Dreams were once widely treated as messages about the future in many ancient societies.

The longer version

In many ancient societies dreams were read as communications from gods, ancestors or the dead, and rulers consulted specialists before battles, treaties and building projects. Ordinary people consulted interpreters too, often about illness, money or family matters. The working assumption was that sleep opened a channel.

Mesopotamian and Egyptian records preserve dream reports alongside their readings, and Greek and Roman writers compiled similar cases. The predictive view persisted for centuries and shaped medicine, religion and politics before accounts centred on the brain displaced it. The assumption that dreams carry outside meaning appears in nearly every region with written records, which suggests it arises easily.

Where this entry sits

This collection gathers curious details about sleeping and dreaming, from nightly brain stages and body clocks to naps, yawns and unusual animal habits. It also covers how bedtime customs have changed across centuries, without offering any advice. The full list sits on the Sleep and Dreams page, where every entry is listed in order.