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In Search of Ancient Gods: My Pictorial Evidence for the Impossible
Erich von Däniken believes that the 'Chariots of the Gods' that appear in the myths and legends of peoples all over the world, from the Mayas to the Ancient Egyptians, from the Australian Aboriginals to the Jews of the Old Testament, were really visiting space-ships; and that the gods themselves were no other than cosmonauts, depicted in rock paintings and ancient stone carvings in the caves of Tassili in the Sahara, Mayan burial chambers and Assyrian cylinder seals, and described in the writings of the Judaic prophet Enoch.
In this book, he sets his evidence before us again, in pictorial form, and asks us to judge for ourselves. What explanation can we offer for aerodynamically perfect model airplanes dating from the times of the Pharaohs, or a map, drawn by the Turkish admiral Piri Reis in 1513, showing longitudinal positions with an accuracy 'impossible' before the 18th century, and contours of Antarctica only discovered by modern survey methods in 1952?
Von Däniken has assembled much new evidence for his theories, and in his text develops his speculations about the ancient visits from the stars. He asks us to look at our experience with new eyes, to open our imaginations to a set of staggering possibilities, presenting plenty of pictorial evidence.
In this book, he sets his evidence before us again, in pictorial form, and asks us to judge for ourselves. What explanation can we offer for aerodynamically perfect model airplanes dating from the times of the Pharaohs, or a map, drawn by the Turkish admiral Piri Reis in 1513, showing longitudinal positions with an accuracy 'impossible' before the 18th century, and contours of Antarctica only discovered by modern survey methods in 1952?
Von Däniken has assembled much new evidence for his theories, and in his text develops his speculations about the ancient visits from the stars. He asks us to look at our experience with new eyes, to open our imaginations to a set of staggering possibilities, presenting plenty of pictorial evidence.
249 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Erich von Däniken
331 books927 followersGreek: Έριχ φον Νταίνικεν
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (1935–2026) was a Swiss author of several pseudoscientific books which made claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken was one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses.
The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by virtually all scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and pseudoscience. Early in his career, he was convicted and served time for several counts of fraud or embezzlement, and wrote one of his books in prison.
Erich Anton Paul von Däniken (1935–2026) was a Swiss author of several pseudoscientific books which made claims about extraterrestrial influences on early human culture, including the best-selling Chariots of the Gods?, published in 1968. Däniken was one of the main figures responsible for popularizing the "paleo-contact" and ancient astronauts hypotheses.
The ideas put forth in his books are rejected by virtually all scientists and academics, who categorize his work as pseudohistory, pseudoarchaeology, and pseudoscience. Early in his career, he was convicted and served time for several counts of fraud or embezzlement, and wrote one of his books in prison.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 3, 2017
Читать ебанину, конечно, — любимое развлечение, хоть надолго и не хватает. В случае с Дэникеном, правда, еще раз убеждаешься, до чего прекрасный он популяризатор, чего — неважно. Научная ебанина от ненаучной (или псевдонаучной) ебанины отличается мало чем, а Дэникен на научность и не претендует — он просто утверждает, что верит в будущее (и прошлое заодно). Его риторический ретрофутуризм (очень забавны его рассуждения о космических полетах, генной инженерии и компьютерах — дело, напомню, происходит в конце 1960-х годов) будет похлеще любой НФ. Разница в том, что он не просто на этом зарабатывает, как авторы фикций, а честно, судя по всему, в это верит.
В этом продолжении «Колесниц богов» он опять ссылается на советских ученых, конечно. Они тогда играли нынешнюю роль «британских ученых». У западных ебанатов с советскими учеными был весьма занимательный симбиоз: западная наука к ним всерьез не относилась, поэтому за легитимизацией своих находок, идей, фанаберий и фантазий они ездили за железный занавес. А советская наука долгое время исходила из того, что если западная буржуазная наука что-то ругает, значит, дело это хорошее, передовое, надо брать.
