The Christian church was largely responsible for the rise of scientific astronomy. Allan Chapman, Gods in the Sky III
With the Greeks astronomy reached a new level of brilliant, and with the Romans that astronomy was disseminated around the world. ibid.
The first establishment of big observatories here in the Islamic world. ibid.
The fabled heights of Mount Olympus, home of larger-than-life beings who were lover, warriors and sacred healings; immortal deities with failures that were all too human. They were the lords of Heaven and Earth. In Search of History s2e15: The Greek Gods, History 1997
Zeus was crowned the supreme ruler of gods and mortals. ibid.
Hercules symbolised the ultimate super-human. ibid.
Concerning the gods, I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not or of what sort they may be. Many things prevent knowledge including the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life. Protagoras
The Ancient Greeks carved their gods to look like themselves, like people. Matthew Collings, This is Civilisation I: Ye Gods, BBC 2007
Reports of UFO sightings come from all corners of the globe. Most people think these alien encounters are a modern phenomenon, but in fact they have been reported for thousands of years. Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited the past by extraterrestrial beings. Ancient Aliens s1e2: The Visitors
Where did they come from? And just who were the visitors? ibid.
Today opinion polls indicate that more than half the people in the world believe that aliens have come here in the past or are coming here now. ibid.
Celestial beings coming down to Earth, gods descending from the sky ... Do similar accounts exist in other cultures and other religions across the world? And if so, what is the explanation? ibid.
Skull deformation is a global phenomenon. ibid.
Some of the most compelling images of the elongated cranium can be traced to ancient Egypt, and the depictions of one of its most controversial pharaohs [Akhenaten]: could it be that he too was mimicking the appearance of extraterrestrials? Or is there an even more outrageous explanation? Could the pharaoh himself have been an alien? ibid.
Egypt: Long before the pharaohs built the pyramids or even before communities settled along the River Nile the legends spoke of an era called Zep Tepi or the beginning of time. According to the myth, Zep Tepi was when sky gods descended from the stars to Earth on flying boats, and then turned mud and water into a prosperous new kingdom. ibid.
Tutankhamun [son of Akhenaten] was also found with an elongated skull. ibid.
Mali in north-west Africa. Deep in a remote valley live the Dogon people who are the descendants of a nomadic tribe that settled here about 1000 A.D. Like Akhenaten’s followers, the Dogon had been forced to leave Egypt because of religious persecution. But what exactly do their creation myths describe? Dogon legend holds that the sky-god Amma made the first living creature known as Nommo. ibid.
How did the Dogon acquire such sophisticated knowledge of astronomy? ibid.
‘This sign is practically an astonomical model that the Dogons could not have invented. Only Sirius A is visible. Sirius B & C is invisible. However, their description of the orbit is correct.’ ibid. expert
Thirty miles south of Gallup, New Mexico, lies the pueblo of Zuni ... Much of the Zuni people’s history is etched into the rock-faces of the surrounding New Mexican desert ... These legends are rooted in the belief that the tribe’s creators and protectors are supernatural beings who came from the sky ... They appear to depict modern space travellers and their astral vehicles. ibid.
Why might these images resemble modern astronauts? If they are aliens, is it possible they are similar to humans with similar limitations? And could they have come from a planet something like Earth? ibid.
Ancient China also shared some of the beliefs that we find in the Egyptian, Native American and Dogon legends. There assert that deities arrived from the heavens. ibid.
Why might these images resemble modern astronauts? If they are aliens, is it possible they are similar to humans, with similar limitations? ibid.
For thousands of years ancient myths have told of gods who came down from the heavens. Who were these mystical beings that ruled the skies with their supernatural powers? Ancient Aliens s2e2: Gods & Aliens
Mount Olympus: According to ancient myths it was the home of the gods. And it was here that Zeus presided on his throne determining the fate of ordinary men. Iibid.
If Mount Olympus was home to alien visitors, was Zeus their leader? ibid.
One of the most important Greek gods is Apollo who rode the skies in his chariot of fire. ibid.
