My wife and I have enjoyed this series on TV on the History Channel. We have now watched I think 8 episodes and the 9th comes on next Sunday which is the end of season for this year I believe. It takes places I believe around the 8th Century A.D. At that time Christianity is in England where the Vikings took raiding parties by ship, and the Vikings believe in Fate and Odin and Thor which is similar in many ways to the ancient Greek religion with Zeus and Hera and Hercules and Athena and demi-gods like Achilles in Troy as well as Hercules. Since Troy was found in the 20th Century it makes all this even more interesting as well.
So, the Vikings series looks like it is done as accurate as is now possible to know in most ways so it is interesting to watch. The Druids in England before Christians came until the time of Merlin and King Arthur also practiced human sacrifice of the willing as well. So, since I studied Cultural Anthropology as well as comparative religion in college at one point I found it interesting in the attempt to be accurate as possible in how this was portrayed. For example, in the Druidic Fires of Beltane in King Arthur's time he is supposed to have impregnated his sister accidentally during a similar druidic ritual at a similar in some ways situation depicted in the 8th episode of Vikings. But since they were wearing masks they didn't know until after she was pregnant and their son was already born.
It might be important to understand that even in Jesus' time human sacrifice to the Gods was a part of most primitive religious traditions on Earth. Luckily, the Jewish Religion and therefore Christianity had outgrown or evolved beyond this tradition by the Time Christ was born.
This word button should take you online to free full episodes (8 so far): Watch Full Episodes
I'm not sure if these episodes are free or you might have to pay for them at Itunes. So, I'm grateful to have recorded them on Tivo as my teenage daughter is just starting to watch them.
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