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An obsidian ax, circa A.D. 600-900, perhaps represents an ajaw. In Palenque, such objects were deposited in the foundations of buildings or placed in tombs.

A ceramic censer featuring an effigy of an unknown dignitary from A.D. 600-900

In this detail from an 1881 oil painting by Giovanni Muzzioli, a maenad dances in front of a slumped and drunken man.

Maenads, like this first century A.D. Roman copy of a Greek original statue, danced frenetically as part of Dionysus’ entourage.

The infant Dionysis is portrayed in a fourth-century B.C. statue by Praxiteles from the Temple of Hera at Olympia.

The book refers to Usil, the Etruscan sun god, equivalent to the Greek god Helios. He is depicted here in an Etruscan carriage decoration from the fifth century B.C.

The Buddhist cave temples near Ajanta in India were cut out of the cliffs above the Waghora River between the second century B.C. and sixth century A.D. Filled with Buddhist-themed paintings and reliefs, they have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1983.