Norse legends record the triumphs of great warriors with advanced weaponry, sophisticated combat techniques and navigational prowess. Like the Greeks, Norse mythology recounts supernatural beings, other worlds and powerful gods. ibid.
Such similarities are not limited to the Greek and Norse myths. In India the ancient epic of the Maharbarata describes visitations from God who possess the advanced technology of space travel. ibid.
But technology was not the only characteristic these ancient deities had in common. According to legends the gods enjoyed intimate relations with humans. If aliens chose human women as their sexual partners, what was their motivations? And what was the outcome of these very close encounters? ibid.
Ancient myths are full of stories of gods descending to Earth to mate with humans. ibid.
Some of the oldest accounts of gods and humans interbreeding can be found in ancient Hindu texts. ibid.
‘Throughout the 19th century many giant skeletons were allegedly discovered in the mid-West, and in parts of California, around Death Valley. ibid.
In the early 1800s local legends passed down by the Piaute Indians told of a race of Giants who were exterminated by their tribe. ibid.
Are the Nevada bones evidence of a race of Giants? ibid.
Gods descending to Earth, converging on the same haloed ground. A holy shrine built to mark the landing of a meteorite. And sacred caves where walls are lined with images of strange half-human creatures. Are such sites around the world evidence of man’s reverence for God, or the result of contact with ancient space travellers? Ancient Aliens s3e3: Aliens and Sacred Places
Jerusalem: It’s one of the most sacred sites on Earth where three of the world’s most prominent religions – Christianity, Judaism and Isalmism – all converge: Temple Mount. ibid.
The Temple was said to house the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred chest believed to have contained the stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. ibid.
The sculptures and wall paintings are some of the oldest surviving works of art from ancient India. ibid.
Ethiopia, the Churches of Lalibela: Who or what built them? ibid.
Lebanon: The ruins of a site that is much much older … the ancient city of Baalbek … The enormous stone foundation that lies at the base of the site dates back tens of thousands of years.
The giant megalithic stones incorporated into the foundation, each weighing between 800 and 1,200 tons. ibid.
Mass suicide. Human sacrifice. Unholy rituals. Throughout history there are those who have claimed to have other-worldly knowledge and have led their followers to commit horrific acts of violence ... Could the origins of the voices in their heads be extraterrestrial? Ancient Aliens s3e12: Aliens and Deadly Cults
San Diego, California: Police made a bizarre and horrifying discovery. 39 neatly arranged bodies. The final act of devotion to a charismatic leader named Marshall Applewhite. And the suicide cult he created known as Heaven’s Gate. ibid.
According to the ancient Sumerian texts Enki defied his superiors and handed down this forbidden known to a secret society known as The Brotherhood of the Snake. According to ancient legend the gods infiltrated the Brotherhood of the Snake, and the knowledge of humanity’s true origin was distorted so that humans would follow false gods and masters. ibid.
Is it possible that extraterrestrials posed as false gods in order to keep humans under their control? ibid.
A network of organised killers who by the 19th century numbered in the housands. They were known by the Thuggees, and by the most conservative of estimates, they are history’s deadliest cults. ibid.
Yet another cult was formed in Uganda called The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God ... ‘In the end more than 750 bodies were recovered.’ ibid.
Tokyo, Japan, March 20th 1995: Members of the Doomsday Cult Aum Shinrikyo, or The Supreme Truth Sect, placed packages filled with a deadly serin nerve agent on five different trains all racing into the heart of the Tokyo underground. ibid.
Superhuman strength. Supernatural powers. And the amazing ability to fly. Throughout history mankind has told incredible tales of gods and superheroes, and human beings have yearned to possess these extraordinary powers themselves. Could ancient stories of godlike kings and heroes have other-wordly origins? Ancient Aliens s3e15: Alien Gods and Heroes, History 2011
Ancient Astronaut theorists point to various artefacts and statues depicting ancient gods who flew. ibid.
Was the god Poseidon really a figure of myth and legend? Ancient Aliens s4e4: Aliens and Mega-Disasters, History 2012