Technology of the Gods: The Incredible Sciences of the Ancients

by David Hatcher Childress

  Chinese folklore is replete with tales about flying chariots and other tales of flight. Tomas mentions that a stone carving on a grave in the province of Shantung, dated AD 147, depicts a dragon chariot flying high above the clouds. And, as mentioned earlier, the fourth century AD Chinese historian Ko-Hung wrote “flying cars with wood from the inner part of the jujube tree, using ox leather straps fastened to rotating blades to set the machine in motion.” Leonardo da Vinci had also designed a functional helicopter, possibly from Chinese designs. Helicopters, unlike gliders, do not need long landing areas, but they are much more difficult to control. However, a combination of a balloon with propellers to help move the craft would be a technical feat well within the capability of the dynastic Chinese.

  Jim Woodman and his pals experimented with similar technology when they built a reed basket in Peru and then floated it above the Nazca Plain with a crude hot-air balloon made of native fibers and woven cloth. The craft was named the Condor I, and Woodman wrote their story in the 1977 book Nazca: Journey to the Sun.129They rose to over 1,200 feet into the air and landed successfully, with no one hurt. Woodman believed that the Nazca lines, which can only be fully viewed from the air, were seen by ancient Nazca priests who flew over the desert plain in primitive, but effective, hot air balloons.

  One of the solid gold mini-models of “Aircraft” kept at the Bogata Gold Museum.

  The Airships of King Solomon

  A number of historical characters have been said to have had airships or flying chariots in modern religious texts. One such famous person was the Northern Indian prince Rama of Ayodha about whom the Ramayana is written. He will be discussed shortly. Another famous owner of an ancient airship was the Hebrew King Solomon the Wise, the son of David.

  Solomon is said to have built the famous Temple in Jerusalem to hold the Ark of the Covenant, which we have seen was apparently some sort of electrical device. He had a romantic affair with the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba who had come to visit him in about one thousand BC. According to ancient Ethiopian tradition, recorded in the Kebra Negast101(“Glory of Kings”—a sort of Ethiopian Old Testament that is the most important document to all Ethiopians) the reigning Queen, Makeda, left Axum, then the capital of Saba, and journeyed across the Red Sea to present day Yemen and up the Hijaz to Jerusalem to visit the court of King Solomon. Seeing the important Ark of the Covenant was a key goal of her visit.

  After living with Solomon for some months, she had to return to her own kingdom, where she bore King Solomon’s son. He was named Menelik I, and it was with this child, later to become king, that the Solomonic line of rulership over Ethiopia was begun. This line was unbroken for three thousand years until the death of Haile Selassie (born Ras Tafari, 225th Solomonic ruler) in August of 1975.

  According to the Kebra Negast, King Solomon would visit Makeda and his son Menelik by flying in a “heavenly car.” “The king...and all who obeyed his word, flew on the wagon without pain and suffering, and without sweat or exhaustion, and traveled in one day a distance which took three months to traverse (on foot).”101

  Throughout the Middle East, as far as Kashmir, are mountains known as the “Thrones of Solomon,” including one in northwestern Iran, a flat-topped mountain called Takht-i-Suleiman (Throne of Solomon). It has been conjectured that these may have been landing bases for Solomon’s airship.

  Nicholas Roerich testifies that throughout Central Asia it is widely believed that Solomon flew about in an airship. “Up to now, in the people’s conception, King Solomon soars on his miraculous flying device over the vast spaces of Asia. Many mountains in Asia are either with ruins or stones bearing the imprint of his foot or of his knees, as evidence of his long-enduring prayers. These are the so-called thrones of Solomon. The Great King flew to these mountains, he reached all heights, he left behind him the cares of rulership and here refreshed his spirit.”102

  Did King Solomon have some flying vehicle with which he flew to Persia, India, and Tibet? With whom did he meet there? Given the many stories of flying vehicles from the ancient Indian epics, this is not so unusual. Mountains with ruins on their summits do indeed exist all over the world. One amazing city along these lines is Machu Picchu, the mountaintop city in Peru. Were the large grassy areas in each of these cities the landing pads for flying vehicles similar to zeppelins? It is a strange world, full of strange stories, legends and ancient mysteries. Sometimes, indeed, “truth is stranger than fiction!”

