Know Thyself: The Science of Uncovering the Ancients’ Origins

The Greek motto gnōthi sauton (know thyself, nosce te ipsum) combines with the image to convey the famous warning: Respice post te; hominem te esse memento; memento mori. (Look behind; remember that you are mortal; remember death.) (Public Domain)

"Know thyself!" These words were inscribed in the court of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. They were later quoted and expanded by Socrates, the Greek philosopher. He used them to highlight the fact that, in his opinion: "the unexamined life is not worth living." The phrases prompted author Jim Willis to address some inevitable questions: Do we, as individuals and collectively as members of the human species, really know who we are? Do we know where we came from or how we originated? Do we understand our place in the great scheme of things?

Fool's Cap World Map. ‘For in the whole universe the Earth is nothing’ (1590). National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London (Public Domain)

Humans like to think they know. After all, humans are immersed in the human mythos from conception. In school, children are told a story and taught rudimentary history and are tested to make sure they learn the basics. As such, most people become at least somewhat educated, modern, seemingly productive members of the human race. But underneath much of the accepted, non-examined blather of 21st century pseudo-sophistication that deals more with technological baubles than intellectual substance, lies a deep, abiding secret. Much of that which has been taught is wrong, some of it is misguided, a portion of it is a blatant lie intended to keep everyone in line, and a good deal of it has been suppressed.