The Tale of Horus and Seth is an ancient Egyptian myth about Horus and Seth's rivalry for the Egyptian throne, held in the story by Osiris, Horus' father and god of the underworld. There are several versions of the story worldwide, but this particular one, held at the Petrie Museum in London, allegedly contains the world's first chat-up line - and it's gay.
Tired with fighting Horus for the throne, Seth, god of storms, chaos and the desert, decides to invite his foe over for a 'feast'. Yet when Horus, god of the king, sky and vengeance, arrives, Seth has an underhand plan with which to fool him.
Rather than bestow violence upon Horus, Seth decides to seduce him, so as to fall him foul of the conservative council who will pick Osiris' successor. "How lovely are your buttocks," Seth says, "and how muscular your thighs." A Lichtheim translation follows the story thus:
"Now when evening had come,a bed was prepared for them, and they lay down together. At night Seth let his member become stiff and he inserted it between the thighs of Horus. And Horus placed his hands between his thighs and caught the semen of Seth."
Submitted by Bija Knowles on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 13:54
For any solider fighting wars away in foreign lands, letters to and from family and loved ones take on enormous resonance and importance. We've all seen the TV and movie versions of army life in the world wars, in which the handing out of letters is a ritual frought with excitement, emotion, and rivalry. The same situation was probably played out thousands of years earlier, as some remarkable ancient letters attest.
While the first letters ever written were probably cuneiform imprints onto clay tablets, penned in Mesopotamia and Egypt, by the time the Roman civilization began to expand around the Mediterranean, papyrus was being used as a lightweight and durable alternative.
Highlighted Quote:
you neglectful man, who have sent me not even one letter
Starting this Saturday, the second oldest copy of the Ten Commandments will go on display, at the Royal Ontario Museum, for 80 hours only. The exhibit will run from October 10 to October 18.
The Israel Antiquities Authority has been very cautious about how much light it gets exposed to – which is the reason why it is only going to be put on display for 80 hours.
“Damage due to light is accumulative and it just gets worse and worse,” said Dan Rahimi, an archaeologist and Vice-President of Gallery Development for the Royal Ontario Musuem.
The museum is going to be displaying it under lighting that is “equivalent to the light of a candle.” You will still be able to see the text since the light outside the display case will be turned down so that the scroll will appear bright.
One of Toronto’s most unique cultural getaways is a place dedicated to one small, but important, facet of human culture – shoes. The Bata Shoe Museum, as its name suggests, is a museum dedicated to the history of shoes. It shows shoes ranging from 4,500 years ago to the modern day. You can find shoes worn by Anasazi, the ancient Egyptians and, yes, even Pamela Anderson – all in the same building.
Shoes in the ancient world are rare archaeological finds. An archaeologist can excavate a decent sized city and not find a single pair. As such the bulk of the museum’s collection postdates the ancient world.
But, there are a number of treats for those of us interested in ancient shoes. The museum has a pair of 2,000 year old yucca leaf sandals from the Anasazi culture, from the American Southwest, which are remarkably well preserved.
Starting this Saturday, the second oldest copy of the Ten Commandments will go on display, at the 
One of Toronto’s most unique cultural getaways is a place dedicated to one small, but important, facet of human culture – shoes. The 
