People have been living all around the world for literally thousands of years. Here are some of the most interesting things human beings have ever done (that we know about).

Fascinating Ancient History

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Today, monuments in the ancient world, from the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-ancient-egyptians-moved-pyramid-blocks/stephanroget">Pyramids of Giza</a> to the Roman Pantheon to Cambodia's Angkor Wat, are some of the world's most popular tourism&nbsp;destinations. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/secret-rooms-in-historical-landmarks/jim-rowley">Historical landmarks</a> like these&nbsp;allow visitors to imagine what life would have been like thousands of years before their time, which is a major part of their appeal.But this is not a modern phenomenon. Ancient peoples flocked to tourist destinations for the same reasons people do today: to be enlightened, entertained, and energized.

What Tourism Was Like In The Ancient World

Location

Jim Rowley

Ancient Greece

There have been numerous <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/movies-and-shows-based-on-mythology-/ariannafelidae?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">TV shows about Greek mythology</a> over the years for us mere mortals to enjoy.&nbsp;While it may have been created thousands of years ago, Greek mythology continues to influence the modern world in new and exciting ways. Many would say our current fascination with superheroes has roots in ancient mythology and seeing the parallels between Superman and the gods would certainly support that theory. But you don't have to look too far to find connections. Mythology is fun and makes for great character archetypes, which is why there are such good shows about Greek and Roman mythology.Some shows take a direct approach to adapting mythology, such as the various shows centering around Hercules. Other take a more modern approach, such as the 90s series Cupid where the Greek god is tasked with making 100 couples fall in love.&nbsp;This list features the best Greek mythology TV series of all time. You have the power of Zeus in your hands with the might to decide which shows make it to the top of the list and which ones are banished to the bottom.&nbsp;

The Greatest TV Shows About Or Inspired By Greek Mythology

TV Program

The Best Greek Mythology TV Series & Shows About Greco-Roman Gods

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Lists about customs, rituals, and daily life in Ancient Rome and the Roman Republic, which ruled the Mediterranean from 8th Century BC until its spectacular collapse in 476 AD.

Rome If You Want To

Ancient History

The Roman Empire extended throughout the Mediterranean, well into Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. From the early 1st century CE to the early 4th century, the Roman Empire spread its military and culture alike. Later shifting from Rome to Constantinople - where it continued on as the Byzantine Empire - the Roman Empire left an undeniable political and social legacy.&nbsp;

As individuals went about their daily lives in Rome, perhaps watching <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/roman-colosseum-experience/genevieve-carlton" target="_blank">an event at the Colosseum</a> or visiting the Forum to buy everyday items, life in the Roman Empire was a mixture of excitement and the mundane - not unlike today. Similarly, some popular things in the Roman Empire strongly resemble stuff you use day in and day out. There are some differences, of course, it was the ancient world. But take a look at Roman every day items compared to how they look now!

20 Everyday Items From The Roman Empire Vs. How They Look Today

General

20 Everyday Items From Ancient Rome Vs. How They Look Today

Melissa Sartore

History

Part of the morbid allure of mummies lies in their surreal out-of-time physicality. <a href="/list/ways-to-make-mummies/laura-allan" target="_blank">Mummies from around the world</a> offer people a glimpse into the literal,&nbsp;tangible past, bringing history&nbsp;to life in a way no written chronicle can. And when it comes to making ancient life seem real, few human relics can match the impact of the Mummy Juanita, AKA the Inca Ice Maiden.&nbsp;

In 1995, internationally-renowned anthropologist&nbsp;Johan Reinhard, along with his climbing companion, Miguel Z&aacute;rate, discovered the <a href="/list/whoa-ice-mummies/mallory-weiler" target="_blank">ice mummy</a> Juanita in the Andes. Uncannily well-preserved - even her organs and the contents of her stomach were intact - Juanita immediately captivated researchers. She&#39;s believed to have been an Inca child, <a href="/list/brutal-human-sacrifices/t-l-perez" target="_blank">sacrificed to appease the gods</a> around the year 1450. She was&nbsp;a mummy <a href="/list/mummies-found-in-real-life/mike-rothschild" target="_blank">long before she was found</a>. Nevertheless, if it hadn&#39;t been for the volcanic eruption that&nbsp;effectively dislodged her resting place, she might never have been discovered&nbsp;at all.&nbsp;

