These ancient cults weren't merely religious gatherings - they were gateways to forbidden knowledge, promises of immortality ... and cryptic symbols carved in forgotten chambers.

The Rod of Asclepius remains a symbol of health and medicine around the world to this day. Asclepius was a demi-god son of ...

The gold burial mask of the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. AMIR MAKAR/AFP Some historians have suggested that the dual qualities of the snake — as both a ...