Dive into the fascinating world of Greek mythology as we explore legendary tales that have surprising connections to real-life discoveries. From ancient cities to mythical creatures, we'll uncover the truth behind some of the most incredible stories ever told!
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00:00We will...consult...the oracle.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the times ancient tales from Greek mythology
00:11were seemingly confirmed to be based on real-life things,
00:14thanks to scientific discoveries and theories centuries later.
00:18It's just a myth, isn't it? Pure fantasy.
00:21Well, that is where you'd be wrong.
00:27But why did you leave me on Earth?
00:30Didn't you want me?
00:31Of course we did.
00:32Your mother and I left you with all our hearts, and someone stole you from us.
00:37Every god needs somewhere to live.
00:40In Greek mythology, the twelve gods' home was based on the very real Mount Olympus
00:44on the Thessaly and Macedonia border, on its highest peak, Mytikas, at 9,572 feet up.
00:52Often, whenever Greeks settled in other areas, they named the highest peak Olympus too.
00:56In 1913, the first recorded climbing of Mount Olympus took place,
01:00by Frédéric Boissonnaz and Daniel Bobovy.
01:03However, they weren't the first to climb,
01:06as Greek scientists later found items on the mountain from as far back as 400 BCE.
01:11Some scientists believe natural events on Mount Olympus,
01:14such as a meteor strike, may have inspired some of the gods' feats in the mythology.
01:19Guys, Olympus would be that way.
01:23Number 19. The Palace of Nestor.
01:26The Trojans have never been conquered. Some say they can't be conquered.
01:30According to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Nestor was a former Argonaut and the king of Pylos.
01:35In those tales, now an older man, he gives others advice, including Agamemnon and Achilles.
01:41In 1939, American archaeologist Carl Blagan found the first signs of the palace of Nestor in Pylos.
01:48However, World War II put a stop to the excavation for years.
01:54In 1952, Blagan and his team returned and continued uncovering the palace and ancient items until 1966.
02:01In 2015, a team from Blagan's former employers, the University of Cincinnati,
02:07uncovered the Griffin Warrior Tomb nearby.
02:09Dated around 1450 BCE, the tomb was filled with riches.
02:14However, while the body's identity has yet to be identified, it's not believed to be Nestor.
02:37Cyclopes play a role in many Greek mythological tales
02:40and have become one of the most famous mythological beings.
02:43Described as hulking creatures with immense strength,
02:46their most defining feature is the single eye they have centered on their face.
02:50Depending on the story, Cyclopes are depicted as barbarous raiders,
02:54builders, or blacksmiths for Zeus.
02:56While the creatures didn't exist in reality,
02:58they might have been inspired by a prehistoric elephant.
03:01In 1914, Austrian paleontologist Otinio Abel suggested the Cyclops myth
03:06could have originated from the discovery of dwarf elephant skulls by ancient Greeks.
03:11The animal's large nasal cavity for its trunk
03:13could have been misinterpreted as a single eye socket.
03:16Fossils of the dwarf elephants have been found in several Mediterranean islands,
03:20including Greece's Crete.
03:42Greek mythology can get really weird.
03:44Due to Minos' wife Pasiphae hiding in a wooden cow that a bull impregnated,
03:49she gave birth to the Minotaur, the half-human, half-bull hybrid monster.
03:54Minos, the king of Crete, got Daedalus to create a labyrinth to house the creature,
03:58with the king sacrificing people to it.
04:00Minos wasn't a nice person.
04:02While thankfully he doesn't exist in reality, the labyrinth seemingly does.
04:07In 1900, a team led by British archaeologist Arthur Evans began excavating in Knossos.
04:12An elaborate maze was discovered with bull motifs,
04:15leading to the belief it was the infamous labyrinth.
04:18As for the Minotaur,
04:19it may have been inspired by the skull of the extinct elephant species Dinotherium giganteum.
04:38In Greek mythology,
04:39Scylla and Charybdis are sea monsters who are said to share the same strait,
04:43both residing under rocks.
04:44When Odysseus sailed near them,
04:46he was advised to go closer to Scylla rather than Charybdis to lose some crew,
04:50but not all of them if he did the opposite.
