Eternal flames were an element of Phoenician temples, and Carthage likely contained a Temple of Melqart. Melqart was a Phoenician god associated with the sea (are you noticing a trend here?), colonization, and commercial trade. The Phoenician letters in the mosaic pool that surrounded the eternal flame were taken from real Phoenician letters that mean door and window, and the Phoenicians alphabet is the oldest verified alphabet. It was a no-brainer to use this as one of the challenges for Bree.
Finally, the three Rebel Gods who attack Bree and her friends at the Temple of Melquart were based on real gods. The huge man surrounded by flurries of snow was Chernobog, a Slavic deity from the 12th century AD. Not much is known about Chernobog, and I imagine that he would want more power because of this.
The god with golden horns was Cocidius, a Romano-Celtic war god from the area around Hadrian’s wall, which separates England and Scotland. During this period (around 122 AD when the wall was built), the Romans were attempting to conquer Britain, which was full of Celts and Picts. Their religions melded, as they often can, and Cocidius was worshipped by both Romans and Celtic Britons. He was primarily worshipped by warriors and the lower classes, and I imagine he has a bit of a chip on his shoulder because of this.
The greek looking goddess who dripped blood from her skin was Elis, the Greek goddess of chaos, who loved battles and war. The blood was my addition. She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera, but because of her unpleasant disposition, she was generally snubbed by the other gods and mankind as well. She is an excellent candidate for an angry and vengeful Rebel God.
Last, the city in Tunisia where Bree, Cade, and Ana find Doug and Veronica is based on Tataouine, a real city in Tunisia. It is an amazing place and I tried to describe it as accurately as possible, but it’s so unusual that it might be hard to picture. I highly recommend you google it. I bet you’ll be as impressed as I was. And if the name Tataouine sounds familiar, that’s because this place inspired Tatooine in the Star Wars films.
Well, I think that’s it for the history and mythology in Pursuit of Magic. This one was extra fun to write because of all the mythology, and I hope you enjoyed it and will come back for more of Bree, Ana, and Cade!