I cannot stress enough that I received the lion's share of my knowledge from my father-in-law, John's, Western Civilization and Survey of English History classes. He teaches at Maple Woods Community College in Kansas City, MO. Enroll in one of his courses, if you ever get the chance--he's the best!! Or at the very least, visit his Western Civilization sites (they include "Student Notes" and everything!!).

THESE TIMELINES WERE BEGUN FOR MY OWN PERSONAL USE. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD NOT BE USED AS RESOURCES FOR ANY KIND OF RESEARCH PAPER. THESE TIMELINES SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS AN AID TO GIVE A "JUMPING OFF POINT." THESE TIMELINES ARE NOT PEER-REVIEWED; THEREFORE, THEY ARE SUBJECT TO ANY NUMBER OF UNINTENTIONAL AUTHORIAL TYPING ERRORS AND/OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS. REMEMBER, INTERNET SOURCES (WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS) CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE SOURCES!!

Because I did these timelines initially only for my own personal use, I have paraphrased and quoted without citing as one should for a research paper; therefore, anyone using these timelines should consult the sources listed on the Historical Timelines Page.

DO NOT QUOTE FROM THESE TIMELINES!! ALWAYS DOUBLE-CHECK MY WORK!!!!

This timeline more than any of the other timelines is merely an aggregation of the information I found in Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 1999. In fact, the vast majority of this timeline uses Encarta's exact wording!!

Rough Outline of Major World Religions (never finished--check out links above for more complete information). Please forgive me for any (unintended) slights.:

Greek Mythology Fully developed as a system of beliefs and practices for the Ancient Greek civilization (became 1^st Western Civilization approximately 2000 BC) in the 700s BC. Probably comes from religion of Crete (island in Aegean and home to area's first civilization at approximately 3000 BC). No formal structure, spiritual revelations or teachings, or "Bible." Emphasizes weakness of humans in face of the great strength and power of nature. Gods and goddesses look like humans and express human emotions. Gods are immortal and control all aspects of nature. People are completely dependent upon the good will of the Gods. People are punished for an overabundance of pride, ambition, and prosperity. Gods live on Mount Olympus in Thessaly part of Greece. Each city associated itself with a patron god or group of gods. Festivals honored these gods. Certain parts of the home were dedicated to the worship for different gods. Temples (such as the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle, or Prophet, at Delphi resides who would answer the questions of travelers in a confusing manner) were built for these gods. Priests and priestesses worked in these temples for their god or goddess. Sacrifices of goat (usually) were made in their honor. There is a hierarchy of Gods-some reign over the earth, some over the sea, and some over the sky and heavens. The brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, split up the world upon defeating their father, Cronus, and the rest of the Titans, who were then relegated to Tartarus. Zeus got the heavens, Poseidon got the seas, and Hades got the Underworld.

Heaven: Zeus-the God of Gods and the Sky-Ruler over Gods and People (Brother of Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, and Demeter; Son of Titans Cronus-who wanted to eat his children so they couldn't unseat him and Rhea-who gave Cronus a stone in the place of Zeus to eat, when Zeus grew up he forced Cronus to disgorge the other children and they fought a war with the Titans who were later consigned to Tartarus; Father of Aries, Hebe-goddess of youth and cupbearer to the gods until she fell or her marriage to Hercules and was replaced by Ganymede, Hephaestus, and Eileithyia-goddess of childbirth with Hera; Olympics are in his honor);

Hera, Zeus's wife and sister-Goddess of Heaven and Marriage (helped Greeks in Trojan War because she was mad at Paris for preferring Aphrodite);

Hephaestus-God of Fire and Metalworkers whose workshop is under Mount Etna (son of Zeus and Hera who was cast out of Olympus due to his deformity or because he sided with Hera against Zeus who married Aphrodite or Aglaia, one of three Graces);

Athena-Goddess of Wisdom and War as well as of the Greek cities, Industry, Arts, and Mythology (Sprang full-grown from Zeus's forehead, was his favorite child, Parthenon built for her-Parthenos means "the maiden");

Apollo-God of Light/Sun, Poetry, Prophecy (taught to the Trojan princess Cassandra), Truth, Agriculture, and Music and Protector of Young Men (son of Zeus and Leto, daughter of a Titans Phoebe and Coeus; twin of Artemis, the goddess of bow and hunting; Born on island of Delos because Leto was banished from all else out of Zeus's fear of Hera's wrath; Father of Asclepius, the god of Medicine with Coronis who Apollo for infidelity-Asclepius was raised by Chiron, a Centaur);

