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| Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past | |
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| Author | Erich von Däniken |
| Publication date | 1968 |
Chariots of the Gods?: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past is a book written in 1968 by Erich von Däniken. It involves the hypothesis that the technologies and religions of many ancient civilizations were given to them by space travelers who were welcomed as gods.
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Content
The types of evidence von Däniken cites can be categorized as follows:
- The existence of structures and artifacts have been found which represent higher technological knowledge than is presumed by Däniken to have existed at the times they were manufactured. Däniken maintains that these artifacts were produced either by extraterrestrial visitors or by humans who learned the necessary knowledge from them. Such artifacts include the Egyptian pyramids, Stonehenge, and the Moai of Easter Island. Further examples include a medieval map known as the Piri Reis Map, allegedly showing the Earth as it is seen from space, and the Nazca lines in Peru, which he explains as landing strips for an airfield.
- Interpretations of ancient artwork throughout the world as depictions of astronauts, air and space vehicles, extraterrestrials, and complex technology. Däniken also describes elements that he believes are similar in art of unrelated cultures.
- Explanations for the origins of religions as reactions to contact with an alien race. According to Däniken, humans considered the technology of the aliens to be supernatural and the aliens themselves to be gods. Däniken asks if the oral and literal traditions of most religions contain references to visitors from stars and vehicles traveling through air and space. These, he says, should be interpreted as literal descriptions which have changed during the passage of time and become more obscure. An example is Ezekiel's revelation in Old Testament, which he interprets as a detailed description of a landing spacecraft. Däniken attempts to draw an analogy with the "cargo cults" that formed during and after World War II, when once-isolated tribes in the South Pacific mistook the advanced American and Japanese soldiers for gods.
The two most controversial proposals were that Biblical characters were inspired by the extraterrestrials, and humans acquired their superior intelligence by mating with aliens.
Response
Most scientists and historians have rejected his ideas, claiming that the book's conclusions were based on faulty, pseudoscientific evidence, some of which was later demonstrated to be fraudulent and/or fabricated, and under illogical premises. For example, Ronald Story wrote a book rebutting Däniken's ideas in 1976 titled The Space Gods Revealed. A similar internationally bestselling book, entitled Crash Go The Chariots by Clifford Wilson, Ph.D., appeared in 1972.
A 2004 article in Skeptic Magazine[1] states that von Däniken plagiarized many of the book's concepts from Le Matin des Magiciens, that this book in turn was heavily influenced by the Cthulhu Mythos, and that the core of the ancient astronaut theory originates in H. P. Lovecraft's short stories "The Call of Cthulhu" and "At the Mountains of Madness".
One artifact offered as evidence in the book has been disclaimed by Däniken himself. Chariots asserts that a non-rusting iron pillar in India was evidence of extraterrestrial influence, but Däniken admitted in a Playboy interview (vol.21, no.8, 1974) that the pillar was man-made and that as far as supporting his theories goes "we can forget about this iron thing." However, neither this nor any other discredited evidence has been removed from subsequent reprints of Chariots of the Gods.
Adaptations
The book was adapted as a German documentary film Chariots of the Gods, produced by Sun International, and as a TV documentary In Search of Ancient Astronauts.
Paradox Entertainment currently owns the film rights of the book.[2]
In popular media
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In 2009 The History Channel aired a program called "Ancient Aliens" that explores the plausibility of Däniken's ideas.
The book also served as inspiration for the TV series Battlestar Galactica, the short-lived The Phoenix TV series, the feature film Stargate, its spinoff TV series, the Halo video game series, and elements of the Alien vs. Predator film, where Predators came to Earth and "taught humans how to build". The Ultimate Edition DVD of Stargate contains an interview with Erich von Däniken entitled, "Is There a Stargate?". The feature film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull also uses the theme of ancient astronauts who landed in South America and interacted with early humans and mentions the Nazca Lines of Peru. Also, in John Carpenter's The Thing, the character Palmer (played by David Clennon) says, when discussing the eponymous creature, "Chariots of the Gods, man. They practically own South America. I mean, they taught the Incas everything they know."
An early episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 showed Crow and Joel talking about Däniken's book, with Crow dismissing the ancient astronauts theory as absurd due to the age restrictions which were in place by NASA at the time (Crow: "Astronauts have to be between the ages of 23 and 37!"). (This rule was changed when John Glenn made his second voyage into space two days before his 77th birthday.)
Marvel Comics' magazine Marvel Preview #1, "Man Gods From Beyond the Stars" was a tribute to Däniken. Jack Kirby's Marvel Comics series "Eternals" was influenced by Däniken.
See also
- Ancient astronaut theories
- Out-of-place artifact
- Vimana
- Vaimanika Shastra
- Scientific foreknowledge in sacred texts
References
- ^ http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id26.html
- ^ Michael Fleming (2009-03-10). "Paradox to ride 'Chariots of the Gods'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118001052. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
External links
- Erinnerungen an die Zukunft (1970) IMDb Entry
- Chariots of the gods
- Center for Ancient Astronaut Research
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