The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence of Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago Reviews

• Use it as a piece to a gigantic puzzle...

  
  By A2TZKXU6Q0EDNP on 2003-11-04
  To begin with, I give this book 4 stars and not 5 because it would be arrogant of me to offer the highest mark when i happen to have only surface knowledge on the majority of the issues this books deals with. Having said that, i find it comical if not outright hilarious that certain people give one star because that would imply they can actually take every argument this book offers apart! Now, for those that have actually read the Sirius Mystery thesis, we're talking about not one argument here, but dozens which this researcher uses to put together a central argument. This would mean that the people who are burying this book are ultra-masters of archaeology, mythology, astronomy and history. Well, guess what: they are not. Guess again: no such masters exist (R.Temple included) and all that is going on is that we're basically trying to battle our cluelessness of our origin and history and as we do we find out that the mysteries we need to explain are by no means easy tasks.
  The Piri Reis maps? Water erosion on the Sphinx? Come again? Noone, certainly not mainstream science has offered adequate explanations (to put it mildly) about these mysteries and the same goes about the human origin. No need to mention the ever eluding missing link, is there?
  Why do i give this book 4 stars myself then? I'll hold that explanation, if i may, for the end of this review.

  For the "uniinitiated", Robert Temple trigers his research by starting from the FACT that a tribe called Dogon in Africa happens to have knowledge about the Sirius star system they are not supposed to have i.e that Sirius A is "hiding" in its orbit a Sirius B and possibly a Sirius C (recently confirmed much to the dismay of the fanatical opposition Temple was met with, very unsurprisingly), or that Sirius B is a "heavy star" i.e a very dense star.

  Now, when this knowledge by the Dogon was revealed to the western world (through the work of 2 French anthropologists) many of the things claimed by the ancient tradition of the Dogon were not known by western astronomers. In fact, only years later it became evident for western "science" (the same science that used to think the earth was flat, and the same "science" that only 300 years ago disputed that theere is blood circulation in the human body-!!!!- among many other such "scientific" facts) that the Dogon beliefs were solid.

  Before i go on, i would like to laugh out loud at the ultragullible folk who think the Dogon took this knowledge from western expeditioners as Carl Sagan ridiculously suggested. I mean, what's the scenario here people? Western expeditioners show up to the Dogon and the first thing they decide to brainwash them with is stories about the Sirius star system which they themselves did NOT have? I mean, are some of you that irrational? And how does it go on according to you then? That the Dogon lost no time in constructing a religion out of something so abstract i.e a star they could NOT see from stories some white people told them that they couldnt possibly prove???? Nice one, but i've heard better jokes, and frankly, this is hardly a laughing matter, it's actually bitter how some will cling to hardly proven theories about our origins no matter how sad their outtake is...

  But on to the book and excuse me for the above parenthetical argument but i simply couldnt resist it.

  What Temple is forced to do after he presents us with what the Dogon know, is to backtrack. He has to do this because there is indeed more than enough evidence that such bizzare references (as the Dogon's) are to be found in other ancient cultures as well, namely the Sumerians, Egyptians and the Greeks. His "hunch" proves to be very revealing as Temple searches through these ancient cultures because he does actually highlight not a few but a plethora of such references, symbolisms and -mostly- myths that contribute to his argument.

  Did i say myths? Whoa. Touchy little subject those myths. Those who consider themselves serious studiers of all theories concerning our tortured origin must've discovered by now that mythology is nothing else than a brilliantly devised method the ancients used to preserve knowledge. Whoa again, because knowledge does include history and in the absence of books the ancients basically coded history into mythology. Is Temple the only one who has uncovered this mega-fact? Not even close.

  The author then, needs to trouble us with a lengthy diatribe where he delves into ancient mythology and he focuses for that matter in the medditteranean basin. That's a seriously difficult part of the book to get through. You will be bombarded with dozens of ancient gods, dozens of ancient myth comparisons, massive amounts of etymology, and a fair share of speculations and conclusions. The reward if you stay with the book is tremendous.

  Temple doesnt pull his conclusions out of thin air no matter how "outworldly" these conclusions might be to some. His work is spectacularly researched and supported, and yes, he actually pulls the evidence for the support he needs from mainstream science. His massive bibliography is there to see.

  The issue remains whether , at the end, you are ready to entertain the notion that the origin of our civilisation is indeed extraterrestrial, or, to be more to the point here, whether Temple convinces with his arguments.

  Allow me to say, that it will take a lot more than Temple's book to be convinced about that, if that is actually the truth. Let's not forget that he's not the first researcher that makes such claims or draws such conclusions.
  In my opinion, and knowing that our "mainstream" science doesnt exactly have a history of excellence when it comes to its field record, i would suggest that each theory forwarded by any researcher, no matter how "wild" it might be, is given the appropriate attention.
  
  Has Temple been disproven? Hardly. Actually, recent discoveries by our brilliant scientists have only confirmed parts of his theory.

  I'm not saying that I, for one, am 100% convinced by what Temple suggests. I'm not unconvinced either, indeed I think that he does a stunning job of laying out his theory and his arguments, and to quote an Arab philosopher "i believe in very little but i disbelieve in even less".
  That is the reason i give this book 4 stars. Based solely on the convcincingness factor of the author's way of argumentation which i found pretty damn strong.

  This book, as other books of that "line" as well, can or should be used as pieces to a puzzle, a puzzle which we do not know what it looks like and where it will finally (if we ever solve it) take us. If the truth interests us, if it honestly does, then hysteric rants against any theories that threaten our sacred dogmas have no place in searching for any origin, ours, or the universe's...
  "The Sirius mystery" is a difficult book, but a very compelling, a very impressive one at that. Until the theory contained in it is disproven hold the noise of the rants down. And read it...Read it actually through.
  
  

• Unbelievable - if you believe

  
  By A195390L6RGMP6 on 2000-11-10
  Once again you have a chance to encounter the mysteries of the humankind's past, this time - with a help of Robert Temple, the author of The Sirius Mystery.

  The subject of the book is incredibly fascinating: most of us are used to seek the lost knowledge cases in civilizations like ancient Egypt, or Olmecs, or Maya; here we face a situation when an african tribe may possess the knowledge of a high value that is linked closely to the achievements of modern astronomy. That is rather a key point of the whole book - the Dogon who seem to know too much - about the things they can not know anything about, and their legends that tell us about their ancestors that came from another world.