Artemis-Goddess of Wildlife, Hunting, Childbirth, Nature, Harvest, and the Moon (associated with goddesses Hecate and Selene) and Protector of Young Women (Daughter of Zeus and Leto; Twin of Apollo; Forced Greeks to sacrifice Iphigenia to her before letting them sail for the Trojan War, she may have rescued her?);

Aries-God of War (not liked by other gods or humans, son of Zeus and Hera; Aphrodite is his consort and Deimos (minor deity Fear) and Phobos (minor deity Rout));

Aphrodite-Goddess of Love (either daughter of Zeus and Dione, his consort or born of the foam of the sea; wife of Hephaestus and lover of Aries; rival of Persephone for the love of Adonis; Identified early on with the Phoenician goddess Astarte; beauty contest at wedding of Peleus and Thetis caused by Eris, goddess of discord, in which Paris, prince of Troy, proclaimed Aphrodite fairest of Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite because Aphrodite promised him the fairest woman in the world, Helen of Troy, caused the Trojan War);

Hestia-Virgin Goddess of the Hearth (eldest daughter of Cronus and Rhea; presides at sacrificial altar fires, prayers offered to her before meals);

Hermes-Messenger of Gods and God of Science and Invention, Commerce, and Athletes (son of Zeus and Maia, daughter of the Titan Atlas; Has winged sandals and Caduceus, a magic wand with snakes and wings-symbol of medicine now; conducts souls of dead to underworld and is associated with sleep; stole Apollo's cattle and gave him the newly invented lyre to make up for it).

Sea: Poseidon-God of the Sea (father of Triton with Amphitrite but also had several other children-wild and cruel-from his numerous affairs with nymphs: giant Orion, Cyclops Polyphemus, and the famous winged horse Pegasus-had with the Gorgon Medusa)

Amphitrite-Poseidon's Wife and a Nereid Nymph (mother of Triton with Poseidon). They rule over lesser sea gods known as Nereids and Tritons.

Earth: Demeter-Goddess of Agriculture and Harvest (mother of Persephone with Zeus-so grieved when Persephone was kidnaped by Hades that the land was devastated while she searched for Persephone-this is the reason for the 4 months of desolation of winter because Persephone is still forced to spend that amount of time in Hades; The Eleusinian Mysteries were the most important of the sacred rituals in the festivals held in honor of Demeter and Persephone a.k.a. Kore, or "maiden");

Dionysus-God of Wine, Vegetation, and Pleasure (known for orgiastic, ecstatic rituals-his female followers were known as maenads, or bacchantes, who left their homes to devote their lives to worshiping him; He dies each winter and is reborn each spring which gives us the idea of resurrection; Yearly rites to him become Drama; known as Bacchus by 5^th Century BC; Bacchanalia is the Roman form of the Dionysus festival which was so out of control it was eventually made illegal in 186 BC). Dionysus is associated with lesser deities called:

Centaurs-savage, violent monsters who are violent, drunken, lustful followers of Dionysus and are half man and half horse (Chiron is the exception to this, noted for goodness and wisdom and teacher of Achilles and Jason),

Satyrs-lesser gods of woods and mountains who chase Nymphs, drink, dance, and play music and are half human/monkey and half goat, and

Nymphs-lesser goddesses of nature who are beautiful women who reside in different parts of nature (there are different types of Nymphs -Oceanids are daughters of the Titans Tethys and Oceanus-God of Ocean-taken over by Poseidon and Amphitrite when the Titans were overthrown, Nereids are the 50 daughters of Doris and Nereus-old man of the sea-they reside at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea and aid travelers, Potameides are river nymphs, Naiads are nymphs of spring and freshwater streams who have healing powers and are gifted in music and dancing and the social graces, Oreads are nymphs of mountains and grottoes, and Dryads are nymphs of forests). Thetis, mother of Achilles and wife of King Peleus, is a famous Nereid as is Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon, and Galatea, who is loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus. Echo is a famous Oread who can only repeat what is spoken to her because of Hera.