Today, Juanita has been relocated from her icy tomb. She sits on display at&nbsp;the&nbsp;Museum of Andean Sanctuaries in Arequipa, Peru, where&nbsp;she seems to greet visitors from across the centuries.

This Ancient Child Sacrifice Found Perfectly Preserved In Ice Is Fascinating

13 Facts About the Mummy Juanita, The Inca Ice Woman

Lisa A. Flowers

Interesting

From <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/inaccuracies-in-history-s-vikings/theodoros-karasavvas" target="_blank">pop-culture&nbsp;representations</a> to the marauders we read about in history class, Vikings are fascinating. Harsh and adventurous, seafaring and brave, they were not a group to be messed with. But how much do we really know?

With&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/vikings-myths-debunked/ryan-sargent" target="_blank">myth and fact</a> so mixed, we needed clarity. The Vikings made it to North America, for example -&nbsp;but why did&nbsp;they leave?&nbsp;<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/questions-answers-middle-ages/melissa-sartore" target="_blank">We found out</a>&nbsp;- and had to learn&nbsp;more.

As a result, this list contains the answers to a&nbsp;whole new batch of questions we had about the Vikings.&nbsp;How did they end up fighting for the Byzantines? Did they have pets? What did they like to do in their free time? Vote up the best answers to these common Viking questions.

11 Answers To Questions About Vikings We Wish We'd Gotten Sooner

Entertainment

Some movies about <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ancient-rome-myths-debunked/hannah-gilham" target="_blank">ancient Rome</a> are excellent, others are awful. In the middle, there are a bunch of <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-best-roman-movies" target="_blank">movies about Rome</a>, the Roman Empire, and the Roman world that fall somewhere along a subjective quality spectrum - many of which qualify as&nbsp;&quot;pretty good.&quot;

Not every movie about ancient Rome wins an Academy Award for Best Picture like <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historical-errors-in-gladiator/setareh-janda" target="_blank">Gladiator</a>&nbsp;(2000) or&nbsp;Ben-Hur&nbsp;(1959). And very few stand the test of time like&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/life-of-brian-quotes/movie-and-tv-quotes" target="_blank">Monty Python&#39;s Life of Brian</a>&nbsp;(1979). But there are many&nbsp;other flicks to check out if you&#39;re in the need for some ancient Roman action, drama, and intrigue.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pretty good movies about ancient Rome may fall short for a variety of reasons. Perhaps they lack development when it comes to characters or plot.&nbsp;It could be that they&#39;re&nbsp;in desperate need of an overhaul in terms of special effects. Or maybe they&nbsp;just never caught on with large&nbsp;audiences. Regardless,&nbsp;a lot of them are&nbsp;plenty entertaining, so if you&#39;re looking for new ancient Rome movies to watch, here you go!

Pretty Good Movies About Ancient Rome

Film

The Best Movies About The Roman Empire, Ranked By Fans

Lists about the infinite expanses of space and time. Read up to open your mind so wide, it explodes.

Theories of the Universe

Many ancient thinkers&#39; observations about&nbsp;nature - the origins of life, the size and scope and organization of the heavens, the causes of disease - <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historical-theories-about-space/machk" target="_blank">were woefully inaccurate</a>. But this is not because early theorists were dumb. In fact, they were often&nbsp;deeply observant, sophisticated, and rigorous in their thinking. They invented, or at least formalized, many of the concepts - from mathematics, to logic, to empiricism&nbsp;- that we take for granted as essential tools in understanding the world around us.