  As in many other cases, the main advantage of The Sirius Mystery is its thought-provoking power, its ability to mobilize and activate a reader's imagination and logical thinking. The beliefs of the Dogon may be slightly confusing, the way they got their sacred knowledge about Sirius may be the one the author suggests, or may be different - it does not matter too much: there seem to be a knowledge anomaly happened in Africa, and we would better find out what caused it, since solving this more or less recent puzzle may help us with investigating the ancient mysteries, such as locating and building the Egyptian pyramids, the Chinese ones, or mysteries of technological achievements of the ancient Middle East.

  The past of the Dogons may be linked to the ancient Egypt, or to any other ancient civilization of this planet, and the author's conclusions about the paleocontact may be not so convincing to some, the other thing, however, once again is more important: there is a place for mysteries like this, and by no means should we discard any of them, saying "it can not be, because it can never be", and the Dogon mystery should be given a careful and complete study.

  Those who are still non-believers would better address the issues, for example, of the 14th century maps of Antarctica, or astronomical knowledge of ancient Egypt or Mesoamerica, or anything else: the world is full of the lost or mysterical knowledge cases, and some of them are supporetd by a hard evidence.

  In short, the book is a must-read for anyone paying a serious attention to the problems of history, civilizations' development and the lost knowledge we are trying to find.
  
  

• Temple's scholarship has not improved since 1976

  
  By A2NNM8SA1F6LTI on 2000-01-14
  In 1976, in the first edition of this book, Temple claimed that the Dogon (Mali) have traditions importing specific knowledge of the Sirius system (8.7 light-years from Sol/Earth), which he believed they had obtained several thousand years ago from intelligent space-faring aliens originating in that system. These aliens had also influenced other human cultures and had indeed been largely responsible for the emergence of civilisation. The book was perceived as more sophisticated than most of its type and thus as worthy of critical comment; but as more attention was paid to the anthropological evidence it rapidly became clear that Temple's equation of Dogon beliefs and astronomical facts was very much a matter of interpretation. Temple's use of other disciplines to support his case also came under scrutiny. One area where his approach left much to be desired was historical linguistics; like many non-mainstream writers, he largely ignored the theoretical gains of the last 150 years and nonchalantly equated vaguely similar words from apparently unconnected languages, in an unsystematic manner nowadays deemed utterely unreliable, wherever this enabled him to claim that the relevant languages/peoples had a common origin or had had influential contact in the remote past. There were similar problems in respect of other disciplines. Now Temple has updated his book, encouraged by astronomical discoveries which he interprets as supporting his case. A new major object has indeed been (tentatively) identified in the Sirius system; but the correspondence between this finding and (Temple's own interpretation of) Dogon beliefs remains inexact and in no way decisive. Furthermore, Temple's use of historical linguistics has not improved in 23 years; his new examples are just as unsystematic and unconvincing as those he presented earlier. (At one stage he actually presents a novel account of a key phonological development in early Indo-European, specifically involving Hittite, which he apparently developed in 1973. However, his understanding of the subject is not sufficient for such a task; for instance, he seems to think that within IE the sounds in question are confined to Hittite, which is quite wrong.) In addition, his increased reliance upon alleged numerical correspondences (which he interprets in an overtly Pythagorean framework!) inspires little confidence, given the ease of finding figures of this kind to suit one's case. At times the numerical claims appear bizarre (eg, he finds significance in the mass ratio of the widely separated stars Sol and Sirius B, suggesting that the two systems form part of an enormous 'cell' in space within which long-range order exists). Temple also embraces the currently 'trendy' but highly dubious revisions of Egyptian history (he dismisses mainstream objections to West's claims about the vast age of the Sphinx in a most glib and indeed inaccurate manner), and even brings in the now-debunked 'Face on Mars'. More generally, he continues to rely heavily on myths (which often permit multiple interpretations) as evidence of real events in ancient times. And in all these respects he shows little sign of having taken on board scholarly criticism of his ideas (he is more concerned with televised documentaries and with possible governmental conspiracies to silence him). Overall, despite Temple's diligence in seeking more evidence to support his views, there seems no more compelling reason to accept his thesis now than there was in 1976. An extended review of the new book by Colin Groves & me appears in The Skeptic 19:4 (pp 56-60)
  
  

• Agree or not, Dr. Temple puts fourth an honest hypothesis

  
  By A3UVX70AOOF1I on 2005-02-12
  I had become aware of this book in graduate school where I studied ancient history, and in fact had thumbed through it and dismissed it as so much silliness. However, recently one of my own readers had said she found the book fascinating. As she is an archeologist herself, I thought perhaps I had made a quick and unfair judgment. I immediately ordered a copy of the new edition titled "The Sirius Mystery: New Scientific Evidence for Alien Contact 5,000 Years Ago." To begin with, let me state that I have written at length on the topic of alien life, of ancient contacts, and I have appeared on numerous radio programs where I have defended and discussed my ideas and beliefs in a cosmos filled with life. Now, I opened my new copy of Temple's book ready to be convinced of ancient contacts, which many of my colleagues would consider an easy task as it would buttress my own ideas, but alas, after a few short chapters I was disappointed. Dr. Temple does make some excellent points, as well as raising some interesting questions. Yet many historical and archaeological points he has made would bring about very different opinions when examined by those not so willing to leap to the ancient alien contact hypothesis. I would also add that quoting science fiction writers, albeit remarkably brilliant ones and filling the book with the unfounded opinions of writers such as Zachariah Stichin will not convince anyone seriously considering the historical argument of alien contact. It will however, shore up those whose only reason for purchasing this book is to reaffirm that which they are already convinced. I was once asked if it would surprise me to learn that Earth had been visited many times by advanced beings? My answer was absolutely not. I almost expect it. However, despite my own ideas and beliefs, has it happened in fact? There is absolutely no proof beyond a few anecdotal stories, which can easily be understood in other ways, for example, a global flood to explain fossils. In the end, the author, a distinguished member of several scientific organizations make a good basic argument for his belief, yet it remains, at least to the critical mind, unconvincing. It is, nonetheless a worthy read by anyone interested in subjects like ancient civilizations, and is far more logical than many books of this type. Why any of the agencies purported to have harassed Dr. Temple would do so is anyone's guess. However, I would certainly not deny such events have and do occur. The structure and clearly honest research demand at least 4 stars.
  
