Ethel Bristowe facts for kids

Ethel Susan Graham Bristowe (1864–1952) was a talented British artist and writer. She was known for her paintings. She also wrote books about ancient history, especially about Mesopotamia. Her ideas were sometimes different from what most historians believed.

She moved to Scotland in 1907. She lived there for the rest of her life. Her home was a country house called Craig, near a town called Balmaclellan.

In 1938, Ethel Bristowe gave a special gift to the people of Castle Douglas. She donated an art gallery to the town. This gallery was built as an addition to the town's library. It displayed several of her own artworks.

Exploring Ancient History: The Cain-Sargon Theory

Ethel Bristowe is most famous for a unique idea she wrote about. This idea is called the Cain-Sargon of Akkad theory. She explained it in her 1927 book, Sargon the Magnificent.

In her book, Bristowe looked at old records from Mesopotamia. She used a text called the Cylinder of Nabonidus. This text suggested that an ancient king named Naram-Sin of Akkad lived about 3200 years before Nabonidus. This would place Naram-Sin's father, Sargon, around 3800 BC.

Most historians today believe Sargon lived much later, around 2300 BC. But Bristowe strongly supported the older date. She then argued that this ancient King Sargon was the same person as Cain from the Bible.

This theory is not accepted by most experts who study ancient Mesopotamia. However, some groups have supported her ideas. These groups reprinted Bristowe's books. She wrote a follow-up book in 1950 called Cain - An Argument.

Ethel Bristowe's Published Works

Ethel Bristowe wrote several books during her lifetime. These books explored her unique ideas about history and ancient civilizations.

• The Oldest Letters In The World (1923)
• Sargon the Magnificent (1927)
• The Man Who Built The Great Pyramid (1932)
• Naphuria - The History Of The True Akhnaton (1936)
• Christ And Early Christianity Through Pagan Eyes (1937)
• Cain - An Argument (1950)