This is a new release of the original 1927 edition.

"Abbreviations for references": pages vii-viii.

This exhaustive volume catalogs nearly three thousand demons in the mythologies and lore of virtually every ancient society and most religions. From Aamon, the demon of life and reproduction with the head of a serpent and the body of a wolf in Christian demonology, to Zu, the half-man, half-bird personification of the southern wind and thunder clouds in Sumero-Akkadian mythology, entries offer descriptions of each demon's origins, appearance and cultural significance. Also included are descriptions of the demonic and diabolical members making up the hierarchy of Hell and the numerous species of demons that, according to various folklores, mythologies, and religions, populate the earth and plague mankind. Very thoroughly indexed.

Lieut.-Col. Laurence Austine Waddell (1854 1938) was a British Army officer with an established reputation mainly due to a work on the 'Buddhism' of Tibet, his explorations of the Himalayas, and a biography which included records of the 1903-4 military expedition to Lhasa (Lhasa and its Mysteries). Waddell was also in the limelight due to his acquisition of Tibetan manuscripts which he donated to the British Museum. His overriding interest was in 'Aryan origins'. After learning Sanskrit and Tibetan, and in between military expeditions and gathering intelligence from the borders of Tibet in the Great Game, Waddell researched Lamaïsm. He extended his activities to Archaeology, Philology and Ethnology, and was credited with discoveries in relation to Buddha. His personal ambition was to locate records of ancient civilisation in Tibetan lamaseries. Waddell is little known as an archaeologist and scholar, in contrast with his fame in the Oriental field, due to the controversial nature of his published works dealing with 'Aryan themes'. Waddell studied Sumerian and presented evidence that an Aryan migration fleeing Sargon II carried Sumerian records to India. He interrupted his comparative studies of Sumerian and Indian king-lists to publish a work on Phoenician origins and decipherment of Indus Valley seals, the inscriptions of which he claimed were similar to Sumerian pictogram signs cited from G. A. Barton's plates, which are reproduced in this volume. Waddell's life is reconstructed from primary sources, such as letters from Marc Aurel Stein at the British Museum and Theophilus G Pinches, held in the Special Collections at the University of Glasgow Library. Special attention is paid to the contemporary reception of his theories, with the objective of re-evaluating his contribution; they are contrasted to past and present academic views, in addition to an overview of relevant discoveries in Archaeology.

A new series of the Scottish antiquary established 1886.

We are an integrated part of cosmos. The substance related to the astronomical concepts forms the subject matter of Astronomy. It broadly studies universe, solar system, planets, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids and several other astronomical bodies, often thought to be of the status of celestial origin. Out of the occurrence of a fluke manifestation, one after the other resulting in the creation of life, species and humans. In modern times, Hubble Telescope revolutionised planetary studies and outlived its lifespan. What likely edge will James Webb have over Hubble Space Telescope which immensely enriched the human knowledge on Cosmos for about three decades? Acclaimed scientists have contributed towards evolving a convincing narrative. Often indisputable pieces of evidence and sometimes some intelligent hypothesis support it. A tiny dot became universe followed by the birth of the sun, moon, the earth, other planets, nebula, galaxy and milky ways, and living kingdom. Life evolved, flora and fauna developed. Five catastrophic extinctions occurred eliminating several species. This journey is laid on twelve hours on a clock. In due course, Homo sapiens developed who brought along intricacies like Environmental Degradation, Global Warming and Climate Change. What length of the queue will be created if we trace the lineage of our generation back to the first human that appeared to roam about on the earth? Narrative wavers from line, tracks the life and achievements of ancient civilisations, which laid the foundation stone for human societies, and got eliminated due to damage to the fine balance of environmental sustainability. This book refers to the ones like Indus valley civilisation, the master traders; the Sumerians, the pioneers in many fields; the mysterious Maya; and incredibly industrious Rapa Nui. All got exterminated. As scientists continue to turn up even more signs of collapsed civilisations, they are finding plenty of evidence that climate shifts are to blame to a considerable extent. Why and how? The narrative attempts to answer. The chronicle is before you which might engender a child-like fascination as you delve deeper and farther in it.