Armenian genocides took their toll, as did the Soviet occupation, the last of which purged much of the native culture. Nevertheless, much of the mythology and literature of the Caucasus still survives today. In this audiobook, you will get a brief but captivating introduction to some of the fine tales created by the resilient people who call this part of the world their home.

In Cherokee myth - as in other indigenous American traditions - the whole of creation is alive and able to communicate like humans and with the human beings who share their environment. Cherokee myths explain how the world came to be the way it is and imparts important lessons about Cherokee cultural values.

From what we know of history, Egypt, along with Sumer, were the foundations of civilization. The Fertile Crescent, which stretched from the Nile Valley to the twin rivers in Mesopotamia, gave us our earliest glimpse of organized man. But organized how? For one, both locations gave us writing -- hieroglyphics in Egypt and cuneiform in Sumer. There is still some debate about who was first.

Japan is a single nation, but its origins are so old, and often, so fragmented, that unified mythology and folklore can be difficult to point to. Still, there are some key texts, tales, and characters we can focus on which will give us a pretty good sense of Japanese mythology. In this audiobook, you'll discover stories of mystery, horror, and romance while simultaneously learning about the Japanese culture.

Do you like epic tales that sing the deeds of the world’s greatest heroes? If so, you will love this volume of epics from the West African country of Mali. Each is full of battles, derring-do, magic, and prophecies based on historical events.

The first part of this audiobook will explore Greek heroes, what they were like and what they accomplished. Furthermore, the audiobook will tackle Greek religion, and the gods and goddesses which establish the backdrop against which Greek legends were formed. We will also take a close look at the myths of Greek monsters. Listen to this audiobook now and discover captivating stories of Gods, Goddesses, Monsters, and Mortals.

The ancient Greeks were explorers in many ways. They traveled to new places, creating colonies in strange lands far from their original homes. They were survivors. They were honorable thieves. They used their cunning to explore the frontiers of philosophy and they wrested from the chaos of the surrounding wilderness the building blocks of civilization.

Explore captivating stories of Greek and Roman gods, goddesses, and monsters in this ultimate guide to classical mythology.

You are on the verge of an adventure unlike anything you’ve ever experienced This book provides a unique perspective on world history that you will not find elsewhere. Some of what is written here fly in the face of convention. The reason is quite simple: We don’t know everything there is to know about our past. Some of the evidence may remain missing forever. It may have been destroyed long ago. All too often the conquering society rewrote the history concerning those they conquered. New regimes erased the records of earlier rulers of whom they disapproved.

You think you know about Christmas celebrations? Get ready to discover the truth behind it all! You just need an audiobook that reveals how almost every "timeless" tradition is a product of invention, pagan rituals, and brilliant marketing.