  The early concept of flight was primitive.

  The First Space Programs

  Some ancient texts recount not just ancient craft, such as in Ezekial’s Biblical vision, but actual eye-witness accounts of going into outer space. The 4,700-year-old Babylonian Epic of Etana contains the poem of the Flight of Etana: “I will take you to the throne of Anu,” said the eagle. They had soared for an hour and then the eagle said: “Look down, what has become of earth!” Etana looked down and saw that the earth had become like a hill and the sea like a well. And so they flew for another hour, and once again Etana looked down: the earth was now like a grinding stone and the sea like a pot. After the third hour the earth was only a speck of dust, and the sea no longer seen.

  Anu, the Zeus of Babylonian Olympus, was the god of the Heavenly Great Depths—which we now call space. The description of this space flight depicts exactly what happens when man leaves the earth. It is important that we have the presence of a concept of the round earth which becomes small because of perspective as distance increases, indicating an actual eye-witness account.

  The Book of Enoch, part of the Apocrypha, contains a passage that also seems to describe spaceflight:And they lifted me up into heaven... (14:9)

  And it was hot as fire and cold as ice... (14:13)

  I saw the places of the luminaries... (17:3)

  And I came to a great darkness... (17:6)

  I saw a deep abyss. (17:11)

  Does this not sound like a graphic account of a trip into space? It is a dark abyss, where objects get hot on the side illuminated by the sun and icy cold on the shaded side. And it is the abode of the sun, moon, planets, and the stars, as Enoch said.

  In the second century AD, Lucian, the Greek author who visited Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt, wrote his novel Vet-a Historia. He drew a picture of a voyage to the moon which anticipated the American space program: “Having thus continued our course through the sky for the space of seven days and as many nights, on the eighth day we descried a sort of earth in the air, resembling a large, shining circular island, spreading a remarkably brilliant light around it.”43

  Author Andrew Tomas tells the story of how Chinese historical tradition mentions Hou Yih (or ChihChiang Tzu-Yu), the engineer of Emperor Yao who was acquainted with astronautics. In the year 2309 BC he decided to go to the moon on a celestial bird. This bird advised him of the exact times of the rising, culmination, and setting of the sun. Was it the equipment of a spaceship which provided this information to the prehistoric astronaut? Hou Yih explored space by “mounting the current of luminous air.” The exhaust of a fiery rocket?

  Hou Yih flew into space, where “he did not perceive the rotary movement of the sun.” This statement is of paramount importance in corroborating the story because it is only in space that man cannot see the diurnal movement of the sun.

  On the moon the Chinese astronaut saw the “frozen-looking horizon” and built there the “Palace of Great Cold.” His wife Chang Ngo also dabbled in space travel. According to the ancient writings of China, she flew to the moon, which she found a “luminous sphere, shining like glass, of enormous size and very cold; the light of the moon has its birth in the sun,” declared Chang Ngo.

  It is this message from the moon which makes the 4,300-year-old tale so provoking. Chang Ngo’s moon exploration report was correct. Apollo 11 astronauts found the moon desolate with a glasslike soil. It is cold in the shade, colder than at our poles. And, of course, moonlight comes from the sun.

  Thomas goes on to mention anoth
er old Chinese book, The Collection of Old Tales, compiled in the fourth century AD. The book includes an interesting story from the times of Emperor Yao when Hou Yih and Chang Ngo went to the moon. An enormous ship appeared on the sea at night with brilliant lights which were extinguished during the day. It could also sail to the moon and the stars, hence its name “a ship hanging among the stars” or “the boat to the moon.” This giant ship which could travel in the sky or sail the seas was seen for 12 years.24

  Author Tomas says that one of the world’s oldest books on astronomy is the Hindu Sut-ya Siddhanta. It speaks of Siddhas and Vidyahat-as, or philosophers and scientists, who were able to orbit the earth in a former epoch “below the moon but above the clouds.”