  

• Ponderous

  
  By A5C5N3BZ7S0T5 on 2000-08-04
  While the subject matter of this title is intriguing, it is best covered by Sitchen or Velikovsky. The problem with this work begins with the title - there is nothing new or scientific, nor is there any evidence brought to light. We are asked to put our trust in the interpretations of a pair of French anthropologists working with a group of primitives in the wilds of Africa. If these interpretations are, in fact, what the author purports them to be then we have the nucleus of a good story. However, the story goes nowhere. The author involves himself with the Dogon tribe far too much. The Dogon believe we were visited 5,000 years ago by an advanced race of beings from a planet revolving around an obscure star in the Orion system - thats about it! This information is presented in the first 20 pages. From there the book simply regurgitates this mantra as if read enough we will begin to believe. Well I want to believe but I need a little more substance. The subject matter is fascinating but the execution is weak. For those who truly want a satisfying read about potential past contact read The 12th Planet by Zachery Sitchen or Worlds in Collision by Immanuel Velikovsky. Both excellent.
  
  
• For the Gullible Only!
  By on 2002-08-05
  This book is such a mess of "scholarship," so loaded with self-serving license, and ill-founded theories based on ill-founded theories, it is a travesty of intellection! But it is so full of foot-notes and heady references, it has all the appearance of careful, extensive research. In other words, it looks impressive. And who but an expert, or another researcher, or someone who likes to check facts, could catch the "obvious" mistakes? For example, Temple says Hermes was the Greek equivalent of the Egyptian god, Anubis. But even the most cursory student of Egyptian mythology knows that Thoth (not Anubis!) was equated to Hermes. And, another of many examples, he claims that arq ur was the Egyptian name for "sphinx," but this is utterly wrong. He was in so much of a hurry when he referred to his Hieroglyphic Dictionary (by Wallis Budge) that he didn't see that arq ur actually means "silver," the source of Budge's information being a French journal of Egyptology called "Sphinx." It would be laughable if it weren't so troubling: notable New Age Egyptologists (who don't check their facts) have based pet theories on Temple's mistake.
  But much more important: if you read the works to which Temple refers as his sources on Dogon knowledge, Conversations with Ogotemmeli (by the French anthropologist, Marcel Griaule), and The Pale Fox (Griaule and Germain Dieterlin), you will find that Temple gravely and opportunistically, misrepresents, twists and mangles the contents of these works in a number of ways, the most shameful being that he says the Dogon claim they were visited by amphibious beings from an advanced civilization from the environs of Sirius (not an exact quote!) But the Dogon make no such claim. Only Temple does. Nor were there numerous "Nommos" (which Temple also calls "amphibious beings") on the ark. There was just one Nommo. Nor do any designs on Dogon buildings represent spacecraft. Etc., etc.
  The worst is yet to come: Temple is not the only one to fudge facts. The work of Marcel Griaule, himself, has been found to be wildly fanciful, as discussed in a paper written by the Belgian anthropologist, Walter Van Beek, called "The Dogon Restudied" (Current Anthropology, Apr. '91) After extensive studies, in Mali, of the Dogon, he discovered (among many other things) that, in brief, "...no one, not even within the circle of Griuale's informants, had ever heard or understood that Sirius was a double star..." "...Griaule himself was very much aware of the astronomical specificities of Sirius, having read astronomy during this studies in Paris. Sure enough, his references in [Pale Fox] to the Sirius system all date from these years." "Though [Giaule's Dogon informants] do speak of sigu tolo, they disagree completely with each other as to which star is meant..." Nor does astronomy play any significant part in Dogon religion. Nor do the Nommo have much of a role in Dogon myth or tradition. And so forth & so on. Of course there is much, much more to the whole story than just this. Have your library send away for a zeroxed copy of the article, and read it in full, yourself.
  That article was published in 1991, seven years before the new edition of The Sirius Mystery came out. You'd think that Temple would have been aware of it.
  What's so terribly serious about all this is that Temple's books are THE source of a whole industry of misinformation.
  
  
• Giving a new spin on civilisation
  By on 1999-08-07
  Temple takes you on a journey from the earliest dawn of history, giving well thought out and convincing arguments of how the beliefs of a small group of tribes in Africa can be traced back to the earliest periods of language. He patiently charts a course from the very earliest civilisations through some of the greatest classical historians and philosophers of Egypt and Greece to name but a few, showing common threads running through massively diverse cultures. He puts forward convincing arguments that the knowledge could well be evidence of alien contact with the Earth. The nature of the subject is such that the conclusions of this book could be enough to rock the foundations of most major religions. If nothing else, it certainly gives an alternative view of the course of human civilisation, and gives a boost to those who hope that we are not alone.
  
  
• Thought-provoking journey through history
  By A3Q2CTWNN4U3M1 on 1999-10-21
  The Sirius Mystery is a must-read for anyone curious about the lost knowledge of the ancient world. Robert Temple's obvious scholarhip and research are truly impressive, though he tends to draw conclusions from sometimes sketchy evidence to suit a point that he wants to make. Even though the reader has to watch out for this tendency of his, the material in the book is extremely thought-provoking. I have read many books of this genre and this book proposed more startling theories than any of them.

  I highly recommend this book.
  
  

• A very well written book on EBE's, UFO's and History.
  By A37XJAA18Y3WMQ on 2005-02-10
  This is a very well written book that links the EBE and ET contact information toward the historical abnormalities. This book serves as a fine introduction for those who are not aware of the Zecharia Sitchin, series of writings. The writer makes some good points and ties some interesing information together in ways not done elsewhere. If you believe that human civilization began 5000 years ago, and did not involve ET intervention, then this book will not be for you. But if you believe that our universe is teeming with life, then read this book. It will answer many questions and open your mind into areas worthy of investigation.
  
  
• Temple is a Master
  By A1W5G859U6PYE0 on 2004-11-27
  I wont get into the question of the Sirius Mystery here, as you can read many decent reviews on this page about that. What I want to share with you is my experience reading this book. And what I got out of it.
  
  There is no doubt in my mind that this book is one of the heaviest books I have ever read. The amount of linguistics covered throughout the chapters is sometimes overwhelming but so worth it. I wondered why we were trudging along various seemingly unrelated topics all the time. Not that they weren't interesting, I just wanted to know about the mystery. To my amazement, it all ties in. And you get a massive amount of incite into many other items that will definitely interest you.
  
