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.
Continue reading “Did the Trojan War Really Happen?”Category: Greek mythology
No, Throwing Apples at People Was Not Considered a “Marriage Proposal” in Ancient Greece
Internet memes are a notoriously unreliable source of information about the historical past. It should therefore come as little surprise to most people that a popular meme in widespread circulation on the internet claiming that throwing apples at people was “considered a marriage proposal” in ancient Greece is largely inaccurate. It may come as a surprise, though, that this meme actually does have some remote grounding in factual reality and—as is often the case—the truth is far stranger and more fascinating than the fiction. While it is true that the ancient Greeks had no custom of proposing marriage by pelting someone with apples, throwing apples was really considered a ploy at seduction.
Continue reading “No, Throwing Apples at People Was Not Considered a “Marriage Proposal” in Ancient Greece”Greek Deities Mentioned in the New Testament
Many people are familiar with the Greek and Roman deities from reading about classical mythology as children. One thing many people are not aware of, however, is that there are actually quite a few direct references to a number of different Greek deities in the Book of Acts in the New Testament, which describes the apostles visiting Greek cities and encountering opposition from supporters of traditional Greek religion. The deities mentioned in the Book of Acts by name are Zeus, Hermes, Artemis, and the Dioskouroi.
Continue reading “Greek Deities Mentioned in the New Testament”Most Bizarre Deaths from Classical History
Classical history is kind of notorious for its menagerie of stories about bizarre and humiliating deaths. Today we will hear stories about a philosopher who covered himself in cow manure and was devoured by wild dogs, a military leader who committed suicide by drinking bull’s blood, a playwright who was killed by a falling tortoiseshell, a poet who jumped into a volcano to make people think he was a god, a tragedian who was killed like a character in one of his tragedies, a tyrant who was assassinated with a poisoned toothpick, a Stoic philosopher who literally laughed himself to death, and even a Christian religious leader who pooped out his own internal organs. All of these stories are almost certainly apocryphal, but they are still interesting to retell!
Continue reading “Most Bizarre Deaths from Classical History”Bizarre Ancient Greek Festivals
One thing that I am always fascinated by are ancient traditions and rituals. Traditions are highly culture-specific and, to anyone outside of the culture that practices them, they seem bizarre, foreign, and inexplicable. Just think how strange our modern holiday traditions here in the United States will undoubtedly seem to someone thousands of years from now! To us, the customs and traditions associated with various ancient Greek festivals seem baffling and bizarre. The ancient Greeks had hundreds of festivals that were celebrated in various regions throughout Greece and during different periods of their history. Here are just a few of the more peculiar ones by modern standards:
Continue reading “Bizarre Ancient Greek Festivals”Misunderstood Ancient Quotes
Modern people are obsessed with ancient quotes. People assume that, if an ancient philosopher said something, it must automatically have some sort of profound meaning or significance. This is part of the reason why there are so many quotations floating around on the internet that have been misattributed to famous people from ancient times. (I have written an article debunking a few of the more popular misattributed ancient quotes, but there are many others that I haven’t covered.)
Unfortunately, even many of the quotes people use today that genuinely come from ancient authors have been greatly misinterpreted or taken out of context. A few of the most popular misinterpreted ancient quotes include “Know yourself,” “Love conquers all,” “I fear the Danaans, even bearing gifts,” and “the face that launched a thousand ships.”
Continue reading “Misunderstood Ancient Quotes”The Evolution of Cupid
Around this time year, we always see images of Cupid showing up all over the place. In modern culture, Cupid is always portrayed as a rascally infant armed with a bow and quiver of arrows, but this has not always been how he has been imagined. In fact, his original portrayal was much, much darker…
Christian Adaptation of Pagan Iconography
We are all familiar with the conventional images of what entities such as angels, cherubim, Jesus, and Satan are supposed to look like. What may come as a surprise is that these images were not always so well-established. In fact, much of what we think of as “Christian iconography” is freely adapted from pagan iconography.
Continue reading “Christian Adaptation of Pagan Iconography”
The Origins of the Zombie Legend
Since today is Halloween, we will probably be seeing lots of small children dressed as zombies wandering out and about later tonight. You may be surprised to learn, however, that zombie legends are nearly as ancient as writing itself and the earliest references to them come from some of the oldest literature known to man. Continue reading “The Origins of the Zombie Legend”
No, Atlas Did Not Hold the Earth on His Shoulders
The image of the Titan Atlas holding the Earth on his shoulders is an iconic one that has inspired countless writers, thinkers, and artists. It is also a modern notion with no basis whatsoever in any ancient Greek texts. In actual ancient Greek mythology, Atlas does not, in fact, hold the Earth on his shoulders, but rather the sky. The misconception that the ancient Greeks imagined Atlas as holding the Earth on his shoulders arose as a result of the misinterpretation of classical representations of Atlas. In this article, I intend to set the record straight by examining how the ancient Greeks really envisioned Atlas and explaining how the misconception about him holding up the Earth arose.
Continue reading “No, Atlas Did Not Hold the Earth on His Shoulders”