Chariots of the Gods? The book that inspired Ancient Aliens
How did 'Chariots of the Gods?', written by Erich von Däniken, seep into the mainstream — and shape controversial theories about ancient astronauts?
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When visiting world-famous historical monuments, it’s easy to gasp in awe at them and wonder how they were built. So, perhaps it shouldn’t be too surprising that a range of far-fetched theories have sprung up.
One is that aliens built the pyramids, an idea propagated by Elon Musk in 2020. Could ancient humans really have erected such historical landmarks without extraterrestrial influence?
It’s far from a recent idea. In fact, much of its modern provenance can be attributed to the 1968 publication of the Erich von Däniken book Chariots of the God? How has this literary work shaped thinking about the development of ancient civilisations?
The Chariots of the Gods theory in a nutshell
In Chariots of the Gods, von Däniken deems some ancient structures too sophisticated to have been built by the civilisations traditionally thought responsible for them.
Of course, today, many such structures — like Stonehenge and the pyramids — could easily be built using modern methods. However, von Däniken is convinced that such techniques would have been beyond the reach of our distant ancestors.
This all leads him to maintain that extraterrestrial visitors must have made these artefacts (or shown humans how to make them). In response, scholars insist that there is no solid evidence supporting this thesis.
Erich von Däniken’s impact on how we see the past
Erich von Däniken has practically built a media empire on the back of that first Chariots of the Gods? book. The original title has been reprinted multiple times and led von Däniken to write follow-ups — including The Gods Never Left Us, published in 2018.
The Chariots of the Gods theory has been further elaborated upon by writers including Giorgio A. Tsoukalos and David Hatcher Childress.
Both men have appeared on Sky HISTORY’s long-running Ancient Aliens TV show. Various episodes explore archaeological evidence that aliens indeed had contact with our ancient precursors.
Erich von Däniken’s cultural influence
Ever visited Jungfrau Park, near the Swiss town of Interlaken? Perhaps not — this amusement park’s obscure, far-flung location does no favours for its visitor numbers.
However, it does have a very interesting history, as it was originally opened in 2003 as 'Mystery Park'. It was also built to a design paying tribute to von Däniken’s ideas about ancient astronauts.
Though the park has since closed and now opens only for summer seasons as Jungfrau Park, von Däniken’s influence lives on in another park. That’s the currently yet-to-open Blackpool Central Indoor Entertainment Park, which was at one point set to use the 'Chariots of the Gods' name. The park is still set to heavily take inspiration from the von Däniken book of that name.
The park is a project of Media Invest Entertainment, which controls the copyrights for the Chariots of the Gods? book. In 2019, the company’s CEO Norbert Reichart admitted to VICE that he was aware of the controversy surrounding von Däniken’s assertions.
He reported that his company 'expected some criticism or some questions', but surprisingly did not receive any. He observed: 'People can be a little bit tired of all the superhero stories, and Hollywood stories, which have oversaturated the [theme park] market. People are looking for something new and unique.'
The ride into Hollywood
Ironically in light of Reichart’s words, elements of the Chariots of the Gods theory can actually be seen in superhero and Hollywood stories.
Just look at the Marvel comic book series Eternals (and the 2021 Hollywood film of the same name). The premise of this saga is that space deities known as ‘the Celestials’ visited Earth even before apes evolved into humans.
In fact, according to this version of events, the Celestials created humans by undertaking genetic experiments on apes. The Ancient Aliens TV show has shone a spotlight on the suggestion that fantastical-looking figures depicted in ancient art could actually be genetically modified humans.
It’s not hard to spot other films using the ‘ancient astronauts’ concept as a plot point. These include Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001: A Space Oddysey and the fourth feature-length Indiana Jones adventure, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Do the Chariots show any sign of stopping?
They certainly don’t look likely to come to a halt any time soon. Nonetheless, most people would agree that the Chariots of the Gods theory remains highly speculative.
The uncertainty about many stories about the past is arguably what makes them fun to learn about. You can dive into more of them yourself by subscribing to the Sky HISTORY Newsletter.
