I was looking at medal charts and even the previous olympics germany was no where close to winning this many medals. My first conclusion is that they cheated. Is there any documented proof?

The past couple of weeks I seem to have been running into a lot of references to Ancient Greece. And now I notice this week's theme. Clearly the universe is trying to tell me something. Or maybe I'm just having a case of the Baader-Meinhofs. Either way:

Where can I go to find something somewhat deeper than, oh, the d’Aulaires Book Of Greek Myths that I read over and over again as a kid? And all the half-assed caricatures of toga'd philosophers and gods turning into animals to get laid that drift around Western culture.

Not very specific, I know. Just "what were some of the fun and fascinating books you've read on Ancient Greece?". Modern works, great translations of the stories that remain, whatever. More along the lines of stuff you'd throw at a theoretical "Intro to Ancient Greece" class than Serious, Thorough, Dry References.

I just finished reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, and within it, Dawkins states that Judaism likely started as a tribal religion that just so happened to have the right stuff to survive through the ages. This would obviously imply that Christianity and Islam started the same way, since they branched off of Judaism. From a purely historical, nonreligious standpoint, I thought it was fascinating that the god of some otherwise unimportant desert tribe would grow to become the most commonly worshipped thing in the world. What do we actually know about the origins of these religions? My uneducated guess would be that it started during the Jews' time in exile after they fled from Egypt. Knowing that they had a "promised land" to look for would surely have made that time easier. It then had just the right combination of self-replicating traits to survive through the ages. Is anything like this backed by any historical facts? Or is my guess as good as anyone's?

EDIT: I have been told that I should be more specific, so here are my main questions.

What is the oldest mention of the Abrahamic god that we have discovered in texts outside the holy books of those religions? Where and how did we find this writing? What can we infer about the very first days of this religion from that?

What do we know about the origin of the Old Testament? What is the oldest known copy of that? And again, what can we infer about the early days of Judaism from it?

Finally, since it is such a broad topic, what resources exist to learn about the history of these three religions from a completely unbiased point of view?

As far as I know they weren't German, Celtic, Slavic, Scythian, Greek, or anything most of us are familiar with and have a feel for. Who were they ethnically, what Gods did they worship, and where did they go?

I was reading up on the Soviet Japanese war, and wiki told me that Russia had invaded Korea so quickly, that they could have easily established a presence across the entire peninsula in a short period of time. The only reason they didn't (from Wikipedia) is that America just asked them to stop at the 38th parallel. So they stopped and let America take over the rest about a month later.

Why would they stop when they could have had the whole thing plus China?

I am friends with a Franciscan monk and trying to find out more about what he's told me. What I've gathered is that Francis could have easily splintered off from the church and been a heretic or started his own church, and that the Catholic church had to actively court him and try to keep him on a leash and prevent a schism of sorts. I've gathered he was too passive to present a real challenge to the church, but did the church see him as one? Did they change at all due to his popularity? What was the religious climate like at the time for challengers to the pope? Could Francis have become an anti-pope?

EDIT: also dress

What was the religion of the Palmyrene Empire under Queen Zenobia? What was it like?

How was the instrumental lineup for the string, brass, woodwind, etc. sections of the western orchestra chosen and what contributed to these choices? I know there is some variation between pieces and periods, but it seems like overall there is a consistent roster of instruments. Thanks!

I dont mean this in a conspiratorial way, its undeniable that a huge swath of communist leaders have been Jewish. There has to be some kind of reason for this trend.

Throughout the entire history of the U.S., Russia and the U.S. seem to have had a decent enough diplomatic relationship until the end of WWII and the beginning of the Cold War. From what I have read Russia even had a part helping the U.S. in the first Gulf war with Iraq. Have the two countries ever directly through military action caused each other casualties?

Also, were there MI7, MI8, and so on? If they existed, what were their responsibilities?

It's my understanding that humans need salt in our diets to stay healthy. It's why we've developed such a strong taste for it. But how did prehistoric humans, or any hunter gatherer society, acquire salt? I've always thought of salt as either coming from mining or sea water processing. These seem like methods that wouldn't be used by early man. Where did their salt come from? Or am I wrong and they didn't need or use it?

I know it influenced songs like "For What It's Worth" (which is my primary source for a 100 level class project), but my research rarely takes it farther than disgruntled teens upset about a curfew and a night club. What happened to build up tensions and why did it become so important?

Just came up in class and I am curious. Thank you for any insight.

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Im interested in the general look of the knights and foot soldiers specifically around the year 1230/40. What specific weapons are they using? what kind of armour/clothing? do they have any special visual elements that would make them particular in any way?

Thank you very much in advance.