Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

National Geographic History

September/October 2018
Magazine

See how National Geographic History magazine inflames and quenches the curiosity of history buffs and informs and entertains anyone who appreciates that the truth indeed is stranger than fiction with a digital subscription today. And that history is not just about our forebears. It’s about us. It’s about you.

FROM THE EDITOR

Chimú Child Sacrifice: An Appeal to the Heavens • In coastal Peru a team of archaeologists have uncovered history’s largest mass child sacrifice, which took place more than 500 years ago.

LIVES FOR THE GODS

A Life in Figures

Madame Tussauds: The House That Wax Built • After surviving the horrors of the French Revolution, Marie Tussaud combined her talent for sculpture and her life experience to create unforgettable wax figures. Her works would captivate Britain and go on to form the core of an empire of museums.

AN EARLY IMPRESSION

A MODEL FAMILY

Bigger Is Better: Rome’s Giant Marble Map • The “Forma Urbis,” a wall-size map of Rome, was a cartographic masterpiece on a scale never before seen.

Mixing Business With Pleasure

MALADIES AND MEDICINES

Killer in the Rye: St. Anthony’s Fire • Signs of St. Anthony’s fire were easy to see: seizures, hallucinations, and blackened limbs. Medieval Europeans believed its cause to be spiritual, but the true cause was far more earthly.

Everyday Life With St. Anthony’s Fire

THE SAINT AND HIS SUFFERERS

FAITH AND FIRE   THE TEACHINGS OF ZARATHUSTRA • Three thousand years ago, a powerful creed emerged in ancient Iran when its founder, Zarathustra, began teaching about the one good god, Ahura Mazda. An elusive figure in history, Zarathustra becomes clearly visible as the center of a monotheistic faith whose influence on other major religions is undeniable.

The Fortunes of a Faith

BURNING ZEAL

A ROYAL REFUGE

ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS • As one of the oldest living religions in the world, Zoroastrianism has evolved over time. Some rituals, such as the tending of hearths at fire temples, have endured and changed with the centuries, while others, such as sky burials, have fallen out of favor. Celebrations such as the coming-of-age ceremony maintain the lifeblood of this ancient creed by passing on its teachings and gifts to the next generation. 

THE ALEXANDER CONSPIRACIES • Alexander the Great watched his star rising brightly but was blind to the growing darkness in his regime. Plots of murder, both real and imagined, consumed his thoughts, turning Alexander against his former comrades in arms.

GENERATION GAP

PLOTS TO KILL THE KING

A SKILLED NEGOTIATOR

BROTHERS IN ARMS

FATHER AND SONS • Philotas’s father, Parmenio, served Alexander’s father, Philip II, who is said to have called Parmenio his one trustworthy general. After Philip’s death, Parmenio insured Alexander’s smooth accession to the throne by executing his main rival. To reward the faithful old general, Alexander installed two of Parmenio’s sons in his regime: the younger, Nicanor, commanded an infantry regiment, while the elder, Philotas, became commander of the Companion cavalry.

STANDING ON CEREMONY

HORNS, HOOVES, AND HELL • In the Middle Ages European artists and theologians shaped a new terrifying vision of Satan, taking him from a fallen angel to the overlord of hell and archenemy of the divine.

BLUE DEVILS?

LOOKING AHEAD

SPIRIT SUMMONING

1 EVIL’S TRUE COLORS

2 DEVIL’S BARGAINS

3 EXORCISTS AND INTERVIEWS

4 THE LAST JUDGMENT

THE MAYA REVEALED • In the 1840s two archaeologists introduced the grandeur of the Maya to the world. Through compelling words and captivating pictures, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood exposed the complexity and beauty of the...


Expand title description text
Frequency: Every other month Pages: 100 Publisher: National Geographic Society Edition: September/October 2018

OverDrive Magazine

  • Release date: August 28, 2018

Formats

OverDrive Magazine

Languages

English

See how National Geographic History magazine inflames and quenches the curiosity of history buffs and informs and entertains anyone who appreciates that the truth indeed is stranger than fiction with a digital subscription today. And that history is not just about our forebears. It’s about us. It’s about you.

FROM THE EDITOR

Chimú Child Sacrifice: An Appeal to the Heavens • In coastal Peru a team of archaeologists have uncovered history’s largest mass child sacrifice, which took place more than 500 years ago.

LIVES FOR THE GODS

A Life in Figures

Madame Tussauds: The House That Wax Built • After surviving the horrors of the French Revolution, Marie Tussaud combined her talent for sculpture and her life experience to create unforgettable wax figures. Her works would captivate Britain and go on to form the core of an empire of museums.

AN EARLY IMPRESSION

A MODEL FAMILY

Bigger Is Better: Rome’s Giant Marble Map • The “Forma Urbis,” a wall-size map of Rome, was a cartographic masterpiece on a scale never before seen.

Mixing Business With Pleasure

MALADIES AND MEDICINES

Killer in the Rye: St. Anthony’s Fire • Signs of St. Anthony’s fire were easy to see: seizures, hallucinations, and blackened limbs. Medieval Europeans believed its cause to be spiritual, but the true cause was far more earthly.

Everyday Life With St. Anthony’s Fire

THE SAINT AND HIS SUFFERERS

FAITH AND FIRE   THE TEACHINGS OF ZARATHUSTRA • Three thousand years ago, a powerful creed emerged in ancient Iran when its founder, Zarathustra, began teaching about the one good god, Ahura Mazda. An elusive figure in history, Zarathustra becomes clearly visible as the center of a monotheistic faith whose influence on other major religions is undeniable.

The Fortunes of a Faith

BURNING ZEAL

A ROYAL REFUGE

ZOROASTRIAN RITUALS • As one of the oldest living religions in the world, Zoroastrianism has evolved over time. Some rituals, such as the tending of hearths at fire temples, have endured and changed with the centuries, while others, such as sky burials, have fallen out of favor. Celebrations such as the coming-of-age ceremony maintain the lifeblood of this ancient creed by passing on its teachings and gifts to the next generation. 

THE ALEXANDER CONSPIRACIES • Alexander the Great watched his star rising brightly but was blind to the growing darkness in his regime. Plots of murder, both real and imagined, consumed his thoughts, turning Alexander against his former comrades in arms.

GENERATION GAP

PLOTS TO KILL THE KING

A SKILLED NEGOTIATOR

BROTHERS IN ARMS

FATHER AND SONS • Philotas’s father, Parmenio, served Alexander’s father, Philip II, who is said to have called Parmenio his one trustworthy general. After Philip’s death, Parmenio insured Alexander’s smooth accession to the throne by executing his main rival. To reward the faithful old general, Alexander installed two of Parmenio’s sons in his regime: the younger, Nicanor, commanded an infantry regiment, while the elder, Philotas, became commander of the Companion cavalry.

STANDING ON CEREMONY

HORNS, HOOVES, AND HELL • In the Middle Ages European artists and theologians shaped a new terrifying vision of Satan, taking him from a fallen angel to the overlord of hell and archenemy of the divine.

BLUE DEVILS?

LOOKING AHEAD

SPIRIT SUMMONING

1 EVIL’S TRUE COLORS

2 DEVIL’S BARGAINS

3 EXORCISTS AND INTERVIEWS

4 THE LAST JUDGMENT

THE MAYA REVEALED • In the 1840s two archaeologists introduced the grandeur of the Maya to the world. Through compelling words and captivating pictures, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood exposed the complexity and beauty of the...


Expand title description text