Странно, что Илья Кукулин в своем недавнем прекрасном интервью (https://indicator.ru/article/2017/09/...) о сращивании советских ИТР с оккультизмом, эзотерикой и прочей «ебун-травой» (тм), об этом синдроме детского негативизма не обмолвился. Но ведь и писатель Казанцев (ладно, этот-то не бог весть какой ученый был), и Вячеслав Зайцев, и Иосиф Шкловский, будучи легитимными учеными, шли на серьезный контакт — и с Дэникеном, и с Эндрю Томасом. На что они рассчитывали и как им это удавалось без последствий от «ученых в штатском»? Или последствия были? Или они сами были «учеными в штатском»? Загадки, загадки…
В этом продолжении «Колесниц богов» он опять ссылается на советских ученых, конечно. Они тогда играли нынешнюю роль «британских ученых». У западных ебанатов с советскими учеными был весьма занимательный симбиоз: западная наука к ним всерьез не относилась, поэтому за легитимизацией своих находок, идей, фанаберий и фантазий они ездили за железный занавес. А советская наука долгое время исходила из того, что если западная буржуазная наука что-то ругает, значит, дело это хорошее, передовое, надо брать.
Странно, что Илья Кукулин в своем недавнем прекрасном интервью (https://indicator.ru/article/2017/09/...) о сращивании советских ИТР с оккультизмом, эзотерикой и прочей «ебун-травой» (тм), об этом синдроме детского негативизма не обмолвился. Но ведь и писатель Казанцев (ладно, этот-то не бог весть какой ученый был), и Вячеслав Зайцев, и Иосиф Шкловский, будучи легитимными учеными, шли на серьезный контакт — и с Дэникеном, и с Эндрю Томасом. На что они рассчитывали и как им это удавалось без последствий от «ученых в штатском»? Или последствия были? Или они сами были «учеными в штатском»? Загадки, загадки…
December 20, 2010
I wanted to enjoy this book - I really did. I wanted it to be a fun romp through outlandishly terrible misinterpretations of real evidence. But it's just so, so, so, so bad. The writing is just so, so, so, so bad. Hell, even the formatting is so, so bad, to the point where it's sometimes impossible to tell when one paragraph has ended and another one has begun. And it's not just misinterpretations - it's the complete lack of understanding even in the most basic sense what some of the artifacts/evidence are, such as somewhere around page 14 when von Daniken refers to some piece of ancient Egyptian text or carving and talks about the "cuneiform" writing of the piece. Um, cuneiform? That's frickin' ancient SUMERIAN writing, dude, that was made by pressing a triangular stylus into clay tablets. The Egyptians wrote in HIEROGLYPHICS - pictorial symbols that overtime became stylized into various versions of the original writing - that were carved into stone and or painted onto surface. And don't even ask me about all the illustrations (this book has hundreds, total) that are just dropped in there, numbered of course, with no justification, explanation, caption, or link to the text. IDIOT. Why did I keep struggling through to the end?
August 30, 2021
Von Daniken ve señales equivocadas en todas partes, conspiracionismo puro. Pésima obra.
Read
August 5, 2011Actually read this straight after 'Gold of the Gods' and that review was for both.
I made a typo there at first: "Golf of the Gods" - now that's a book I want to read :D
Who would you have in a 4-ball?
I see Zeus and Thor for the classic gods perhaps up against a couple of newbies such as Allah & Ganesh
(P.S. I notice Ganesh is the Remover of Obstacles so perhaps he gets free drops!)
I made a typo there at first: "Golf of the Gods" - now that's a book I want to read :D
Who would you have in a 4-ball?
I see Zeus and Thor for the classic gods perhaps up against a couple of newbies such as Allah & Ganesh
(P.S. I notice Ganesh is the Remover of Obstacles so perhaps he gets free drops!)
July 11, 2014
This book was pretty dumb. I read it quickly over the course of two evenings and I found myself restless towards the end because it was so stupid. Some of the photos are really cool though. I also enjoyed reading the part about ezekiel but i think Daniken's explanation of this biblical event is no less dumb than any others.
The book is based on a cool hypothesis but none of the examples given in this book are remotely convincing. You would have to be a complete moron to believe this rubbish.