  Says Tomas:Another book from India—the Samaranagana Sutradhara—contains a fantastic paragraph about the distant past when men flew in the air in skyships and heavenly beings came down from the sky. Was there a sort of two-way space traffic in a forgotten era?

  In his essay on the Rig Veda Professor H. L. Hariyappa of Mysore University writes that in a distant epoch “gods came to the earth often times,” and that it was “the privilege of some men to visit the immortals in heaven.” The tradition of India is insistent upon the reality of this communication with other worlds during the Golden Age.

  Old Sanskrit texts speak of the Nagas, or Serpent Gods, who live in underground palaces lighted by luminous gems in the vastness of the Himalayas. The Nagas are flying creatures who go on long voyages in the sky. The belief in the Nagas is so firmly imprinted in the national consciousness of India that even today motion pictures and stage plays exploit this theme to the delight of Indian audiences. The subterranean city of the Nagas—Bhogawati—brilliantly illuminated by diamonds, may perhaps be a folklore image of a space base, lighted and air-conditioned. We wonder if those cosmonauts are still there.

  The god Garuda is thought by Brahmins to be a combination of man and bird who travels through space. He is believed to have reached the moon and even the Pole Star, which is fifty light-years away from us.

  The fifth volume of the Mahabharata contains a passage which has but one meaning—that of life on other planets: “Infinite is the space populated by the perfect ones and gods; there is no limit to their delightful abodes.”24

  Tales of the descent of skygods upon earth can be found all over the globe. The New Testament contains a meaningful passage: “Remember to show hospitality. There are some who by so doing, have entertained angels without knowing it.” (Heb. 13:2). One wonders if angels really need entertaining, but pilots and astronauts can always use a good square meal!

  Myths have developed even in this century. The Cargo Cult of Melanesia held the strange belief that “cargo,” or manufactured articles such as knives, tinned foods, soap, or toothbrushes, would be brought to their Stone Age tribes by “big canoes” or “big birds.” When American planes dropped loads of foodstuffs in the jungle for the advancing Australian and American troops in 1943, the natives took this as a fulfillment of the myth. After the war they continued to build mock airstrips for the big birds to deliver “cargo.” They even constructed immense warehouses for the expected goods. Having seen radio installations, they erected masts with aerials and “radio sets” of bamboo by means of which they expected to contact the “gods.” Part of their belief was that their dead ancestors were sending all this free food in the form of “cargo.”

  Influenced by Christianity, some thought they could talk to Jesus Christ or “John Fromme” on these bamboo radio transmitters. But throughout all of these naive beliefs there was some basis in reality: the “big birds” (airplanes), the “big canoes” (steamships), and the “cargo” (industrial society’s manufactured articles) were all quite real.

  In like manner the ancient legends of the “gods descending upon earth” and an era when “men and gods” mixed could be a folk memory of an epoch when skyships cruised the planet, landing at certain airports in larger cities. Indeed, many ancient cities, such as those in South and Central America, have huge open spaces in front of them, or in the middle of the city—flat fields capable of landing large airships.

  Legends and Histories of Levitation

  Physicists tell us that there are several “forces” acting on us at any given time. These forces are atomic force, electrical force, magnetic force, and finally, gravitational force. Gravity is the weakest, and least understood of all the forces. Paradoxically, the weakest force is the most difficult to master because we know so little about it. However, levitation, a sort of cancellation of gravitational force, has been known to occur—at least in the historical record!

  Says Tomas:Some of the most incredible tales of antiquity concern levitation or the power to neutralize gravity. Francois Lenormant writes in Chaldean Magic that by means of sounds the priests of ancient Babylon were able to raise into the air heavy rocks which a thousand men could not have lifted.

  Is this how Baalbek was erected? The gigantic slab left in the quarry at the foot of the Baalbek Terrace by the Titans who had built it is 21 meters long, 4.8 wide, and 4.2 deep. Forty thousand workers would be needed in order to move this huge mass. The question is, how could such a multitude have had access to the slab in order to lift it? Moreover, even in this brilliant era of technology there is not a crane in the world today that could raise this monolith from the quarry!