Underworld a.k.a. Hades: Must cross the River Styx (daughter of Oceanus and the guardian of oaths made to the Gods-there is an actual river in NE Arcadia called Mavroneri which was thought to be poisonous) to enter this dark, mournful place at the center of the earth where the dead reside. Charon is the ferryman who ferries the dead souls across the river. Rivers separate the Earth from the Underworld. There are two regions in Hades: Erebus (where dead pass as soon as they die) and Tartarus (deeper region where Titans are imprisoned-Cerberus, the 3-headed, dragon-tailed dog, guards it).

Hades-God of the Dead and Underworld a.k.a. Pluto-Lord of Riches in Crops and Precious Metals who are thought to come from the Underworld (not considered an Olympian) (Son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea; Brother of Poseidon and Zeus) and

Persephone-(Hades' wife; Daughter of Zeus and Demeter) Goddess of the Dead and of Fertility of the Earth; Lives 1/3 of Year in Underworld because Hades abducted her and made her eat a pomegranate seed, the food of the dead and 2/3 on Earth with her mother.

Mortals also played a big part in Greek mythology in the form of Greek heroes (especially those found in the Iliad and the Odyssey), such as: Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, etc. etc.

Roman Mythology The indigetes (the original Gods of the Roman state-30 were honored with special festivals) plus some attendant/specialist Gods (names were invoked when doing certain activities) reflected the needs of daily life. Jupiter was the ruler of the Gods, but he also was responsible for the rains and was director of all human activity and protector of Romans in wars outside of Rome due to his wide domain. Mars was the god of young men and their activities, especially war and was honored in March and October. Quirinus was the god of the armed community in times of peace. Janus and Vesta guarded the door and hearth, Lares protected the field and house, Pales the pasture, Saturn the sowing, Ceres the growth of grain, Pomona the growth of fruit, and Consus and Ops the harvest. The highest in the hierarchy of Gods was the triad of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus and Janus and Vesta. Roman gods were not thought to intervene in the lives of mortals and had little personal history. The worship of these early gods was related with the reign of the legendary 2^nd ruler of Rome, Numa Pompilius (Egeria, goddess of fountains and childbirth, was said to be his consort). The establishment of the great Capitoline triad of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, which assumes the supreme place in Roman religion, is legendarily ascribed to the royal house of the Tarquins.

The novensides/novensiles (the later Gods whose cults were introduced in the historical/literary period)

Most Roman Gods were closely associated to the Gods of Greek Mythology: Jupiter=Zeus, Juno=Hera, Vulcan=Hephaestus, Minerva=Athena, Diana=Artemis, Mars=Aries, Venus=Aphrodite, Vesta (fire attended by 6 Vestal Virgins/Priestesses)=Hestia, Neptune=Poseidon, Ceres=Demeter, Proserpine=Persephone, Ulysses=Odysseus

Romulus and Remus and Aeneas

Sikhism Religion based in Punjab region of India which combines some elements of Hinduism (transmigration and karma) and Islam (Sufism). However, Sikhism rejects idolatry, caste systems, pilgrimages, and priesthood. Sikhs believe in attempting unity with one's personal God by meditation on Nam (God's title, or "the Name"). The religious center is the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab (founded by the fourth guru, Ram Das). The Adi Granth (1^st compiled by the fifth guru, Arjan Dev, in 1604) is the "bible" of the Sikhs. It consists of the devotional poems of the 10 Sikh gurus as well as some Hindu and Muslim devotional poetry. The Khalsa (Punjabi for "pure") is the religious/military order that was formed by the 10^th (and last) guru, Gobind Singh in 1699. All Sikhs are expected to join. One must be baptized (consists of drinking sweetened water stirred by a sword) to join. After this initiation, the men take the surname of Singh (means "lion") and the women take the surname of Kaur (means "princess" or "prince"). Those of the Khalsa must follow the five Ks: kaccha (must wear soldier's shorts), kara (must wear iron bangle), kirpan (must wear steel sword), khanga (must wear comb/turban), and kes (cannot cut hair or beard).

Nanak (1469?-1539?) founder of Sikh religion was a Hindu ascetic. The first guru (Hindi for "teacher") of Sikhism.

Angad (1504-1552) 3^rd Sikh guru. Separates ascetics from laity and eliminates a lot of Hinduism from Sikhism.

Christianity-Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants

Gnosticism Comes from the Greek for "revealed knowledge." Usually connected to Christianity. Gnosticism is an esoteric religious movement. Among other things, Gnostics believe that sparks or seeds from God fell from the divine realm into our realm (which is sinful). These sparks or seeds were then trapped in our bodies. Only through knowledge will can the divine element in us all return to its transcendent spiritual realm. Gnostics reject the God of the Old Testament as evil because he seeks to keep us in the dark. Gnostics thought that the universe was created by the deformed evil god as a result of Sophia (a lesser divinity generated by emanation-the name means "wisdom") trying to know the unknowable Supreme Being.

Judaism-Orthodox,

Cabala Hebrew for "received tradition." This term is used for Jewish mysticism.

Buddhism

Siddhartha Gautama (563?-483? BC)-Buddha (which means "The Enlightenment")

Tibetan Buddhism or

Lamaism Also called Tibetan Buddhism. Lama is Tibetan for "Superior." Mahayana Buddhism of Tibet and Mongolia

Zen Buddhism

Tantric Buddhism

Hinduism

Bhakti Hinduism

Confucianism

Confucius (551 BC-479 BC)

Taoism

Lao Tze (604?-531 BC) founder of Taoism

Voodoo Combination of Roman Catholicism and West African religions practiced in Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad, Brazil, and some of the southern states (especially Louisiana). From Catholicism, Voodoo worshipers take the use of candles, crosses, bells, baptism, the sign of the cross, and prayers. From West African religions (particularly those of Benin), they take the use of dancing, drumming and the worship of ancestors and twins. Voodoo worshipers worship Bon Dieu as their high god. The worship of Ioa, or spirits, are African tribal gods who are identified with Roman Catholic saints. A houngan is a Voodoo priest. A mambo is a Voodoo priestess

Islam Koran means "recitation"

God is Allah

"Muslim" means "surrendered men" to one God.

Hegira means "migration"

Medina is the city of the prophet

Muslims become persecuted and take refuge in Christian Ethiopia. Early converts made from Yathrib (city which becomes Medina). Mohammed is invited to go to Yathrib so they traveled from Mecca to Yathrib/Medina. Muslim year is dated from this hegira in 622 AD. Mohammed builds a mosque in Medina. He sends his followers on raids for funds and to ensure protection from Meccan armies. Battles of Badr and Uhud. Mohammed captures Mecca in 630 AD. Mohammed rode around the Kaaba (means "cube") and had idols destroyed.

Mohammed died in 632.

Mohammed (Mahomet) (570?-632 AD) went into cave in Mt. Hira outside of Mecca at 40 years of age. Had a vision of Gabriel calling him to "recite" in the name of God and he received revelations that became 1^st parts of Koran. He tells this to a group of friends and they believe and meet with him for prayers. Eventually, the little group grew.

Abu Bakr (573-634), becomes Caliph (632-634)-successor to prophet and viceregent to God. Abu Bakr sent armies to establish rule. Armies were so successful, they kept going out of Arabia and got rest of SW Asia.

Omar and Othman succeed him as caliphs. Conquer Mesopotamia, entered Persia and Syria. Jerusalem surrendered-Omar visited Christian churches and old Jewish temple there. Dome of the Rock is built on the site-great shrine to Islam in Jerusalem. Go into Egypt, Alexandria surrenders. Traveled along North Africa.

711-Cross into Spain and Portugal at Gibraltar, go into France

732-Defeated by Franks under Charles Martel, Muslims stayed in Southern France for years and longer in Portugal and Spain (known as "Moors") until 1492 (fall of Granada)

Persia and large part of India under Muslim control

Last caliph deposed in Constantinople in 1924

Official version of Koran is completed under Othman approximately 20 years after Mohammed's death.

Koran is in Arabic, contains 112 suras (chapters)

Must recite 1^st sura at daily prayers

Many stories parallel ones in Old and New Testament

Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus are Muslim prophets

Religious duties of Islam: Confess faith in God and Mohammed as his apostle, Pray 5x daily turned to Kaaba (in Mecca), Fast from food and water during Ramadan, the ninth month of the year (daylight hours??), Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in life, and alms-giving of proportion of income. The majority of the world's Muslims are Sunni Muslims, who find authority in Sunna, or customary practices of Mohammed whereas Shiite Muslims (the majority of which reside in Iran) are seen as being more political and find authority in succession of imamis, or leaders.