The book is based on a cool hypothesis but none of the examples given in this book are remotely convincing. You would have to be a complete moron to believe this rubbish.
June 4, 2011
I love pictures. I tended to not read the explanation of the pictures until after I looked at them and formed my own opinions. Some of Daniken's are a bit far reaching for me while others weren't too hard to see. I am really enjoying the opinions and ideas so once again I give this book a top rating.
September 18, 2014
...the information contained in the book was really good, there was less speculations and opinions, and more information so to speak. this edition was hard to read due to the way it was edited. not only was the editing poor in spots, but there were no chapters. this edition read like a very long essay, and while I didn't find it boring, without chapters it was a bit tedious to get through...
May 10, 2015
This is a book sincerely worth reading - full of astonishing facts that stimulate reflection about the unfathomable past of the planet.
August 21, 2023
VON DÄNIKEN’S FOURTH BOOK, ABUNDANTLY ILLUSTRATED
Erich von Däniken wrote in the introductory section of this 1973 book, “Men have been fascinated by space since time immemorial. What did those pinpoints of light in the heavens mean? Surely those glittering strings of beads seemed to form outlines of animals? Or were they human beings? Could the lights be the homes of the gods?... What does it all mean? All these images of the gods inspired by hallucinations common to peoples all over the world? Are they products of the need all peoples feel for a religion or are they really attempts to reproduce realities which have been seen, but misunderstood?... our primitive ancestors created their gods as… portrayals of gods-cum-men! If god or gods were ‘believed’ to be natural phenomena (and depicted as such), then our naïve ancestor cannot have accepted the idea that he was God’s image. We have no reason to believe that those ancestors of ours who thousands of years ago wrote down either what they had experienced or what they had been told were weak in the head. It is a fact, and no one will dispute it, that mankind’s oldest myths and legends tell us about gods flying in the sky. It is a fact that all the stories of creation assert, with variations, that man was created by gods from the cosmos, after they had come down to earth from heaven. The creation was not a home-made affair… No, when the god-men have reached earth after battles in outer space, they behave far too ‘naturally’ for them to have been incarnations of natural events.”
He observes, “Cylinder seals, the first miniature memorials of mankind, are impressive evidence of memories of divine visits from the universe. Acceptable interpretations going beyond the ‘mythological figure’ syndrome have not yet been put forward, but it is impossible to miss the space attributes such as planetary systems, winged spheres, figures floating in space and apparitions smacking of technology.” (Pg. 28)
He notes, “If alien cosmonauts possessed knowledge that we are just beginning to acquire, they could have endowed our first ancestors with intelligence by manipulating the genetic code. Admittedly, it is still only a speculation of mind that hominids became intelligent by an artificial mutation using the genetic code. The new men thus manipulated would indeed have become intelligent SUDDENLY, as in the abracadabra of the Creation stories; they would have been endowed at once with consciousness, memory and a flair for handicrafts and technology.” (Pg. 32)
He explains, “These illustrations ... from the Mayan Codes are grist to my mill. They depict the whole arsenal of space-flight paraphernalia: supply systems, helmets with transmitters, an observer in a satellite, and oxygen apparatus… So far only a minimum number of the Mayan picture writings has been deciphered, so there is plenty of scope for my assumptions.” (Picture 9-14)
He asserts, “I do not other about depth psychology. I say to myself that if a cave dweller, even though clad in skins, portrayed figures in unfamiliar suits, with helmets on their heads, he must have seen such beings. No drugs; no imagination; no manikins. No models; no naturalism. Yet another theory is that the rock paintings represent ritual emblems and hunting scenes. A reasonable explanation as long as others are not excluded. It is simply unscientific to say that there is no reason for prehistorians to envisage the former presence of extra-terrestrial beings during the history of mankind’s development.” (Pg. 65)