  The highlight of the book to me was not the `answer' to the question, but ideas put forward along the way. Wait until you read about the `Goddess Isis' and the Jason and the Serpents Teeth reference.
  
  Although this book is a tomb, and very heavy; read it - you won't regret it.
  
  
• Interesting read. Unconclusive.
  By A2TCL3XLU57QC on 2002-05-27
  Temple's theory that an intelligent civilization from a planet orbiting Sirius visited a primitive Africian tribe makes for an interesting read. He presents his information well. His arguments are intelligent, but not easily verified.

  The book would have been better enhanced by independent research (not under his control) and an objective presentation of the counter-arguments to his theory (Temple does not acknowledge the possiblity that he could be wrong). Another problem: Temple presents his theory and the supporting evidence during the first (interesting) part of the book, and after that he launches into his other ideas such as the long ago discounted idea of a Mars mountain carved to look like a human face or the idea that the hind quarters of the Sphinx represents a dog not a lion. (In reality, the hind quarters of the Sphinx, if not leonine, are probably that of a bull such that the four key quarters of the zodiac are represented: lion (Leo), man (Aquarius), bull (Tauras); wings now missing (Scorpio).

  One thing that helps support Temple's theory is that the Dogon themselves appear to believe it, and they maintain that they have passed the wisdom of this visitation from space down from the ages. The book does not explore verifying to what extent we can ascertain that the Dogon are telling us the truth about this visitation and trying to answer why, after a visitation from space, the Dogon don't have other advanced knowledge besides that of the star Sirius.

  Those criticisms aside, I think Temple may be onto something here and for that, this book is worth the read. Don't expect the kind of depth and research you'd get from Graham Hancock, but you can expect not to have to deal with anything as easy to refute as Sitchen. (For example, Sitchen postulates the existence of a civilization on a 12th planet with a 3600 year orbital period, but doesn't acknowledge that such a planet would cause orbital irregularities--not found--in the other planets or explain how life could exist on a planet with no external heat source or photosynthesis).
  
  

• Temple Never Gets to the Point
  By A3VE79FTEWO3FX on 2005-08-03
  Temple does not provide absolute information on alien contact. He knows a lot about mythology. His persuasive hypothesis connecting the Sumarians and the Eygtians to the Dogon traditions lose the reader in a mental swirl that leaves one to wonder; what is Temple's point?
  
  The chapter on the Origins of the Dogon begins with a disscussion on Hercules and the number 50. Once he gets to his disscussion topic he postulates that the Dogons were Berbers, cousins to the Greeks who married negroes from Tumbuctu. Temple's ethnocentrism and his historical assumptions are a little too obvious.
  
  I found the anthropological appendix articles on Sudaneses Sirius Systems and Dogon Stages of Initiation to be most interesting.
  
  
• Provocative and Thorough.
  By A28K8KYS3ZN68 on 2000-05-22
  

  Temple has done an incredible amount of work digging-up obscure, but very significant, anthropological source data which compounds and reinforces, for him, a theory introduced to the West earlier this century about the origins of contemporary life as we know it.

  Temple's meticulous attention to detail, and cross-referencing style build very convincing arguments, which prompt a finer re-reading of the material, generating a deeper interest in, and education of, a fascinating subject-area.

  Some of the connections presented in the Sirius Mystery are tenuous, but not at all impossible.

  If approached with a willingness to accept radically new ideas, even for a moment, then you will very much enjoy the richly textured tapestry of stories Temple weaves.

  I approached The Sirius Mystery skeptically, and was suprised to find myself compelled to seriously consider the presented thesis. What impressed me was his obvious distaste for some of the more fanatical elements surrounding the concept of life other then that of Earth's. Temple is interested only in a serious consideration of the origins of Human Civilasation.

  In all, a very refreshing, and extremely stimulating, professional work.
  
  

• Judge as ye desire to be judged.
  By on 2000-07-11
  Temple has appended his work to include some interesting new findings, descriptions of his persecution along the line after his writing 'The Sirius Mystery' initially and this is all fine and dandy.

  BUT!

  Then he goes off into a diatribe against plants (drugs) and how he abhores anyone who uses them. There is much more than ample evidence to show that the Dogon have an extensive pharmacopoeia (herb usage) history and their indiginous Shamanistic traditions are well known. So how in the world can Temple justify this abhorrent rejection of the Dogon spiritual beliefs (and plant usage) in this unresearched and completely dogmatic and biased blanket statement? He acts as if he has no knowledge of indigenous spiritual traditions as they relate to Entheogenic Sacramental substances (not only as pertaining to the Dogon but the world over), yet he condemns the scientific study (Entheobotany) and all the thousands of Theological and Botanical researchers in these fields before he ever even gives it a look. Either that or he is simply pushing dogmatic propaganda (which is a scary thought).

  It is one thing to condemn a single researcher or scientist and quite another to condemn an entire field of research or science! And this is done here by one researcher (Temple) who asks us to give his research a fair chance and study his findings before condemning his work.

  His statements against drugs and plant usage are profoundly ignorant and uninformed. Either that or as I said: "He is pushing propaganda (dis-information).
  
  

• Second stargate to the right...
  By AGRR05FH945HR on 2002-08-24
  While I accept that there may be flaws in some of Temple's basic assertions, and that earlier cultural contamination may have sown the seed of the Dogon "binary" mythology, the book is still a fascinating read.

  Even if the Dogon had been contacted by Westerners before the original reports of their "Sirius binary" theory were made, it is an odd piece of data for them to discuss, let alone latch onto and distort into a tribal mythology. The suggestion that some of the modern Dogon are not aware of this Alien/Sirius legend does not automatically mean that the Dogon at the time of the first interview could not have relayed the story as Temple portrays it. There may be many reasons why the tribal teachings may have subsequently suppressed this information. Possible flaws or not, nobody can conclusively disprove Temple's basic theories, so the book is likely to endure.

  For example, I could suggest that J.M. Barrie used the concept of Sirius being a binary star in his directions to Never Land in Peter Pan (second star to the right and straight on till morning). Pan was written before the confirmation of the reality of the twin star system, yet the idea of such an important star being a binary could easily have come to Barrie in a moment of inspiration. Again, nobody could disprove the idea, especially as the worlds of the Spirit and Quantum Reality Theory are moving ever closer together.

