Paweł Janiszewski

is a historian at the Institute of History, University of Warsaw. He sometimes studies the Roman Empire, and is particularly interested in its religious phenomena, systems of philosophy, and culture.

Pure, Invincible, Magical

World + People

Dreams and Visions

Pure, Invincible, Magical

The myths and history of the ancient Greeks and Romans reveal the ways in which they viewed the sun.

Paweł Janiszewski

When You Rise, the World Lives

Art + Stories

Experiences

When You Rise, the World Lives

In the 14th century BCE, the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton implemented a drastic religious revolution by introducing worship of a god represented by the sun’s disc.

Paweł Janiszewski

Crystal Fortune-Telling

Humor + Variety

Variety

Crystal Fortune-Telling

The mineral commonly known as mountain crystal (or quartz) has captured the imagination for thousands of years. Why is this gemstone rumoured to be imbued with divine power?

Paweł Janiszewski

Oh Silence, Oh Deathly Silent Uproar!*

World + People

Science

Oh Silence, Oh Deathly Silent Uproar!*

Noise is all around us. So it has been, ever since we swapped our hunter-gatherer lifestyle for city-living – which is where the ancients’ complicated relationship with silence began…

Paweł Janiszewski

The Breath of the Universe

World + People

Outer Space

The Breath of the Universe

The Stoic philosophers of ancient Greece believed that breath played a fundamental role in structuring cosmic existence.

Paweł Janiszewski

An End That Marks a Beginning

Art + Stories

Experiences

An End That Marks a Beginning

The ouroboros, a serpent devouring its own tail, has been a symbol of cyclical renewal for thousands of years. A scholar presents its history across different cultures.

Paweł Janiszewski