It&rsquo;s easy to stand on a mountain&nbsp;of others&rsquo; achievements and look down on the poor rubes who believed the sun went around the Earth, or that disease was caused by poisonous &quot;miasma&quot;&nbsp;in the air or an imbalance of humors in the body. But it&rsquo;s the height of arrogance to suppose that, in their shoes, modern thinkers would&nbsp;have done any better. It&rsquo;s a lot easier to read about heliocentrism, or evolution, or germ theory, in a textbook&nbsp;than to <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/full-cast-of-figure-it-out-cast-list-for-the-show-figure-it-out/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">figure it out</a> for oneself.

Although this process of accumulating knowledge is a slow one, occasionally people from past ages did&nbsp;have tantalizing flashes of insight that, for whatever reason, didn&rsquo;t become conventional wisdom for many centuries. Perhaps empirical data wasn&#39;t available to support these insights, or cultural currents were too strong to overcome. The flashes remain in the historical record and remind us of the truth of Einstein&rsquo;s assertion:

<blockquote>
Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.
</blockquote>

10 Ancient Theories That Turned Out To Be Correct

Person

Ancient Theories That Turned Out To Be Correct

Gordon Cameron

It may not be as big a genre as the space opera or the superhero film, but the Viking picture has been around for about as long as filmmaking itself. But have you ever sat down to think about the most underrated Viking films? Not the&nbsp;best&nbsp;Viking movies, but the ones that deserve a little bit better than what they got upon release.

Fans of big names like Antonio Banderas or Mads Mikkelsen should check out&nbsp;The 13th Warrior&nbsp;and&nbsp;Valhalla Rising. Those looking for a bit of science fiction in their Viking movie should look into&nbsp;Outlander. In the mood for some laughs with your <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/historically-inaccurate-viking-tropes/setareh-janda" target="_blank">horned helmets</a>?&nbsp;Erik the Viking&nbsp;is the movie for you. So, grow out a beard and drink some mead - we&#39;re running through the history of underrated Viking flicks that deserve a second look.

Underrated Viking Movies That Deserve A Spot In Valhalla

Underrated Viking Movies That Are Worth Watching

T.W. Mitchell

Explainer

Living in the 21st century certainly has its perks&nbsp;&ndash;&nbsp;deoderant, Snapchat, Beyonc&eacute;, and the list goes on. Fortunately for us, we&#39;re aren&#39;t doomed&nbsp;to roam any prehistoric era, when not getting mauled and eaten by a saber-tooth tiger was the most success a person could ask for on any given day. One of the biggest benefit of the modern age would have to be the lack of gargantuan &ndash; and sometimes carnivorous &ndash;&nbsp;prehistoric animals. Creatures of land, sky, and sea <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/why-prehistoric-animals-were-huge/olivia-pasquarelli" target="_blank">were all significantly larger</a> back then, and although most of these age-old giants have some distant relative still living today,&nbsp;they&#39;re&nbsp;not necessarily what you would expect. Check out the list below for things that were terrifyingly bigger in the prehistoric era.&nbsp; &nbsp;

Things That Were Terrifyingly Bigger In Prehistoric Times

Animals That Were Terrifyingly Bigger in Prehistoric Times

Jacoby Bancroft

What It's Like

Humans didn’t always live in cities and towns.&nbsp;They started out as nomadic tribes looking for whatever food was available in their general area. Hunter-gatherer societies laid the foundations of our modern civilizations, comprising almost all of human history with the exception of the last few thousand years. But what was it like to live as one of them?During their dominant time in the Paleolithic Era, hunter-gatherers spent their days scrounging food from plant life while hunting and fishing for meat. These two means of obtaining food led to the basic cultural structures we see today, especially in the form of gender roles.Hunter-gatherer societies&nbsp;hold many surprises, especially when we study the last few remaining&nbsp;tribes that live a similar lifestyle today. Even though humanity eventually embraced agriculture during the Neolithic Era, a few hunter-gatherer tribes have lived on, and from them we can extrapolate what life was once like for all human beings.