  Temple's original suggestion that Sirius, the Star of Isis in Templar and masonic legend, may also in fact be a triple star system, including a Sirius C, now seems to be in the process of being confirmed, astronomically. This adds even more weight to his arguments.

  I'm sure Temple's book will be debated for decades to come, but whatever is the case, it remains an important study and a highly entertaining read.

  Regarding the later NASA photographs of the Face at Cydonia, which supposedly disprove the existence of a Sphinx-like "face", I personally think they reek of digital manipulation and are about as convincing as the US Government's Roswell denials.

  Humans... Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em...
  
  

• Informative and enjoyable - but not Proof
  By A109TM75UJYV2 on 2006-07-01
  I had This book in possession for 8 yrs but only read it over the last 3 weeks. I didn't realise the wealth of information I had been sitting on during that period.
  
  My overall assessment of the book is that it is an eye-opener and does allow the reader to pause and think about the arguments put forward. He is very passionate about his research and beliefs and expresses them confidently sometimes bitterly as a result of losing friends because they couldn't accept his belief in aliens. I have not been convinced about his arguments. Let us look at them closely:
  
  Arguments for Alien contact
  
  The arguments for alien contact can be boiled down into 2 types:
  
  1. Mathematical/Astronomical argument based on the Dogon tribe which apparently could not have been possessed by them but brought down by amphibians. Various astronomical data were mentioned in Temple's book
  
  2. `Parallel Histories', a term I've just coined. Robert Temple made researches on the histories of the beliefs various civilisations and cross-references them in order to identify a common thread of the belief in amphibians/fish as part of their cultures. He goes into great detail of the histories of different cultures which makes it an interesting read. The main point one can extract from the historical research is that because of the commonality of Sirius and fish/amphibians featuring in different cultures, Temple concludes that the amphibians (or Nommos) must have jump-started human civilisation.
  
  Comments on Temple's theories
  
  1. Ancient possession of modern knowledge does not imply alien contact.
  
  The accurate description of the Sirian system and the precise calculation of a ratio based on the pyramids does not necessarily mean alien contact. It is also possible that the ancestors of the Dogon could have discovered facts about Sirius themselves using methods or technologies which have later been lost. My personal belief is that the black civilisation clearly had advanced technologies or methods to determine astronomical facts or build the pyramids in such a way which baffles modern man today. European scholars probably cannot accept the fact that certain black tribes may have had ways to build pyramids and gather accurate data about Sirius, which have later been lost, so they came up with the theory that aliens must have been involved! Is there a reason to deny my supposition made above? No. It just means that there could be an alternative explanation as to how the Dogons/Egyptians etc. came to possess modern knowledge. What about the claim by the Dogon themselves that amphibians came along to teach their people these facts? The claim itself is not proof. The ancestors of the Dogons may have elevated fish/amphibians to the level of deity, hence claiming that they taught them. The Greeks made advances in mathematics whilst believing in different gods. Some Hindus deify cows. Hindus had possessed modern knowledge (e.g. spherical nature of the Earth), does that mean cows came down to teach them? Clearly not. To deny credit to the black civilisation for discoveries and invention of advance technology just because the Europeans discovered them later and cannot yet build the pyramids using ancient technology, they therefore conclude that aliens were involved! This smacks in the face of subtle racism. This is only my view and the above argument does not deny alien involvement, it only seeks to provide another man-based explanation. So what of Temple's other arguments for alien contact? Let us proceed...
  
  2. The curious nature of the Nommos in suspended animation inside Phoebe
  
  Temple gave another theory for the existence of the Nommos. He said that the Nommos would not have returned to Sirius because of the vast distance, instead stayed in the solar system. He believes that the 10th Moon of Saturn, Phoebe, could be a spaceship containing water and the amphibian Nommos in suspended animation. The reason Phoebe is picked out is because of its retrograde motion and unusual behaviour. He described the artificial moon as circular. He is right to mention that Phoebe hadn't been explored much but believes that the Cassini-Huygens Mission would yield interesting results. Temple's book was written in 1997. The Saturn Mission flew past Phoebe in 2004. So what were the photos of Phoebe like? NASA had published them and the moon looks nothing like a hollow spaceship! It is filled with craters, meaning that it had received bombardment from asteroids, which would destroy a spaceship. The surface contains iron and also carbon dioxide. As Carbon Dioxide isn't present in the Asteroid Belt, Phoebe probably came from the Kuiper Belt outside the Solar System and captured by Saturn, hence the retrograde motion (Mars too has a retrograde motion). I am sure the `I want to believe' Fox Mulders out there would still find an explanation that Phoebe is a spaceship containing the Nommos! Remember photo of the face on a pyramid in the Cydonia region of Mars taken in the 1970s by the Voyager Mission? Some people thought that it was a sign of intelligence. However, when the Mars Observer Mission flew by the same area in 1998 the photo of the mountain was retaken with sharper images. It looked nothing like a face, but there are Fox Mulders who still want to believe! Are you one of them? If so, why?
  
  Temple's argument that the Nommos built a spaceship and orbiting Saturn breaks down further when we ask, why didn't the Nommos stay here on Earth and be in suspended animation in the deepest regions of the Earth's seas? That would have been easier and they could have hid themselves from Man quite easily or even beneath the surface of the deepest seabed, after all they are used to Earth's waters! It would make no sense to build a huge ship the size of a moon.
  
  3. CIA conspiracies to cover up?
  
  Temple does make claims that the CIA probably was influencing some of Temple's friends. Such claims, whilst they may be true, are made a few times in order to give credibility to Temple's arguments. I.e. because the CIA were interested in Temple's work and they tried to do things against him therefore Temple's claims must be true. It is an interesting way of gaining credibility for his theories and also magnify the existing conspiracy theories that the US Govt. has aliens and spaceships in possession but are covering up! I do not believe in such silly cover-up theories. Recall the announcement that NASA made a few years ago where they thought they discovered fossilised bacteria from a Martian rock? It turned out they were wrong. However, NASA is funded by the US Govt., if there was a big Govt. cover-up, then NASA would not have been allowed to air these claims. NASA are also planning to send a mission to Europa where there is likely to be aquatic life beneath its surface. They didn't hide this but made it public. So conspiracy theories are out I'm afraid
  
  4. Religion and aliens
  
  Temple does make an interesting point about the impact of alien contact on religion. Will the religions change or be challenged? There will be an impact amongst all religions, some positive and others negative. I am from an Islamic background and the Quran does mention clearly that God had made life and scattered them throughout the heavens. So alien contact won't be a surprise as far as Muslims are concerned. But to read up on this interesting topic, I refer the reader to a book entitled, `Are we Alone?', by Prof. Paul Davies. Excellent book and feel free to read my review of that book.
  
