Although I have no doubt that the ancients had developed special means for manipulating the physical world - means that our own technological society is sometimes unable to match - I think it is obvious that their main project was a profound spiritual quest & the dilation of the mind through the pursuit of esoteric knowledge. It is in this area, I believe, that we have the most to learn from our ancestors, where their great minds were put to work for thousands of years to penetrate the riddles of existence.