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According to an Islam tradition, Muslim martyrs will go to paradise and marry 72 black-eyed virgins. But some Koran scholars point to a less sexy paradise. While beautifully written, Islamic texts are often obscure. The Arabic language was born as a written language with the Koran, and growing evidence suggests that many of the words were Syriac or Aramaic. Specifically, the Koran says martyrs going to heaven will get “hur,” and the word was taken by early commentators to mean “virgins,” hence those 72 concubines. But in Aramaic, hur actually meant “white” and was commonly used to specifically mean “white...

To Muslims the Koran is the very word of God, who spoke through the Angel Gabriel to Muhammad: "This book is not to be doubted," the Koran declares unequivocally at its beginning. Scholars and writers in Islamic countries who have ignored that warning have sometimes found themselves the target of death threats and violence, sending a chill through universities around the world. Yet despite the fear, a handful of experts have been quietly investigating the origins of the Koran, offering radically new theories about the text's meaning and the rise of Islam. Christoph Luxenberg, a scholar of ancient Semitic languages ...

“Baby Got Back“, also known as “I Like Big Butts”, is a hit rap song written and recorded by American rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot, from his album Mack Daddy. The song samples the 1986 Detroit techno single “Technicolor” by Channel One. This is a translation of it. Translation Here, we have it translated into Latin by Quislibet. There was additional support and clarity offered by Ukelele. I have found it hilarious, and thus have reprinted the translation here. Enjoy. Text Content De clunibus magnis amandis oratio Mixaloti equitis mehercle! (By Hercules!) Rebecca, ecce! tantae clunes isti sunt! (Rebecca, behold! Such large...

How the life Herodotus lived affected his history writing is a subject of dispute among many experts The question of how social conditions affecting Herodotus’s personal life affected his writing history may raise many disputes among historians. “The state where Herodotus was born in was under Persian Empire at that time; it was governed by Lygdamis, who put to death the poet Panyasis, a relative of Herodotus, for opposition and riots against Persia. Following this event, Herodotus had to leave his native city and went to Samos Island in Athena, and ever since he inhabited in Greek lands. But since...

The Traveller Collection, thought to be the most expensive coin collection to ever come to auction, will be sold off over the next three years - with the first sale taking place on May 20...When they were finally retrieved by the collector's heirs, the coins were stored in a bank vault and later presented to the auction house for sale. Unfortunately, no further details have been made available about the hiding or discovery of the coins, due to the family's request for privacy.The collector's detailed records made it easier for the team at the auction house to research the provenance...

Discovered in the sandy countryside near Oxyrhynchus, the document offers a rare glimpse into the structured world of professional athletes during Roman rule. This Greek text, preserved by Egypt's arid climate, reveals the administrative side of ancient athletic organizations and highlights the enduring influence of Greek cultural practices in Roman Egypt.This small archaeological discovery from many years ago is a living piece of history that shows us the love for sports that people in Ancient Greece and Rome had. This is why they were so meticulous and organized, in a way very similar to today's gym memberships...The letter mentions someone...

  Background Information   I first came across the subject matter of Rennes-le-Château in 1979, after watching one of Henry Lincoln’s documentaries. It was also during the late 1970s that I developed an interest in researching Christian origins, which touched upon matters like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi Texts and the Gnostics, the latter sect being similar to the mediaeval dualist sect the Cathars, featured on Lincoln’s documentary – which was the main reason behind my watching it. I had to confine myself entirely upon English material relating to the subject matter of Rennes-le-Château between 1979-1982, believing this...

    RENNES-LE-CHÂTEAU DEBUNKED   No treasure at Rennes-le-Château!   Excavations conducted beneath the Tour Magdala at Rennes-le-Château on 20 August 2003 in search of treasure yielded negative results – involving Professors Eisenman and Baratollo, who have both been working on this project since April 2001. The negative results should not surprise informed researchers who have known for decades that no "treasure" at Rennes-le-Château ever existed and is merely the fantasy of confidence tricksters and catchpenny authors. That an archaeological dig in the first place should have been carried out at Rennes-le-Château during recent years is in itself a statement...

The author of the blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code" faces an English High Court challenge Monday from two men who claim he stole their ideas. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Dan Brown's book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller "Holy Blood, Holy Grail". Brown's 2003 book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and earned the American 45 million pounds (66 million euros, 78.5 million dollars) in one year, instantly making the writer one of the world's richest. Baigent's and Leigh's book tackles theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married,...

LONDON: The author of the blockbuster novel “The Da Vinci Code” faces an English High Court challenge Monday from two men who claim he stole their ideas. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh are suing their own publishers, Random House, claiming Dan Brown’s book draws heavily on their 1982 bestseller “Holy Blood, Holy Grail”. Brown’s 2003 book has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide and earned the American 45 million pounds in one year, instantly making the writer one of the world’s richest. Baigent’s and Leigh’s book tackles theories that Jesus and Mary Magdalene married, had a child, and the...

New film takes Da Vinci Code conspiracy theories and shaky evidence to new heightsJoseph Brean, National PostWhen Ben Hammott discovered the apparent tomb of a Knight Templar at the bottom of a hole in a cave in the countryside of southern France, he thought he had discovered the final resting place of Mary Magdalene, and so he did what any amateur treasure hunter in this age of the Da Vinci Code would have done. He returned with a Hollywood director, lowered a pole into the tomb with "some sticky stuff on the end," removed the shroud from the body, plucked...

<p>DAN Brown, the author of last year's best-selling "The Da Vinci Code," is nothing but a plagiarist, charges the author of two novels that are strikingly similar to Brown's.</p> <p>Author Lewis Perdue is preparing to sue Brown for copyright infringement, claiming "The Da Vinci Code" is in large part stolen from his 1983 novel, "The Da Vinci Legacy" and its 1985 follow-up, "Daughter of God" - which were both recently optioned by "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett.</p>

Jesus conspiracy novel has earned £140 million, but now two academic writers say that their historical work preceded it by 20 years, reports Elizabeth DayIt is the biggest-selling adult fiction book of all time and has earned its author a reputed £140 million with its plot about a global conspiracy to suppress Christ's marriage. The Da Vinci Code has sold more than 12 million copies and has been translated into 42 languages. But now two writers are suing its publishers, claiming that it was copied from their bestseller that first appeared more than 20 years ago. Michael Baigent and Richard...

ITALY: DA VINCI CODE ON SHOW IN MILAN Milan, 24 March (AKI) - While Dan Brown's bestseller The Da Vinci Code is making headlines as the author is facing plagiarism charges and awaiting a ruling in April, the 'real' da Vinci code, a manuscript dating back to the fifteenth century, will be on display at Milan's Castello Sforzesco starting Friday, 24 March, until 21 May. On exhibit is a precious manuscript by Leonardo da Vinci, also known as Codice Trivulziano, featuring notes and designs made from 1487 until 1490. The show will also include codes made during the rule of...

Judge Rules in Favor of 'Da Vinci' WriterLONDON - A British judge ruled Friday that best-selling thriller "The Da Vinci Code" did not steal ideas from two authors' nonfiction book. High Court judge Peter Smith rejected a copyright-infringement claim by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," who claimed that Dan Brown's blockbuster "appropriated the architecture" of their 1982 book. The favorable ruling will allow the May release of the film, based on the blockbluster and starring Tom Hanks. "Today's verdict shows that this claim was utterly without merit, I'm still astonished that...

A RUSSIAN art historian has accused Dan Brown of plagiarism in The Da Vinci Code, just four days after a British Court rejected a similar claim. Mikhail Anikin, a Leonardo da Vinci expert in the Hermitage museum’s Western European art department, said he would give Mr Brown one month to apologise and give up half his revenues from the book or he would take him to court in Russia and the US to seek all his earnings from the novel. “When I read the book, I was shocked at its poor quality and because it used my ideas,” Dr Anikin...

ONDON - Richard Leigh, a writer of alternative history who unsuccessfully sued for plagiarism over themes in Dan Brown's blockbuster novel "The Da Vinci Code," has died, his agent said Friday. He was 64. U.S.-born Leigh, who had lived in Britain for three decades, died in London on Nov. 21 of causes related to a heart condition, the Jonathan Clowes Agency said. Leigh was co-author of "The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail," a work of speculative nonfiction that claimed Jesus Christ fathered a child with Mary Magdalene and that the bloodline continues to this day. A best-seller on its...

Virtually every British daily has featured a major story on the trial that has just begun in London accusing Dan Brown, the author of the controversial best-seller The Da Vinci Code, of plagiarizing his work from a previous book entitled The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. Two of the authors of that book have sued, claiming that the "central theme" of their book was used by Brown to concoct his story; or, as the Daily Mail puts it more bluntly, "You ripped us off, authors accuse Da Vinci Code man." da_vinci_code_Cover.gifBrown’s fictional work has sold more than 40 million...

SNIP To understand the text, we need to know a little about the obelisk’s history. Before it was gifted to Paris, the monument used to be one of two that stood outside the Luxor Temple in Upper Egypt. Both pillars were built around the 13th century BCE, at the time of Ramses II’s reign. But at this time, the obelisk that is now in Paris would have had a face that could be seen by passengers traveling along the Nile River, and it is from this angle (around 45°) that the secret message is visible.“When I calculated where to stand...

Cooking how-to videos, recipe blogs and mass-produced cookbooks may be relatively recent inventions, but our ancestors liked to cook, too. Archaeologists have found remnants of food resembling our own all over the world, from traces of burnt porridge on Stone Age pots to "beer loaves" of bread in ancient Egypt. Yet, for much of history, cooking was an art passed down orally and not often documented in writing.So what's the oldest known recipe?The answer hails back to one of the oldest civilizations, although their recipes look a little different from the ones we see today...In fact, what we now know...