04:52As such, the duo gave rise to the idiom
04:54between Scylla and Charybdis,
04:56which is similar to between a rock and a hard place.
04:59Charybdis used whirlpools to drag ships to her mouth.
05:02Scientists believe the duo may have been inspired by the Strait of Messina in southern Italy,
05:07as the area is known to have a whirlpool and rocks.
05:18Probably the most famous ancient death ray
05:22was the one that was built by the Greek inventor Archimedes.
05:26While the Siege of Syracuse actually happened from 213 BCE to 212 BCE,
05:31there's one part of the story that some believe to be nothing more than a myth.
05:35When the Roman Republic sent ships to attack,
05:37inventor Archimedes got creative.
05:39He used mirrors to create a heat ray that set the enemy ships ablaze.
05:43This far-fetched technology was tested in 1973 by Greek scientist Ioannis Sakis.
05:48He managed to set a mock-up ray on the ship,
05:50but it didn't work.
05:52However, the MythBusters TV show couldn't replicate his experiment.
05:56Three times they tried,
05:58and their experiment did little beyond minor fires.
06:00Conversely, in 2023,
06:0213-year-old Brendan Senner made a mini version of Archimedes' heat ray with much better success.
06:08Many cultures of the world hold the same belief.
06:11They believe that the sun, the moon, and the sunset are the same thing.
06:15This is why the Greek myth of the sun and moon is so popular.
06:18It's because people believe that the sun and moon are the same thing.
06:22And that's why the sun and moon are so popular.
06:24So, if you have a question about the sun and moon,
06:27let us know in the comments below.
06:29And as always, thanks for watching.
06:30We hope you found this video useful,
06:32and if you did, make sure you subscribe to our channel,
06:35Many cultures have a great flood mythology, such as Noah in the Bible.
06:41In ancient Greece, it was the Deucalion flood.
06:43Zeus, in another one of his rages, decided to end the Bronze Age by inciting a flood
06:48to destroy everything.
06:50Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha survived the flood by building a chest or ark, with help
06:54from his titan father Prometheus.
06:56The real-life Parian Chronicle, which details some of Greece's history, believes a regional
07:01flood happened around 1529 BCE.
07:04For years, marine archaeologists had found evidence that seemingly confirmed a big flood
07:08took place.
07:09In 2000, Robert Ballard, who famously discovered the Titanic wreck, found evidence in the Black
07:14Sea that a major flood had happened over 7,000 years ago.
07:24Number 13.
07:26Golden Apples
07:34This legendary fruit has popped up in several Greek myths.
07:38Most famously, Eris had thrown the apple of discord during a marriage, with the words
07:42to the most beautiful.
07:43This led to three goddesses claiming it.
07:46Typically, Zeus delegated the decision to Paris.
07:48He gave the golden apple to Aphrodite, who bribed him with Helen of Sparta's love, sparking
07:53the Trojan War.
07:54While there are apple species that share similarities with the mythical one, it's believed another
07:59real-life fruit is the fabled golden apple.
08:01Argan fruit, quince, and tomatoes have all been suggested by scientists.
08:05However, with many languages describing it as a golden apple, an orange is the favorite
08:10explanation, especially as it wasn't grown in the region at the time.
08:23Number 12.
08:24Hercules and the Nemean Lion
08:31Born of the sky father Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, Hercules the demigod was tricked
08:41into slaying his family by Hera, his stepmom slash aunt.
08:45Yeah.
08:46Anyway, to redeem himself, he worked under King Eurystheus, who gave him the twelve labors
08:50of Hercules.
08:52The first task was to slay the Nemean Lion, who was attacking the city of Nemea.
08:56Despite the beast's pelt being reputedly impenetrable, Hercules managed to do it and
09:02Nowadays, lions don't live in Europe, but they used to and may have gone extinct there
09:07as late as the Bronze Age.
09:09As such, some scientists believe that a real-life version inspired the Nemean Lion fable.
09:14Lions terrorizing a community isn't unheard of, as the Savo man-eaters of Kenya wreaked
09:19havoc in 1898.
09:31Number 11.
09:39The Mycenaean Civilization
09:52The settlement Mycenae and the civilization that bears its name have been heavily featured
09:56in Greek mythology.
09:58After being founded by Perseus, the slayer of Medusa, Agamemnon later took the crown
10:02and famously led the Greeks in the Trojan War.
10:04In 1874, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, desperate to prove Homer's work true, began
10:11excavating a site that turned out to be Mycenae.
10:13He found a royal cemetery and many artifacts, including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon,
10:19which is dated before the fabled ruler's rule.
10:22Schliemann's work not only proved that the Mycenae site existed, but a whole civilization
10:27that was believed lost to time had walked the Earth.
10:38Number 10.
10:39The City of Tenea
10:41According to mythology, after the Trojan War, a bunch of prisoners were taken to the island
10:46of Tenedos.
10:47Eventually, Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, allowed them to create a settlement, which
10:52became the city of Tenea.
10:54The location also played a part in the story of Oedipus, who famously had a whole complex
10:59named after him.
11:00But Tenea eventually vanished from the records and was seemingly a fictional place.
11:05That was until 1846, when the Kouros of Tenea was found in the area.
11:10Then in 1984, a sarcophagus was discovered by local villagers and archaeologist Elena
11:15Korka.
11:16In 2013, Korka led an excavation of the site.
11:20Since then, various ancient items and the remains of Tenea's buildings have been discovered.
11:26Number 9.
11:27Orichalcum
11:28When you think of the most precious materials
11:41in the world, orichalcum wouldn't be considered.
11:44However, to the ancient Greeks, this metal was believed to only be behind gold in value.
11:50In Plato's Critias, he speaks of the walls of some of Atlantis' buildings being decked
11:54out with the unusual material.
11:56He described the metal as, quote, flashing with the red light.
12:07While many believed orichalcum to be a work of fiction, in 2015, a discovery was made.
12:13Off the coast of Gela in Sicily, a 2,600-year-old shipwreck was located.
12:18On board were 39 ingots made from seemingly orichalcum.
12:22Scientists discovered the material was an alloy, primarily made from copper and zinc,
12:27but also had traces of lead, nickel, and iron.
12:31Number 8.
12:32The Golden Fleece
12:39In mythology, looking to become king of Iolcus, Jason and the Argonauts set out to claim the
12:44golden fleece of Chrysomalos, which has long ties to his heritage.
12:55As the name suggests, the sought-after item was a fleece made from gold.
12:59During a perilous journey filled with one ridiculous task after another, Jason manages
13:04to get the iconic item from a grove in Colchis, located in modern-day Georgia.
13:09Well, this tale might be based on fact.
13:11Back then, sheep fleeces were used to collect gold flakes from rivers and streams, and several
13:17of these gold-rich water sources were in Georgia and mentioned in Jason's tale.
13:21As such, it's likely the golden fleece is talking about this ancient way of prospecting.
13:32Number 7.
13:33The Chimera
13:42Probably one of the most terrifying creatures from Greek mythology, the fire-breathing chimera
13:45is typically depicted as having the head of a lion, a goat, and a snake-headed tail.
13:51According to Homer's Iliad, Bellerophon defeated the beast in Lycia, modern-day Turkey.
13:56Well, it's likely a real location that inspired this story.
14:00In Yanartash, near the ancient city of Olympus in Turkey, is Mount Chimera.
14:10On the slopes are fires that are still burning centuries later, which have natural gas vents
14:17below feeding them.
14:19On top of this, the area is said to have been inhabited by lions, snakes, and goats at one
14:24point.
14:25Suspicious.
14:26Number 6.
14:35Plutonian at Herapolis
14:37Nicknamed Pluto's Gate, these areas were thought to be entrances to the underworld in ancient
14:42Greece.
14:51Named Plutonian after the god Pluto, who was previously called Hades, animal sacrifice
14:56was a common practice there, especially at the site in ancient Herapolis in modern-day
15:01Turkey.
15:02During a ceremony, a priest would take an animal into the eerie depths.
15:06The rising toxic gas would then cause the creature to pass away, but the human to live.
15:11They believed the gas was sent by Pluto.
15:14However, after the cave was discovered in 2011, studies have shown the gas is pockets
15:20of carbon dioxide from seismic activity.
15:27The priests would hold their breaths to escape the effects and be celebrated for making it
15:31through Pluto's sacrifice.
15:46Number 5.
15:47The Oracle at Delphi
15:48One of the top jobs in ancient Greece involved being the Pythia at the Temple of Apollo.
15:59Also known as the Oracle of Delphi, the high priestess was visited by many, including rulers.
16:05She would go to a chamber and inhale the vapors from a crack in a rock, putting her into a
16:09trance as she gave advice.
16:15However, this occasionally caused delirium or led to their demise.
16:22When the temple was excavated in the late 1800s, the mystical vapor wasn't present,
16:27so it was thought of as a myth.
16:30However, in 2001, geological studies found fault zones underneath the site.
16:35Researchers believe the vapor was a hydrocarbon gas.
16:38In a nearby water source, ethylene was discovered, which was once used as an anesthetic.
16:53Number 4.
16:54Amazon Warriors
16:55When thinking of Amazon Warriors, Wonder Woman would probably be the first thing to spring
17:00to mind.
17:07The second is that they're fictional.
17:09But are they?
17:10Ancient Greece was fascinated by them.
17:12As such, they were featured in many stories, including the labors of Hercules, and showcased
17:18their superior combat skills and strength over Greek folk.
17:25Paintings and statues of Amazon's adorned temples and public spaces.
17:30In 2019, a tomb in the Voronezh region in Russia was excavated.
17:35The archaeologists found the remains of four women warriors from three generations buried
17:40together.
17:41They found an elaborate golden headdress, weapons, and other goods within.
17:44The women's skeletons show battle injuries, ribs slashed by swords, skulls bashed by battle
17:50axes, and arrows embedded in bones.
17:54While the remains were officially credited to be Scythian nomads, some researchers believe
17:58they are the basis for the Amazon legend.
18:02Number 3.
18:03Atlantis
18:04Since Plato wrote about the island of Atlantis in his work, the human race has been fascinated
18:17with the place.
18:18Within his tales, Plato describes the utopian island from its highest point to its lowest,
18:23and the gods sunk it into the ocean's depths.
18:26While Atlantis is thought of as fictional, the story might not be.
18:30Instead, it could be based on an actual natural disaster that swallowed an island.
18:35One example is the volcanic eruption and earthquake that turned the singular island of Santorini,
18:40previously known as Thera, into an archipelago.
18:43The quake also created tsunamis, which swept over other settlements.
18:48This devastated the highly advanced Minoan civilization, which was effectively wiped
18:52out.
18:53Number 2.
19:04Giant Squid
19:12Many ancient civilizations have tales about the monstrous giant squid that destroys boats
19:17and terrorizes the oceans.
19:19And the Greeks were no different.
19:20In Homer's Odyssey, he describes the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis that resided
19:25in a narrow strait.
19:26The latter was known for creating whirlpools, while the former had six heads, was 12 feet,
19:32and had rows of sharp teeth.
19:41Scylla would use her multiple noggins to devour six sailors that got too close to a rock.
19:46It wasn't until 2004 that scientists managed to get a photo of a giant squid in its natural
19:52habitat.
19:53And it had some resemblance to the legend of Scylla.
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20:22Number 1.
20:23The City of Troy
20:25To the ancient Greeks, the city of Troy in Turkey was a powerful kingdom that had its
20:30downfall during the Trojan War.
20:46Built in Homer's work in Iliad and Odyssey, after 10 years of besiegement, it was conquered
20:51by the Greek army led by Agamemnon.
20:53It's also the setting for Achilles and Hector's legendary fight.
21:03But then, Troy fell to history and was considered a myth.
21:07That was until 1865, when Frank Calvert began excavating a site in Hisarlik and found evidence
21:13of its existence.
21:22He brought in Heinrich Schliemann, who was notorious for his reckless methods.
21:27In 1871, they found multiple ruins believed to be attributed to Troy.
21:32Since then, archaeologists have discovered further evidence that the legendary city may
21:37have existed.
21:38Is there a surprisingly true Greek myth we forgot?
21:40Pick a bone with us about your favorites in the comments.