  Conclusion
  
  Temple's book is interesting and informative, so I give it a high rating. But the research, theories, and theories built on top of more theories fall short of proof.
  
  by Hasan Ali Imam
  Ex-Parliamentary Candidate 2005, Conservative Party
  UK
  
  
  
  
• Weak to begin with, Temple ruins all credibility by bashing scientists
  By A3VQYLN15L8BFI on 2008-04-17
  After reading Walter Cruttenden's Lost Star of Myth and Time, I became very interested in similar topics, and have been reading quite a bit on them lately. I was very disappointed by The Sirius Mystery. The title is deceptive- the information in the book isn't new, it's all info that's been discussed before. Many of the claims were weak, and many of the theories require taking huge leaps to get from A to B. There were some very interesting and intriguing points, but not enough to make up for the rest of the book. At best, Temple shows that ancient people were more advanced in astronomy than we give them credit for. In addition, this book is incredibly dry and dull, and not very well written. I'm a college student, and I've had a better time reading incredibly boring text books on topics I have absolutely no interest in.
  
  If the actual content of the book wasn't poor enough, a very bitter Temple destroys any minute credibility he had by resorting to name-calling of scientists he believes have wronged him. He talks about how arrogant mainstream scientists are in their beliefs, yet goes on to say, "...she taunted her more pompous colleagues about not being able to keep up with [me], which of course made them hate me." Are you *kidding* me? He can't even let the dead rest and while talking about a (deceased) scientist, he says, "That is how petty and pathetic he was." And the icing on the cake to all of this bitterness and insult-slinging was definitely, "It is truly amazing how people can become obsessed with enmity to the exclusion of productive work." Maybe Robert Temple should listen to himself on that one. If he wants respect from the science community, maybe he should try giving *them* a little bit. I'm surprised the publishing company actually printed this.
  
  
  
• Fascinating
  By A5LYQUIU2WYC5 on 2002-04-09
  This book deals with a star called Sirius that all ancient mythologies from Sumarians, Egyptians, and Greek all have in common. The author's theory deals with, that intelligent beings from Sirius visited the earth and left behind information about three stars in the Sirius system that scientist just found to be true. Very interesting how a primative tribe in Africa called the Dogon knew about a hidden stars in the Sirius system that astronomers just recently found to be a fact.The Dogon also talk about amphibous beings the Dogon call Nommos visited our planet and started civilization as many ancient mythologies say.The author's theory on the Sphinx being the body of a dog and not a lion was very interesting, the Sphinx being a representation of the god Anubis, who was a canine. Cool information in this book but be prepared for a heap of mythology reading.
  
  
• Waste of money and time
  By A9SYALLSJMBF4 on 2003-09-24
  Temple is a writer, but not an "author" in my view. He lacks craftsmanship in this volume. His first chapter vents his spleen against those who have opposed, betrayed, or disagreed with him. The chapter is titled "The Sirius Mystery Today". The second chapter finally gets to "What is the Mystery?". At best, the first chapter belongs in an annex. His priorities are evident. The rest of the volume lacks organization and objectivity as well, there being no logical stream of delivery. The subject is fascinating, but is better treated by Zecharia Sitchin, Lloyd Pye, Andy Lloyd, and others.
  Save your money and time.
  
  
• Did not address the subject matter
  By A2OPELALQ5D1CW on 2004-07-21
  To be perfectly honest, this book was a big disappointment. The book never addressed the issue of what was the NEW scientific evidence? After forcing myself to finish the book, I still didn't learn anything new. This book is a big waste of money and an even bigger waste of time.
  
  
• The dots don't connect...
  By A1NUA9J2JJQW0C on 2007-01-27
  The Dogon believed in the existence of Sirius B before it was visible to the naked eye and before their belief was confirmed by modern science. This is an astonishing factoid, but one factoid does not a book make.
  Temple interprets this central anachronism as proof that aliens from Sirius contacted early civilizations, but he is just not able to add enough evidence to it to prove up his thesis. The punchline of the book is indeed pretty weird but, after that weird morsel is digested, all that remains is a meandering tour of ancient history and mythology that makes for pretty ponderous reading. Temple tries to identify continuities in these sources that would point to a single archaic "ur"-religion, shared by all ancient cultures and recounting the visitation of the earth by the aliens. To my mind, he does not succeed. I am a sucker for a good yarn, but the "coincidences" that Temple finds in these sources are lost on me. While the reader may follow him on the vague similarity between myth x and myth y, and also between myth y and myth z, the conceptual "drift" between myths x and z undermines any unified pattern.
  
  I guess I had unusually high expectations for this book, since Temple has an unusually good reputation for his "no-nonsense" approach to extremely sensational topics. It is frequently pointed out that he is a fellow of the Royal Society, and he has apparently been associated professionally with some pretty heavyweight scholars. Indeed, he sometimes sounds like a paragon of scientific good sense. He rejects any dogmatic interpretation of his ideas and he is surprisingly eager to seek out grounds for the falsification of his own theories.
  
  But there are warning signs. Temple's insistence that he has been persecuted by the CIA for his work on this topic is troubling. I have no doubt that the CIA does some seriously weird (and stupid) stuff, but it just doesn't feel right.
  
  Less fair of me, perhaps, is to suspect a bit of resume-padding when Temple discusses his friendship with the esteemed Sinologist Joseph Needham. Temple recounts how he became close with Needham toward the end of his life, popularizing his work for American and British laypeople. Temple tells us that Needham's staff did not approve of the friendship, and inexplicably sought to undermine it. A cynical jerk like myself could infer from this that these staffpeople percieved that their mentor, in his senility, was falling under the malign influence of a UFO crackpot.
  
  All in all, it reminds me a bit too much of the obsessive pattern seeking that paranoid people sometimes exhibit. The dots just don't connect.
  
