Classics Archives - Page 30 of 33 - Tales of Times Forgotten

What Is the Difference between a Siren and a Mermaid?

If you enjoy reading about mythology, you have most likely heard of mermaids and Sirens, but you may not be familiar with the difference between them. Most people today generally consider them the same thing. We usually tend to imagine both a mermaid and a Siren as a beautiful woman with the tail of a fish instead of legs. Sirens, however, originally come from Greek mythology and this is not at all how the ancient Greeks envisioned Sirens. On the contrary, the ancient Greeks did not envision Sirens (or, as they are called in Greek Seirenes) as having fish-like attributes at all.

Ares Is Actually Kind of Pathetic

Sometimes it can be fun to debate which of the Twelve Olympians in Greek mythology were more powerful than others. Obviously, there is no doubting that Zeus was the most powerful, but the others are open to discussion. Because what a person considers “powerful” varies from one person to another, you can often make a case one way or another. I, however, think that the weakest of the Twelve Olympians in Greek mythology is clear and obvious: Ares.

“Archimedes’s Death Ray” Debunked

Most people with an interest in the history of science have heard the famous story of “Archimedes’s death ray.” In case you are unfamiliar with it, it goes like this: Supposedly, during the Siege of the Greek city of Syracuse by the Romans, lasting from spring of 213 BC through autumn of 212 BC, the brilliant Syracusan inventor and mathematician Archimedes (lived c. 287 – c. 212 BC) developed a spectacular invention to keep the Roman ships at bay; he built a death ray using mirrors to concentrate the light of the sun on the Roman ships, thereby setting them on fire. Unfortunately for all the people out there who love a good story about a brilliant inventor fending off enemy forces using science, the story of “Archimedes’s death ray” is certainly apocryphal.

Misconceptions about Ancient Greek Drama

Most high school students in the United States read at least one work of ancient Greek drama at some point in one of their English classes and, when they do, they are usually taught lots of Greek words like tragedy, comedy, hubris, and hamartia. Unfortunately, a lot of these terms have been egregiously misunderstood over the years and do not actually mean what many English teachers—and consequently English students—think they mean.

Not only are Greek terms often misunderstood; so are the Greek plays themselves. One of the most commonly taught Greek plays is Oidipous Tyrannos (Oedipus Tyrannus). Partly on account of its popularity, this particular play has been widely misunderstood by English teachers and students alike.

Some of these misunderstandings can even prevent students from fully appreciating Greek drama, so I think it is worthwhile to address them here. Below I address some of the most widespread misconceptions about Greek drama.

The Truth about Atlantis

If you are like most Americans, chances are, you probably believe that Atlantis or another civilization like it once existed. A survey conducted by Chapman University in October 2014 found that, at that time, roughly 63% of people in the United States agreed or strongly agreed with the statement “ancient, advanced civilizations, such as Atlantis, once existed.”

These numbers do not seem to be rapidly falling away either; when Chapman University conducted the same survey again in October 2018, they found that, this time around, 57% of people in the United States agreed or strongly agreed with the exact same statement. In other words, they seem to fairly consistently find that roughly six in ten people in the United States believe in the existence of Atlantis or another highly technologically advanced civilization like it.

These numbers are absolutely astounding considering that Atlantis is pure fiction; we know exactly where the story comes from, who made it up, and where he drew his inspiration from. This would be like if, in 2,500 years, 57% of people in some futuristic civilization believe that Westeros once existed. It is truly astonishing. Nonetheless, it seems there is just something so romantic about the idea of a lost, highly advanced civilization that no one wants to accept the reality that Atlantis is totally made up.

What Did the Ancient Greeks Contribute to Modern Civilization? A Lot, It Turns Out.

Most people are aware that the ancient Greeks made a lot of significant contributions to modern civilization, but not everyone knows exactly what they contributed. I cannot possibly hope to list all of the ancient Greek contributions to civilization here, since I could write a whole book on the subject and still not cover everything. Nonetheless, here are just a few of the ancient Greeks’ most famous—and, indeed, most obvious—contributions. These are numbered in no particular order:

Did the Trojan War Really Happen?

The Trojan War and the events ensuing thereafter are the subject of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two foundational epics of all Greek and, by extension, western literature. This one war has had more words written about it than probably any other war in the history of humanity. It has been immortalized through songs, poems, novels, and paintings. Yet, here is a startling question: did it ever really happen at all? We know Troy was a real city, but that does not mean the Trojan War itself really happened and very few Homeric scholars would try to argue that the Iliad or the Odyssey in any way resemble historical narratives—yet many laypeople still view them this way.

How Accurate Is Plato’s Portrayal of Socrates?

The Athenian philosopher Socrates (c. 470 – 399 BC) changed the way philosophers thought about the world. Yet, puzzlingly to modern audiences, for some reason, he himself never wrote any of his own ideas down. Nearly everything we know about him comes from what his students Plato (lived c. 428 or c. 424 – c. 347 BC) and Xenophon (lived c. 431 – 354 BC) wrote about him. Of these two, Plato is by far the more influential and generally agreed to be the more accurate. Consequently, we must question how accurate Plato’s portrayal of Socrates really is.

A Guided Tour of Raphael’s “School of Athens”

The School of Athens is a fresco painted between 1509 and 1511 by the Italian Renaissance artist Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, commonly known in English as “Raphael.” It depicts a scene of famous philosophers and thinkers of the past from different time periods, all standing around conversing and debating with each other. It is located in the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City and is widely considered to be one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. It has been the background image for this website since I first created it. Nonetheless, the fresco is filled with all sorts of fascinating symbolism and iconography that is often lost on the average viewer, so I thought I would take this article to give a quick guided tour of Raphael’s School of Athens.

Why “Roman Orgies” Weren’t Really a Thing

For decades, ancient Rome has been associated in the popular imagination with orgies. Indeed, perhaps the very first thing most people think of when they hear the words “ancient Rome” are Roman orgies. The problem is that there is no good evidence that orgies were ever at all common in ancient Rome. In fact, we do not even have a single reliable, first-hand, nonfiction account of one; all we have are salacious rumors, propaganda, and works of erotic fiction. In other words, the idea of “Roman orgies” is a complete misconception. The story of how we all came to believe in Roman orgies, however, is truly bizarre and fascinating.