He argues about the Easter Island figures, “I know the theories of Thor Heyerdahl, whom I hold in high esteem. Nevertheless, after two lengthy visits to the island, I say that the hand-axe theory is not tenable in face of the facts… Nobody could ever have freed the gigantic lumps of lava with small primitive stone tools. It is a fact that Heyerdahl found several hundred stone hand-axes at the foot of the crater. That seems to prove that someone worked with these tools at the work site. This is my theory. Alien cosmonauts supplied the original islanders with sophisticated technical tools that priests or magicians could use. They freed the asses from the lava and shaped them. Then the alien visitors disappeared. As usual the tools left behind were those which were blunt and unusable. I think it possible that the people who understood how to use them emigrated or died. The primitive people could not make new tools of the same calibre. It is a fact that the work stopped very suddenly. More than 200 unfinished statues ‘cling’ to the wall of the crater. the natives were seized with a wild ambition to complete the work. As the ‘old’ tools were lacking, they attacked the lava with hand-axes. Day in, day out, the cheerful sound of hammering echoed from the crater wall all over the island, but their efforts were in vain. The stone tools got blunt and they were unable to detach a single statue from the rock face. Finally they gave up in disgust and left hundreds of hand-axes lying about in the crater. In opposition to Heyerdahl’s theory, l consider the discovery of hand-axes as proof that the work could NOT have been carried out with THESE TOOLS.” (Pg. 117-118)
He says of the Nazca lines in Peru, “A supply ship left the orbiting command ship for our planet. It stopped on the plain of Nazca and left behind a track like skiers do in the snow. The strangers took off; another track was left.. The natives hastened up. The ‘gods’ had been there and left traces behind! In hope that the heavenly messengers would return they began to draw new lines and deepen the old ones. THAT is how the lines at Nazca originate, in my opinion. The gods did not show themselves… A high priest had a good idea… He urged his flock to scratch birds, fishes, monkeys, and spiders along the system of lines---much enlarged so that they would be visible from a great height.” (Pg. 197)
He summarizes, “The first sentence of my first book said: ‘It took courage to write this book.’ And in spite of all the attacks I have not lost the courage, especially as I have been able to assemble more and more evidence to support my theories and speculations. As a child of my time, I consider looking at things with ‘space eyes’ more productive than appeals to faith. We should all like to know where we really come from, where we are going, and what the meaning of life is. Will there ever be definitive proof of my theories? I think and hope that there will…” (Pg. 210-211)
Much more visually interesting than von Däniken’s earlier books.
Erich von Däniken wrote in the introductory section of this 1973 book, “Men have been fascinated by space since time immemorial. What did those pinpoints of light in the heavens mean? Surely those glittering strings of beads seemed to form outlines of animals? Or were they human beings? Could the lights be the homes of the gods?... What does it all mean? All these images of the gods inspired by hallucinations common to peoples all over the world? Are they products of the need all peoples feel for a religion or are they really attempts to reproduce realities which have been seen, but misunderstood?... our primitive ancestors created their gods as… portrayals of gods-cum-men! If god or gods were ‘believed’ to be natural phenomena (and depicted as such), then our naïve ancestor cannot have accepted the idea that he was God’s image. We have no reason to believe that those ancestors of ours who thousands of years ago wrote down either what they had experienced or what they had been told were weak in the head. It is a fact, and no one will dispute it, that mankind’s oldest myths and legends tell us about gods flying in the sky. It is a fact that all the stories of creation assert, with variations, that man was created by gods from the cosmos, after they had come down to earth from heaven. The creation was not a home-made affair… No, when the god-men have reached earth after battles in outer space, they behave far too ‘naturally’ for them to have been incarnations of natural events.”