  
• The Bible is beginning to make sense now with Temple around
  By A30Z6GGWLGHUT7 on 1999-02-20
  This is a LONG read. Not page wise, but you must be very patient with what he's trying to get accross. Being that this website is viewed by a higher percentage of Americans, and most Americans proclaim themselves Christian, I think all should read this book, no matter what race or creed. I think Robert Temple is on the right track in stating that a more advanced race from the star Serius have been in touch before christ, and are still here, keeping a watchful eye. A point one must attain are the various pieces of art, whether from the Orient, Egypt or Greece, depicting hybrids of man & fish, with the prominent fish tail; perhaps depticting that humanoid & the amphibious race, that have the same shape as us & the same body parts, yet take on the properties of an amphibian/reptile, coincided as one! It does give credence to who the talking serpent/snake that Adam & Eve encountered may have been. This subject should not be laughed at, as it makes more sense out of everything than any priest could ever hope for. A must read to everyone.
  
  
• good
  By A1F12SGXDFW1RH on 2006-02-25
  Once you start reading you can not stop anymore,
  though some minor parts are boring and difficult to follow.
  
  
• Excited beyond words
  By A1FYK1LY2XHTX5 on 2006-04-19
  I just could not put this book down! I heard an interview on Coast to Coast AM with George Noory and I had to have this book. If you want to expand your data base of ancient knowledge, then pick this book up and be prepared for more knowledge than you can imagine. By the time I was finished, I was wondering when the folks from Sirius were coming back to help mankind again. You may not believe the premise, but you will admire the massive amounts of facts you are given on this journey into the past. It is a course in history that you will love. Pick this one up and be prepared to take notes...I did.
  
  
• Disappointing & Superficial
  By A1H184YBCQL17X on 2001-02-05
  I had higher hopes for this one. In actuality it is a highly superficially written book, which, except for the major story of Dogon's cosmology, contains little material analysis and argumentation for the main hypothesis offered. Especially the word "scientific" seems to be highly out of place in the title. If you like Hancock's writing, or similar paleo-archaeology stuff, this book will bring you quite some disappointment.
  
  
• Interesting if True�or True if Interesting?
  By AMFIHLW5HTUCZ on 2003-07-11
  This updated version of Temple's book begins with a statement that his original theory has been vindicated by newly discovered facts about the Sirius star system showing it be a three-star system. He goes on to a tirade against his detractors, including people from NASA, and the intriguing information that the CIA kept tabs on him after he first published his theories about long-ago alien contact with our planet. The Sirius Mystery is based on studies of the Dogon, an African tribe that seems to have detailed knowledge of the Sirius star system, including astronomical information only recently discovered. The author builds this into a story about amphibious visitors from a watery planet orbiting Sirius. He finds evidence in ancient stories from Sumer and Egypt, recounting the legend of Oannes, who came from the sea and seemed to be half fish.

  What I find interesting about Temple's material is how much of it is familiar from other books of this genre (which I enjoy reading), but how he manages to put a completely different spin on it. Was Oannes actually half fish, or did his space ship land in water and the emerging being reminded those who saw him of a "fish-man" (as other writers have suggested)? Temple makes no mention of Zecariah Sitchen who writes of many of the same ancient events from Sumerian history. To Sitchen, the Annunaki were the astronauts from the planet Nibiru (in our own solar system), but in Temple's book they become anonymous Sirian gods who are mainly there so the number 50 can be worked into the story. This number has significance for the Sirius star system and ancient legends, he says, incorporated this number to emphasize its significance.

  In much the same way, Graham Hancock (in Fingerprints of the Gods) shows how ancient stories worked in the numbers that signify the precession, the 25,000 year cycle of the zodiak around the horizon. Another book I've read discussed the use of the magic number 7 (7 wonders of the world, 7 deadly sins, etc.). It seems like a good working theory that ancient stories do incorporate numbers that are important and need to be remembered, but in this case, it's a stretch to associate the number 50 used in ancient legends with the movements of distant stars, the whole thing held together by the beliefs of an obscure African tribe.

  Temple provides some interesting material on the ancient oracle centers, the best known being the Oracle of Delphi, and the associated omphalos stones. while this made fascinating reading, I found his logic sometimes hard to follow and kept waiting for a better connection between these means of ancient communication and the knowledge of the Dogon. The book wanders around a lot and is full of opinionated rants that decrease its credibility.

  But the heart of the matter is really whether it is true that the Dogon somehow acquired knowledge of Sirius and associated stars and whether the method of acquiring this knowledge was visitation from ancient astronauts. Many other writers have picked up on Temple's main theme and restate his thesis that the Dogon, an unsophisticated people, know all about Sirius. But the whole thing is based on the work of two anthropologists who gained the trust of informants among the Dogon and related tribes. They described the belief system that involved Sirius, and it is all rather curious. But I find it difficult to feel as positive as Temple does that what he has laid bare is evidence of visitation by intelligent amphibians from a distant planet. The picture section in the book is great, and the complete work by the two anthropologists (translated from French) is in an Appendix. If you can stand to wade through all the material in this book, you may be able to form an opinion. Or you may be just as confused as I am. It's interesting, but is it true?
  
  

• say hello to mr tangent
  By A3LYJJBRJG647G on 2003-07-16
  This book has some great information and interesting theories but the author gets sidetracked so often it becomes tedious. I felt like I was being punished and made to sift through way too many side stories to enjoy the book. About 100 of the 400 pages of writing were genuinely interesting and told the story of the dogon tribe and their encounters with amphibious aliens from sirius. The rest was a treatise on greek mythology which I could have done without. The blurbs on sumerian mythology are better covered by zecharia sitchin in his earth chronicles series. All in all some good info but a pain in the arse to get to.
  
  
• Great Book...
  By on 2000-03-18
  I agree with the latest review about Temple's observations of ancient culture. However, the face on Mars is artificial. It has 91-98 percent symmetry, if anyone took a glance at it past the "catbox" image. Temple is right to bring in the face. However, it is likely a lot of his evidence is not factual. I believe that Earth was visited by the Noggon, wheather or not it is based on hard evidence or myths like Temple presents. Enjoy the book- you don't have to accept the existance of amphibious aliens from Sirius though.
  