  Certain Arab sources contain curious tales about the manner in which the pyramids of Egypt were erected. According to one, the stones were wrapped in papyrus and then struck with a rod by a priest. Thus they became completely weightless and moved through the air for about 50 meters. Then the hierophant repeated the procedure until the stone reached the pyramid and was put in place. This would explain the absence of chips on edges of the stone blocks for which the author searched in vain and the joints into which it is impossible to insert a sheet of paper. Even though the Khufu pyramid is no longer the tallest edifice in the world, it is still the biggest megalithic structure on earth.

  Babylonian tablets affirm that sound could lift stones. The Bible speaks of Jericho and what sound waves did to its walls. Coptic writings relate the process by which blocks for the pyramids were elevated by the sound of chanting. However, at the present level of our knowledge we can establish no connection between sound and weightlessness.24

  Also mentioned are that Lucian (second century AD) testified to the reality of antigravity feats in ancient history. Speaking about the god Apollo in a temple in Hierapolis, Syria, Lucian related a wonder which he witnessed himself: “Apollo left the priests on the floor and was born aloft.”

  Tomas, who had travelled widely in China and India in the sixties, mentions that the biography of Liu An in the Shen Hsien Chuan (fourth century AD) contains an anecdotal case of levitation. When Liu An swallowed his Taoist elixir, he became airborne. But he had left the container in the court-yard and it was not long before the dogs and poultry licked and drank whatever was left in the vessel. As the historical record says: “They too sailed up to heaven; thus cocks were heard crowing in the sky, and the barking of dogs resounded amidst the clouds.” Similarly, he says that a Buddhist Jataka narrative speaks of a magic gem capable of raising a man into the air if he holds it in his mouth.24

  There is a story about Simon the Magus, a first-century AD Gnostic philosopher, addressing thousands in Rome on the subject of his philosophy of gnosis, or knowledge. Tradition says that the “spirits of the air” helped him to raise himself high in the air, for Simon was “a man well versed in magic arts.” Although Christian historians were not sure of the source of Simon’s powers, the power of levitation was nevertheless attributed to him. The magician was also said to have made statues lose their weight and glide in the air. Iamblichus, a fourth-century AD Neoplatonic philosopher, was also known to have floated in the air to the height of half a meter.24

  The Catholic Church lists some two hundred saints who were alleged to have conquered the force of gravity. Saint Christianna, a Christian mission
ary in Spain in the third century AD, is reported by Rufinus to have performed a feat of anti-gravitation. The King and Queen of Iberia were having a church built and it happened that one column was so heavy that it could not be put in place. The story goes that the saint came to the building site at midnight and asked for divine help in prayer. Suddenly, the pillar went up into the air and remained hovering until morning. The astonished workers had no trouble in moving the weightless column in the air to the right spot, upon which it regained its weight and was easily installed on the pedestal.

  At Mount Cassino in Italy there is a large and heavy stone which was traditionally lifted by Saint Benedict (AD 448-548) by the neutralization of gravity. The stone was intended for the wall of a monastery being built at the time, and the stonemasons could not budge it. Saint Benedict made the sign of the cross on the block, and while the seven men who could not lift it looked in amazement, he raised it alone without any effort.

  Tomas mentions that King Ferdinand I was a host to Saint Francis of Paula (1416-1507) in Naples. Through a half-opened door he saw the monk in meditation, floating high above the floor of his room. Also, Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) used to rise in the air frequently and sometimes at the most inconvenient moments, such as during the visit of an abbess or a bishop to her monastery when she would suddenly rise up to the ceiling.24

  Ezekiel’s Vision.

  Probably the most famous of the flying saints was the Italian monk Joseph of Copertino (1603-1663). To help ten men struggling to lift an 11-meter cross, Saint Joseph flew for 60 meters, picked up the cross in his arms, and installed it in its place. In 1645, in the presence of the Spanish ambassador to the papal court, he raised himself and then floated in the church over the heads of those present to the foot of a religious statue. The ambassador, his wife, and the people in the church were all spellbound with astonishment.