He observes, “Cylinder seals, the first miniature memorials of mankind, are impressive evidence of memories of divine visits from the universe. Acceptable interpretations going beyond the ‘mythological figure’ syndrome have not yet been put forward, but it is impossible to miss the space attributes such as planetary systems, winged spheres, figures floating in space and apparitions smacking of technology.” (Pg. 28)
He notes, “If alien cosmonauts possessed knowledge that we are just beginning to acquire, they could have endowed our first ancestors with intelligence by manipulating the genetic code. Admittedly, it is still only a speculation of mind that hominids became intelligent by an artificial mutation using the genetic code. The new men thus manipulated would indeed have become intelligent SUDDENLY, as in the abracadabra of the Creation stories; they would have been endowed at once with consciousness, memory and a flair for handicrafts and technology.” (Pg. 32)
He explains, “These illustrations ... from the Mayan Codes are grist to my mill. They depict the whole arsenal of space-flight paraphernalia: supply systems, helmets with transmitters, an observer in a satellite, and oxygen apparatus… So far only a minimum number of the Mayan picture writings has been deciphered, so there is plenty of scope for my assumptions.” (Picture 9-14)
He asserts, “I do not other about depth psychology. I say to myself that if a cave dweller, even though clad in skins, portrayed figures in unfamiliar suits, with helmets on their heads, he must have seen such beings. No drugs; no imagination; no manikins. No models; no naturalism. Yet another theory is that the rock paintings represent ritual emblems and hunting scenes. A reasonable explanation as long as others are not excluded. It is simply unscientific to say that there is no reason for prehistorians to envisage the former presence of extra-terrestrial beings during the history of mankind’s development.” (Pg. 65)
He argues about the Easter Island figures, “I know the theories of Thor Heyerdahl, whom I hold in high esteem. Nevertheless, after two lengthy visits to the island, I say that the hand-axe theory is not tenable in face of the facts… Nobody could ever have freed the gigantic lumps of lava with small primitive stone tools. It is a fact that Heyerdahl found several hundred stone hand-axes at the foot of the crater. That seems to prove that someone worked with these tools at the work site. This is my theory. Alien cosmonauts supplied the original islanders with sophisticated technical tools that priests or magicians could use. They freed the asses from the lava and shaped them. Then the alien visitors disappeared. As usual the tools left behind were those which were blunt and unusable. I think it possible that the people who understood how to use them emigrated or died. The primitive people could not make new tools of the same calibre. It is a fact that the work stopped very suddenly. More than 200 unfinished statues ‘cling’ to the wall of the crater. the natives were seized with a wild ambition to complete the work. As the ‘old’ tools were lacking, they attacked the lava with hand-axes. Day in, day out, the cheerful sound of hammering echoed from the crater wall all over the island, but their efforts were in vain. The stone tools got blunt and they were unable to detach a single statue from the rock face. Finally they gave up in disgust and left hundreds of hand-axes lying about in the crater. In opposition to Heyerdahl’s theory, l consider the discovery of hand-axes as proof that the work could NOT have been carried out with THESE TOOLS.” (Pg. 117-118)
He says of the Nazca lines in Peru, “A supply ship left the orbiting command ship for our planet. It stopped on the plain of Nazca and left behind a track like skiers do in the snow. The strangers took off; another track was left.. The natives hastened up. The ‘gods’ had been there and left traces behind! In hope that the heavenly messengers would return they began to draw new lines and deepen the old ones. THAT is how the lines at Nazca originate, in my opinion. The gods did not show themselves… A high priest had a good idea… He urged his flock to scratch birds, fishes, monkeys, and spiders along the system of lines---much enlarged so that they would be visible from a great height.” (Pg. 197)
He summarizes, “The first sentence of my first book said: ‘It took courage to write this book.’ And in spite of all the attacks I have not lost the courage, especially as I have been able to assemble more and more evidence to support my theories and speculations. As a child of my time, I consider looking at things with ‘space eyes’ more productive than appeals to faith. We should all like to know where we really come from, where we are going, and what the meaning of life is. Will there ever be definitive proof of my theories? I think and hope that there will…” (Pg. 210-211)
Much more visually interesting than von Däniken’s earlier books.
October 2, 2026
See, he got tired of folks calling his ideas horsefeathers, so he assembled over 300 black-and-white pictures and dozens of color photos to let regular folks judge the evidence for themselves! He figures that if a picture is worth a thousand words, then these snapshots are proof positive that those ancient creators were dropping by our planet in shiny metal spaceships. When you go flipping through this heavy 249-page illustrated volume, he points his camera at some of the most baffling things on God's green earth. He shows ya photographs of tiny, aerodynamically perfect gold models dating back to the times of the Pharaohs that look exactly like modern fighter jets. He showcases the famous 1513 map drawn by Turkish Admiral Piri Reis, pointing out how it shows the exact contours of Antarctica with an accuracy that shouldn't have been possible until modern radar surveys. He zooms right in on prehistoric cave paintings and stone carvings from all over the globe, claiming the round heads and strange tubes on the figures are actual eyewitness drawings of space helmets and oxygen lines. Now, those high-and-mighty university academics still reckon it's all a bunch of hocus-pocus and optical illusions, but having all that visual evidence right there on the page makes for a mighty gripping look.
