Angels n Demons and Da Vinci Code

I remember when i read Da Vinci Code in 2004, i liked it primarily coz of the information Dan Brown had packed. It was one of those few novels which blended fiction, history and facts very well. No wonder readers world over lapped it up.

There were some facts which i came across while reading Da Vinci Code and Angels n Demons:



1) Word Satan is taken from "Shaitan", a word in Arabic for the Devil.

2) In middle ages, there were Hashish smoking muslim killers. They were called Hassasins coz of Hashish. Over the years , Hassasin became assasin.

3) Many ppl, including me, are under the impression that Xmas is celebrated coz Jesus was born on that day. However,apparently Bible says He was born in March. Xmas is celebrated to mark Sun God's return. Remember days become longer after Dec 25. Theres one more funda. Pre-Christain God, Mithras -Son of God- was born on Dec 25. He was also resurrected three days after being buried in a rock tomb !! hows that for similarities? I am sure part of the focklore added to Jesus's life has come from earlier Gods.
4) Vilain used to mean villager. Church in an attempt to get rid of Pagan culture, vilified the word and now villain means .......humm... u know what.
5) In a pentacle all lines divide themselves in the Divine ratio (phi=1.618).
6) Ok , heres the one which guys will love: how did the word "horny" originate? Amon is the Egyptian God for masculine fertility. He is depicted as a man with a ram's head, having horns. Hence anyone with "horns" became associated with masculine fertility and hence the word "horny".
7) Reasons why Mona Lisa is smiling: a) She is aware that her face is androgynous b) Lisa or isis is the Egyptian goddess for fertility. Amon i have already explained. So Amon+Lisa when rearranged become "Mona Lisa". Funda is that the painting is a celebration of the the male+female union.
8) 300 years of witch hunt pursued by Church killed five million women. Phew !
9) Dan Brown says that left was traditionally associated with females and right with men. To vilify women, left became the symbol of radical thoughts. Right became "righteous" !
10) Apparently in archaic Italian, sinistra was left. Sinister comes from it. phew ! hows that for demonising women !
11) One of the reasons why friday the 13th is considered a bad omen: On Friday the 13th, Oct 1307 Pope Clement ordered massacre of Knights Templars. Most of the templars were killed on that day.
12) Jesus was king of Jews. He was a descendent of King David and King Solomon.
13) Apparently for three centuries after crucification, Christ was considered a mortal human being. It was Council of Nicaea which voted that He should be made divine. This was when Constantine was promoting Christianity.
14) Noah ( from Noah the ark ) was an albino.
15) Mary Magdalene, allegedly Jesus's wife was also royal. She was from the house of Benjamin.

Of course there are many other interesting theories. But i found these facts very interesting. All religions the world over have a widely-debated history. So is Christianity.
Coming back to the world of novels, I am sure novels in future which connect history and fiction seamlessly will do very well. umm... aint there symbols and hidden societies in Hinduism? Well, well...