What It Would Have Been Like to Live in a Hunter-Gatherer Society

What It's Like to Live in a Hunter-Gatherer Society

Aaron Edwards

English is a language with many influences. A hefty percentage of English words are taken from French, and are particularly evident in <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/american-british-english/michael-muir?ref=profile_own" target="_blank">British English</a>. The influence of <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/vikings-in-the-modern-world/aaron-edwards" target="_blank">Old Norse</a> and others can all be readily seen in everyday use. Another major source of our modern vocabulary comes from decidedly ancient origins, particularly the Greco-Roman world.

This collection features words and phrases and the stories behind them drawn from the ancient world.&nbsp;

Everyday Words And Phrases Most People Don't Know Came From The Ancient World

Everyday Words And Phrases That Came From The Ancient World

M. Muir

Lists about the fascinating culture and practices of the civilization that occupied Northeastern Africa from 3000 to 300 BC. 

Walk Like an Egyptian

The Great Pyramid &ndash; the largest of several found at Giza &ndash; is the only surviving wonder of the ancient world. With such a fantastical past, it has long been debated how such an astounding structure was built without the help of modern technology. Over the years, it has been conjectured that ancient Egyptians carried large hand-carved rocks up massive ramps to set them in place, but that doesn&rsquo;t explain <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/how-ancient-egyptians-moved-pyramid-blocks/stephanroget" target="_blank">how these enormous limestone blocks were transported</a> to the Giza plateau in the first place.

However, in 2017, archaeologists made a fascinating new discovery: a papyrus scroll that finally explains how the building materials were brought from far away. Consisting of one person&rsquo;s first-hand account, this discovery uncloaks a mystery that has fascinated&nbsp;archaeologists, researchers, and armchair historians for years. Zahi Hawass, minister of antiquities and former chief inspector of the site of the pyramids of Giza, <a href="http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/papyrus-reveals-how-the-great-pyramid-of-giza-was-built/">called it</a> &ldquo;the greatest discovery in Egypt in the 21st century.&rdquo; It&#39;s no wonder the discovery made headlines around the world.

Scientists Finally Discover Ancient Blueprints Showing How The Pyramids Were Built

Noelle Talmon

Given the&nbsp;elaborately stocked tombs and hieroglyphics depicting people in eye makeup and crisp linen outfits, it appears hygiene was important to ancient Egyptian society. While Egyptians did have an obsession with cleanliness and a desire to appear aesthetically perfect, the methods they used to beautify and cleanse themselves were limited to what they had to work with. Many things modern societies have come to associate with ancient Egyptians, such as dark eye makeup and wigs, were adopted not only for appearances but also as methods of survival in an area scorched by the sun and an era plagued by insects, vermin, and parasites.

Lacking&nbsp;sanitation and other modern conveniences, societies like ancient Egypt&nbsp;had to get creative and resourceful to survive. The Egyptians&#39; use of makeup and methods of cleaning bodies helped inspire many of the soaps, cosmetics, and perfumes popularized in later eras. The biggest quality-of-life variable for ancient Egyptians was social class. Whether they owned a toilet or had to bathe (among other things)&nbsp;in a crocodile-infested river, ancient Egyptians had a great number of hygienic idiosyncrasies that made their society unique.

What Was Hygiene Like In Ancient Egypt?

What Was Ancient Egyptian Hygiene Like?

Erin McCann

Looking closer at the who, what, where, why, and how of mummies and human preservation around the world and throughout history.