  
• Not much of value.
  By A2P6PVWZS4NGV0 on 1999-08-26
  "The Sirius Mystery" begins with the superficially perplexing matter of Griaule and Dieterlen's published work on the Dogon tribe of West Africa. They claim that the central teachings of the Dogon society include knowledge of the invisible white dwarf companion of Sirius (Sirius B), of a third companion star associated with the Sirius system, and of other astronomical matters, such as the moons of Jupiter, that could be known only by the use of a telescope. All of this knowledge, furthermore, is thought to predate European contact with the Dogon, and perhaps European knowledge of Sirius B as well. From this initial mystery, Temple plunges headlong into a lengthy and detailed consideration of similarities in words, characters and mythic tales among disparate ancient civilizations. This argument, which actually makes up most of the book, is intended to establish the antiquity of the "Sirius Mystery," that in fact the knowledge of the Dogon is a legacy handed down since ancient Egyptian and Sumerian times. Temple comes to what he claims is a logical and reasonable conclusion--that ancient humans were the benefactors of knowledge and perhaps other influences bestowed by amphibious alien beings from the Sirius system.

  In evaluating Temple's claims, we can begin with the Dogon. Other anthropologists have consistently failed to verify Griaule and Dieterlen's claims, which raises very serious questions about the central argument. But, for now, let's assume that they had access to otherwise privileged (gnostic) wisdom of the tribe. Even then, it is notable that the supposed antiquity of Dogon lore regarding Sirius B is not established, and in fact it has been demonstrated that relatively recent introductions, such as the Christ story, can be incorporated into the fundamental tribal wisdom within a generation's time. Carl Sagan and others have suggested that knowledge of Sirius B was brought to the Dogon by prior explorers. Since Sirius, as the brightest star in the sky, can be expected to be extremely important in such a society, knowledge of an invisible companion would be deemed very important indeed. Sagan's idea stands without a shred of evidence for it (there is no knowledge of such prior explorers), but compared to visitation by amphibious aliens, it would seem to have the greater weight. This, of course, is dependent upon one's need to believe in wild things.

  In any case, the extensive discussion of myth and language in disparate cultures seems weighty if only by virtue of length, and I have little doubt that at least some of the connections Temple draws are real. Others are more questionable, and it would be informative to hear from someone who actually studies ancient languages for a living as to how much of the word-play Temple deduces is just crankery. Temple's scholarship is certainly open to question. For example, the Dogon also believe in a third member of the Sirius system, and this most recent edition of "The Sirius Mystery" makes much of the discovery of a faint star near Sirius that confirms Dogon lore. If one checks the facts, one quickly finds that this star, though located near Sirius in the sky, is in fact several hundred light years away, and is no more a "member" of the Sirius system than our own sun. Mistakes like this one, assuming that they are mistakes, do not inspire confidence.

  Neither do Temple's occasional references to his supposed persecution by the CIA, in which he strongly implies that the American government is attempting to undermine his work. In fact, even notwithstanding the conspiracy theories, "The Sirius Mystery" is rife with the hallmarks of crank science. The book is not especially well-written, and I imagine even the most enthusiastic believers in ancient extraterrestrial visitations will have some trouble getting through it, especially the denser sections on word meanings. Others with less of an emotional attachment to such notions are advised simply to steer clear. There is nothing here to justify claims of "earth-shattering" knowledge.
  
  

• The Sirius mystery:Please give us a break!!!
  By AZJXLTWY6LQY6 on 2003-05-07
  Contrary to what the title might suggest, this book is not
  entirely about scientific evidence on an ancient Alien Contact
  as the other reviewers might make you believe, but it also
  focuses on Greek Mythology and Egyptian Theology, both of which,
  he shamelessly cannibalizes.

  The author begins by citing events, which supposedly prove how
  at least two NASA(?!?) employees pursued something of a vendetta
  against him, allegedly attempting to prevent him of enlightening
  the rest of mankind with his "forbidden" theories. He proceeds
  later on to claim, that when NASA got tired of hunting him, they
  enlisted the likes of CIA(!) agents to dicourage him further.

  After having satisfied himself on giving away the US services,
  he focuses on a formerly obscure African tribe by the name
  of "Dogon" who hail from African Mali. He then proceeds to
  make an in depth analysis of the unique heritage of those people
  which seems to contain a lot of details on the star-system of

  the constellation Sirius, like the rate-of-revolution of Sirius-
  B around Sirius-A, the knowledge that Sirius B is a "heavy
  star", etc. He even claims that the Dogon were in possession of
  information on that Star-system, which scientists have only
  recently come to discover, and that they could never have
  possibly beeen able to acquire this information by themselves-
  therefore they must have obtained it from somewhere.

  The author suggests that the Dogon obtained this heritage from
  Ancient Egypt, and he later claims that the Dogon were the
  descendants of the "Guardians" of the desert oracle of Amon Ra.

  That's where the book starts to get paranoid.

  The author in a desperate attempt to attach some credibility
  to his theory, draws heavily upon parts of Egyptian Theology,
  Greek Mythology,& Sumerian Cosmogony which he boldly
  transfigures to suit his theories. He thus is proved to be
  wrong, by reaching unthinkable and absurd conclusions.

  We thus learn, that the African Dogon are in fact the descendants
  of the Greek Argonauts(!), that the Greek and Hebrew
  civilizations & people are related to each other(!) and that our
  Ancient Goddess Athena/Minerva is the same with Isis, and that
  she was actually "Negro". (One of my Israeli pals nearly jumped
  out of the window when I told him of Mr. Temple's conclusions.)

  I wonder how Temple would explain the fact that Athena's Greek
  statues (older than the Roman copies) feature Athena having
  perfect Nordic features, and traces of paint found on a few
  of her statues prove that she was thought to have blond hair and
  blue eyes.(Ancient Greek & Roman statues where painted)

  His absurd conclusions and obsessions aside, this is a moderately
  interesting book, which could have even bordered upon the limits
  of "scientfic & serious" (his study of the Dogon is not bad)
  had he been subtle enough to restrict himself to citing mere
  facts in the manner of, John J. Robinson for instance.

  Three stars for his study of the Dogon alone.
  
  

• The Orion Mystery: Unlocking the Secrets of the Pyramids
• Fingerprints of the Gods
• The Science of the Dogon: Decoding the African Mystery Tradition
• The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind
• Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind