Misconceptions Archives - Page 20 of 22 - Tales of Times Forgotten

What Evidence Is There for the Existence of Alexander the Great? Quite a Lot.

One of the things that bothers me the most about the internet are all the pernicious articles claiming that such-and-such well-attested historical figure from ancient times actually never existed at all. One of the most annoying claims out there on the internet is that there is no evidence for the existence of Alexander the Great. This claim is blatantly ridiculous, but yet I have seen multiple people on the internet claiming it, repeatedly and in earnest. In this article, I intend to offer a sound debunking of this assertion by presenting some solid evidence for the existence of Alexander the Great.

Debunking the So-Called “Dark Ages”

There is no period in all of human history that gets quite so much bad press as the Middle Ages. Popularly known as the “Dark Ages,” most people imagine that this was the worst possible time to be alive—a thousand years of poverty, backwardness, stagnation, superstition, and obscurantism.

It is popularly believed that, during this era, obscurantist Christians deliberately rounded up classical texts to destroy them, people burned witches, no one ever bathed, everyone thought the world was flat, people were constantly slaughtering and torturing each other for no reason, all people were fanatically orthodox Catholics, scientific and technological advancement was virtually nonexistent, doctors knew less about medicine than doctors in all other eras, and everyone was always miserable.

There is very little truth to any of these notions, however. The real Middle Ages are very different from the barbarous caricature that most people are familiar with. Although some historians do use the term “Dark Ages,” they use this term to refer to a specific period in medieval western European history lasting a little over three hundred years from the collapse of the western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD until the rise of the Carolinian Empire in the late eighth century AD.

In this article, I will debunk some of the most popular misconceptions about the Middle Ages. Then, at the end, I will explain why I, like many historians, believe that the term “Dark Ages” should be retired altogether.

Did the Ancient Greeks Ever Climb Mount Olympos?

If you know anything at all about Greek mythology, you are probably aware that the ancient Greeks believed that the most important deities in their pantheon, known as the δωδεκάθεον (dōdekátheon), which means the “Twelve Gods” in Ancient Greek, lived atop Mount Olympos, which is a real mountain in the region of Thessalia in northern Greece.

This has led many people to wonder why the ancient Greeks never climbed Mount Olympos and saw that there were no gods up there. The assumption that they never did this has led many people to assume that the ancient Greeks as a whole must have been deeply superstitious and uninquisitive.

The surprising truth, though, is that the ancient Greeks did climb Mount Olympos and it doesn’t seem to have destroyed their religion. In fact, by late antiquity, regular trips up the mountain seem to have become incorporated into the religion itself.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Debunking the Misconception of the Flat Earth

Hardly anyone nowadays believes the earth is flat. Many people, however, wrongly believe that people during the Middle Ages thought the world was flat. In reality, however, the sphericity of the earth was common knowledge throughout the entire Middle Ages. The idea that people in the Middle Ages thought the earth was flat is a canard invented in the Early Modern Period by authors who wanted to portray the Middle Ages as a time of backwardness and superstitious regression.

Misconceptions about Roman Gladiators

It is certainly no secret that the film and television industry absolutely loves gladiators. In fact, the film Gladiator from 2000, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crow, has been widely credited with rekindling popular interest in the classical world in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, almost everything Hollywood thinks it knows about gladiatorial combat is actually wrong.