Sufism Islamic mysticism (particularly typified by meditation and transcendence) which resides mostly in Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey. Sufi means "man of wool" in Arabic, which refers to the ascetic ("ascetic" means one who lives a quiet, austere-uncomplicated and stern-llife for religious reasons) practice of wearing coarse clothing of wool. The term "Sufi" was coined in the 9^th Century. Began to develop in 7^th Century AD (1^st Century in Muslim calendar). The Sufi mystic must go through 7 stages: repentance, abstinence, renunciation, poverty, patience, trust in God, and acquiescence to God's will to reach oneness with God and the universe.

Dervish Orders of the Sufis-Dervish is Persian for "beggar." Some dervish orders wander, others beg alms, and others live in Sufi monasteries (called tekkes or khanagahs). Some live "normal" lives and only perform the Dervish ceremonies on special occasions. Some are religious entertainers hired to chant the zikr (dirge). The dervish orders reflect the meeting of Islam and Hindu thought in 8^th Century. Dervishes are known for working themselves into frenzies and committing great feats of strength. Persian poet Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273) instituted devotional dances (where we get the term "Whirling Dervishes"-founded in 1273) in his Sufi order. Rumi's disciples are called Mevlevis and are based in Konya, Turkey. Other dervish orders are the Kadiris, or "Howling Dervishes" (for their chants)-founded in 1165, the Rifais (who eat glass, walk on hot coals, and swallow swords)-founded in 1182, and the Kalenderis (named after the calendars of the Arabian Nights) who vow to constantly travel.

Sunnites/Sunni Formed around the end of the 9^th Century and the 10^th Century as a reaction against the extremist schismatic movements happening within the Muslim religion (Shiites, Kharijites, and Mutazilites). The term sunna means "people of the sunna," which probably means, in this instance, to the middle of the road meaning that they are not extremists. Every Muslim believes in the Sunna ("example" of Muhammad) as well as the Koran so this would not distinguish Sunni Islam. Generally, the Sunnites emphasize inclusiveness (opposite of Kharijites), God's power (opposite of Mutazilites), and a de-emphasis on "legitimism" as defined by the Shiites. The Sunnites continued to respect the Caliphate (caliphs, Arabic for "successor," were elected officials of Mohammad's Quraysh tribe and had power over the Muslims). The Sunnites are the majority of the Muslim community. They reside all over Africa, Turkey, the Near East, and Afghanistan. The Sunnites tend to accommodate minor differences and stick with consensus in matters of doctrine. As a side note, the caliphate was abolished in 1924 by the Turkish Grand National Assembly after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1918.

Shiite Shiite is Arabic for "partisan." They are the only major surviving sectarian Islamic movement. The Shia Islam was formed out of the dispute of the legitimate successor to Mohammad. The Shiites believed Ali (the fourth caliph and Mohammad's cousin and son-in-law who was assassinated in 661) was the only legitimate successor to Mohammad and that those who had been caliphs before Ali had been usurpers. The Shiites claimed that only the descendants of Ali and his wife Fatima (Muhammad's daughter) were entitled to run the Muslims. This is known as the doctrine of legitimism (Sunnites rejected this). They would reject the Caliphate in favor of their imams (Arabic for "leader"), who they saw as the legitimate successors to Mohammad. The imams are both religious and political leaders. The "Twelvers" recognize 12 imams (the majority of the Shiites), whereas the Ismailis recognize only 7 imams (called "Seveners" because they regard Jafar al-Sadiq's eldest son, Ismail, as the 6^th imam and his son, Muhammad, as the 7^th and last imam) and think the imam is an incarnation of God. The last imam disappeared in 880. The Shiites await his return at which time, they believe, justice will be had on earth. The Shiites believe the imam is infallible, sinless, and has a divine right to authority; therefore, the imam has immense power. The Shiites have a more esoteric interpretation of the Koran and adopted the principles of taqwa ("dissimulation, or disguise, of faith") as a result of the persecution they suffered. The muta is a temporary marriage that the Shiites find valid. Shiites will only pay the zakat (tax of Muslims) to religious authorities, not state authorities. Many Shiite leaders are incredibly rich due to this. Shiites number over 165 million and are in the majority in Iran. Large numbers also exist in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, India, and in central Asia. The two branches of the Ismailis live in India, the Bohras are based in Bombay/Mumbai and the Khojas are based in Gujarat State.

Wahhabis Puritanical reform movement headed by Syrian Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792). Islamic ascetics who reject all luxury, dancing, tobacco, gambling, and music. Approximately 8,000,000 live primarily on the Arabian peninsula of Saudi Arabia. They reject all other than the Koran and the Sunna/Hadith.