Ancient Stories of Gateways Many ancient cultures spoke of sacred locations where the worlds of gods and humans intersected. In Mesopotamian texts, references appear to gates of heaven and earth — thresholds where divine messengers passed between realms. In ancient Egypt, temples were often designed as symbolic gateways between the earthly world and the realm of the gods. Across Mesoamerica, the Maya and Aztec cultures believed caves and sacred mountains could serve as ent