February 14, 2024
Because this book is more visual than textual, even if you are not a big fan of Van Daniken it is worth purchasing the book if the price is right, mind you the text is also nothing notorious or that absurd, it is just that it became a bit obsolete. In his theory, the author claims that AA were exploring this planet, almost by chance, set here as a place to get supplies and move to other place, while they were here they gave good lessons in civilisation to our stone age cultures. More contemporary AAT and Ufology nowadays points toward a decisive desire of engagement rather then an encounter by chance. The images provided in this book are still fascinating, may not be from an ancient encounter but most of them are highly unusual and interesting, I fully enjoyed this book.
January 28, 2021
I disagreed with this authors assumptions on many things and... disliked his apparent lack of understanding... for example: Cuneiform is Babylonian. Hieroglyphics are Egyptian. They are not the same. He also has a strong distrust of biblical text which was leaking through his writing in very sarcastic, mocking tones.
However, I continued to press on.
And then. THEN. He arrived in NZ and trash talked spaghetti toasted sandwiches. And that confirmed it for me, Erik and I shall have to agree to disagree.. on almost everything.
However, I continued to press on.
And then. THEN. He arrived in NZ and trash talked spaghetti toasted sandwiches. And that confirmed it for me, Erik and I shall have to agree to disagree.. on almost everything.
Did Not Finish
December 17, 2025Theres a review on the back of this book that describes it as 'audacious', I also got this book for free at an op-shop. I mean, think about that. The original owner didn't want this book, and neither did the op-shop. That should tell you a little something about this book.
It's a good thing my bookshelf is a home for unloved books.
So, this is basically an explanation for gods and religion. And the explanation is obviously.... aliens.
But my own theory is that it was time-travellers from the future.
Fun stuff.
It's a good thing my bookshelf is a home for unloved books.
So, this is basically an explanation for gods and religion. And the explanation is obviously.... aliens.
But my own theory is that it was time-travellers from the future.
Fun stuff.
June 22, 2022
Bueno, es un libro que toca temas muy arriesgados, si eres una persona de mente cerrada, no te lo recomiendo, ya que se tocan muchos antecedentes, sustento y opiniones sobre topicos tales como el origen del hombre, la presencia de vida inteligente extraterrestre en civilziaciones antiquisimas de diferentes paises, etc. Si quieres un enfoque diferente de las cosas o la historia, lo recomiendo.
July 15, 2017
Really informative book. The picture quality stinks but then again it's an older book and back then.... I love the way that Von Daniken speaks. It's easy to understand what he is telling you.
If you want proof that Aliens visited the Earth many many many years ago then read his books.
If you want proof that Aliens visited the Earth many many many years ago then read his books.
April 17, 2026
Pretty freaking sweet
October 24, 2011
Seek and ye shall find whatever it is you are looking for - especially if you make up the evidence, ignore the most likely "mainstream" explanation and suspend any critical faculty you might possess. Yes, then the impossible becomes possible.
November 21, 2014
I was hoping for something that would make me chuckle but, after only about 10 pages, all I could do was put the book down and never pick it up again because the author just makes such huge leaps that it can't even be taken as a comedic thing.
September 2, 2010
No footnotes, flagrant misreadings and willful deception. von Daniken is a nut. Not even sure why I read though his books. I think it was an adolescent thirst for forbidden knowledge.
February 22, 2011
as a science fiction enthusiast and a free thinker, i found this book to be thought provoking and fun to read.
March 27, 2015
Es realmente valioso gráficamente e incluso por ciertos datos históricos objetivos, sin embargo el autor no es nada claro y demasiado redundante. Anyway, viva los aliens!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews