We tend to think of ancient stories of visits to the Underworld - by, for example, Odysseus, Orpheus and Aeneas - as being poetic fictions, but in fact in the ancient world the Underworld was believed to be real place that actually existed. Unfortunately, this entrance to the Underworld was lost in the Dark Ages, and hasn't been rediscovered since - or at least until the 1960s. Recently Robert Temple heard a rumour that an archaeological expedition in 1962 HAD actually rediscovered the entrance near Baiia in Italy, but that the Italian authorities had forbidden exploration. While lobbying to be allowed to excavate, he researched all the classical sources relating to the Underworld and began to piece together what actually happened on these visits to the underworld - how waters in the ritual bathing that preceded entry would be full of hallucinogenic drugs, how a system of trap doors would be used to fake supernatural happenings and how the priests would quiz you as to what you'd experienced when you re-emerged - and if you didn't believe in it, they'd kill you! Netherworld is the extraordinary story of what Temple discovered when he did eventually get permission to make his own descent into the Underworld - including the river Styx, the false doors, the snake pit and carved invocations to the Goddess of the Underworld, all seen here for the first time since ancient civilization.

Netherworld

Robert Temple

Random House of Canada Ltd.

1991: by Robert Temple- A Verse Translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh.

He Who Saw Everything

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Rider Books

The extraordinary discovery of the Underworld of the ancient Greeks.\nWe tend to think of ancient stories of visits to the Underworld by Odysseus, Orpheus and Aeneas as being poetic fictions, but Robert Temple shows here that in fact, the Ancients believed the Underworld to be a place that actually existed. It was maintained by a college of priests who would prepare, through ritual fasting, prayer, animal sacrifice, bathing and solitude, whoever wished to meet the shades of the dead. The candidate would then be led through the entrance to the Underworld, a dark, terrifying place, far underground, where after a series of ordeals and apparitions, they would finally meet with the ghosts of the dead. All these features recur in the ancient stories.\nRecently Robert Temple heard that a 1962 archaeological expedition had actually discovered the entrance in Italy.This is the amazing story of what he found when he was finally allowed to make his own descent into the Underworld – the River Styx, false doors, a snake pit and carved invocations to the Goddess of the Underworld, all revealed for the first time since ancient times.

Netherworld: Discovering the Oracle of the Dead and Ancient Techniques of Foretelling the Future

History

Ancient Civilizations

Century

Revised, full-color illustrated edition of the multi-award-winning, international bestseller that charts the unparalleled and astounding achievement of ancient China • Brings to life one hundred Chinese “firsts” in the fields of agriculture, astronomy, engineering, mathematics, medicine, music, technology, and warfare • Based on the definitive work of the world’s most famous Sinologist, Joseph Needham (1900-1995), author of Science and Civilisation in China • Organized by field, invention, and discovery for ease of reference Undisputed masters of invention and discovery for 3,000 years, the ancient Chinese were the first to discover the solar wind and the circulation of the blood and even to isolate sex hormones. From the suspension bridge and the seismograph to deep drilling for natural gas, the iron plough, and the parachute, ancient China’s contributions in the fields of engineering, medicine, technology, mathematics, science, transportation, warfare, and music helped inspire the European agricultural and industrial revolutions. Since its original publication, The Genius of China has won five literary awards in America and been translated into 43 languages. Its Chinese edition, The Spirit of Chinese Invention, was approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education for use in connection with the national secondary curriculum in China. Based on the immense, authoritative scholarship of the late Joseph Needham, the world’s foremost scholar of Chinese science, and including a foreword by him, this revised full-color illustrated edition brings to life the spirit and excitement of the unparalleled achievements of ancient China.

The Genius of China: 3,000 Years of Science, Discovery, and Invention

Reference

Inner Traditions

Who Killed the King?

Europe

The Tree's Sadness

Literary

Eglantyne Books

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Books by Robert Temple