Forever Young

Mummies may be best known as the monsters who have terrified generations thanks to the films of Universal Studios. While&nbsp;the process of mummification used by the <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/ancient-egyptian-curses-unleashed-by-archaeologists/tamar-altebarmakian" target="_blank">Ancient Egyptians</a>&nbsp;- the culture most associated with mummies - may seem disturbing&nbsp;now, the practice was commonplace in its time. What&#39;s more,&nbsp;Ancient Egypt was hardly the only location to&nbsp;produce mummies. In fact, natural mummification occurs <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/facts-about-sokushinbutsu-japanese-self-mummification-monks/amber-fua" target="_blank">more frequently than you might expect</a>, especially if the Salt Men of Zanjan are any indication.

A 1993 discovery in Iran has since yielded not only a treasure trove of ancient artifacts&nbsp;but also a plethora of naturally mummified miners, dubbed&nbsp;&quot;The Salt Men of Iran.&quot;&nbsp;Because salt is a natural desiccant -&nbsp;meaning&nbsp;it draws moisture from the air and whatever surrounds it -&nbsp;those&nbsp;who became trapped within the Iranian salt mine more than 2,200 years ago are almost perfectly preserved.

Inside The Salt Mine Where 'Natural' Mummies Were Trapped For Thousands Of Years

The Iranian Salt Men Mummies Offer Archeological Revelations

Jonathan H. Kantor

Lists ranking the best guests on The Joe Rogan Experience, a  long form podcast hosted by the stand up comic veteran.

The Joe Rogan Experience

We can learn about the modern world by looking at the past. The myriad mysteries of Ancient Egypt continue to perplex&nbsp;historians, but there&rsquo;s no denying the world would be a very different place if not&nbsp;for the contributions of the ancient Egyptians. While there are a lot of known facts&nbsp;centering around this particular time and place, there are also a lot of conspiracies, and&nbsp;Joe&rsquo;s interviewed&nbsp;a number of&nbsp;guests over the years who have all&nbsp;helped to shed some light on this pivotal point in our past (though some guests seem to have more of a basis in actual science than others).

Many people believe ancient Egypt holds the key to understanding alien life. Even if otherworldly beings had nothing to do with Egypt, it is still fascinating to discuss all the pyramids, sphinxes, and other interesting monuments. Joe Rogan&#39;s guests run the gamut of topics from the plausible to the insane, but with each episode covering a different part of history, and with a different point of view, there&#39;s plenty to explore.

Be sure to vote up your favorite JRE podcast episodes where Joe and his guests discuss the many mysteries of ancient Egypt.

Mysterious Joe Rogan Episodes About Ancient Egypt

TV Episode

Ranking The Best Joe Rogan Podcast Episodes About Ancient Egypt

Ranker Podcast

Exploring the folklore, stories, and teachings in different cultures around the globe and throughout history.

Mythology Around the World

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For us mere mortals, mythology and the world of ancient Greece and the gods has been a fascinating subject for thousands of years. So it makes sense that filmmakers have been drawing inspiration from Greek mythology almost since the advent of the medium. Mythological stories tend to be rich with drama, action, and betrayal, none more so than Greek mythology where humans lived in harmony or discord with their gods.&nbsp;These interactions often led to grand adventures that make for great movies. Other films like Hercules in New York and Mighty Aphrodite take elements from Greek mythology and place them in modern settings. Ideas like these have also been the basis for many <a href="https://www.ranker.com/list/best-shows-about-greek-mythology/ranker-tv" target="_blank">TV shows about Greek mythology</a> as well.

It&rsquo;s really no wonder why popular directors like Zack Snyder, Oliver Stone, and the Coen&nbsp;brothers have all made movies that bring the Greek mythos to the silver screen. But which one of these movies is the best? You get to help decide by voting up your favorite Greek mythology movies. The best part is that you can vote for more than one, you&rsquo;ll be helping other fans find out what to watch next. Thanks to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime, you can start watching a lot of these movies right now. 
&nbsp;

Oedipus Mayor

The Best Movies About Greek Mythology

The 36 Best Greek Mythology Movies Of All Time

Ranker Film

Ancient History lists at Ranker - The ultimate source for hundreds of ancient history lists and rankings