Throughout history and even in recent decades there has been a sudden surge in obsessions with religious cult followings. However, many don't realize that among those which made news headlines, religious cults actually date back to Roman times and were just as brutal and sinister as the most well-known modern cults today. If ancient sites tell us anything, it's that the time of prophets, church figureheads, and leaders who were worshipped as gods were once fierce, unpredictable, and fascinating.

Long before organized religion became something that was embraced by churchgoers, there were sometimes messy, extreme, and strict methods of worship. The sites on which many are still standing today and reveal customs of the past that no longer have a place in today's society.

The Temple Of Dionysus

The Greeks were fascinating, with culture and customs that are some of the most well-known of any ancient civilization. They were also one of the boldest and intriguing civilizations, with a long list of mythical legends by which they led their lives. They also built many temples to worship the gods and goddesses that were so intertwined in their life, one of which was Dionysus, whose temple can be found on the island of Delos.

It might seem a bit strange to pay worship to a god who was known for his appreciation of fine wine and partying in excess, but stranger things have been noted from Greece. The Temple of Dionysus is decorated in a way that would be considered wildly inappropriate today, with statue symbols that far surpass a PG-rating. The Festival of Dionysos was said to be the epitome of worship regarding this god, with expletives being screamed in the streets and recreations of statues that would make many people blush within seconds of realizing what they were being paraded through the city.

The Oracle Of Delphi

Perhaps even more bold than the Greeks was their neighbor, the Romans, whose crimes were punishable by death and held sporting events that resulted in the loss of many lives, had even stranger religious customs. Among those was the Oracle of Deliphi, whose cavernous lair lie underground along the slope of Mount Parnassus. Also underneath the Temple of Apollo, it was home to the priestess named Pythia, who was believed to be able to speak the words of the god under whose temple she sat.

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She was believed to be a prophet of sorts and while the ancient Romans knew little about the vapors she inhaled below the temple, it's now believed that they had hallucinogenic properties and may have consisted of part ethylene. Her prophecies and predictions were often vague and didn't always grant much help to those who sought her out, but in later years, her credibility would decline steeply as the advice she offered wasn't always helpful or accurate. Eventually, it was Emperor Theodosius I who ended her prophetic reign for good in an attempt to abolish paganism. Today, the site still sits, with many claiming it has an incredibly eerie atmosphere.

The Kaali Meteorite Crater Field

Interestingly enough, not much is actually known about the type of worship that occurred at this location. These craters span across the island of Saaremaa, in Estonia, and it's estimated that their impact originally happened roughly 7,500 years ago. The largest of the craters is massive, sitting at a tremendous 328 feet feet in width. The only known evidence of worship at these sites was due to the animal remains and bones found within the craters, indicating that there was some type of rituals and sacrifices that took place here after their creation.

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While many would think nothing of excavating the site, the craters are clogged to the brim with oak trees and are filled with stagnant water, making things that much more of a challenge. Regardless, due to the age of the crater impact, it's believed that the impacts were actually witnessed by the people who lived in the area over 7,000 years ago. According to ancient belief, there has been a common thread which many try to tie to the Greek legend of Phaeton. Phaeton was the son of Helios, who was the sun-god. According to Greek mythology, Phaeton borrowed his father's flaming chariot and ended up crashing it, thus entire cities and rivers erupted into flames. For those who had witnessed the metoers (of which there are nine craters left), it's easy to imagine that without knowing any better, they would have connected the myth with the reality that they were watching unravel.

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