20+ Ancient Greek Facts That Might Surprise Even History Teachers

Much of what we have today seems to have been invented by the ancient Greeks: maps, theatre, olive oil, the Olympics, philosophy, yo-yos, robots and even professional pregnancy monitoring.

We, from incredible.club🇧🇷 we love digging into the secrets of ancient times, so we decided to share with you some curious facts about Hellas, one of the greatest civilizations in the world.

The Greek alphabet was developed in the early 8th century BC and, for the first time in the world, characters for vowels were introduced. The yo-yo was also invented in Ancient Greece. The first mention of the toy dates back to 440 BC The first yo-yos were made of wood, metal or painted terracotta disks and were simply called ”disc”. When children reached the age of majority, they offered their toys to certain gods. Speaking of gods, the main one in the ancient Greek pantheon was Zeus, but this is not entirely correct. The fact is that Hellas was not a single state entity, there was a system of polis, which did not depend on each other. Each had its own cult. For example, Zeus at Dodona and Olympia, Apollo at Delphi and Delos, Athena at Athens and Lindos, Hera at Argos and Samos, Asclepius at Epidaurus.

In ancient mythology, there were no concepts of good and evil. Revered gods and heroes often committed dishonest acts: Hercules stole a jewel from a young woman in love with him; Achilles quarreled with the king over a woman and abandoned his companions in the midst of the Trojan War. A horrible story happened to Medusa: Poseidon abused the girl in the temple of Athena. But the mistress of the temple, an “Olympian” relative of Poseidon, was not angry with him, but with the unfortunate victim, and turned him into a monster, later killed by Perseus.

One of the favorite Greek gods was Dionysus, the patron saint of fertility. In honor of him, noisy festivals, the so-called Dionysiac Feasts, were organized. Its participants made processions with food and drink and dressed in goat skins. From this last custom, the word tragedy arose, literally “the song of the goat” (τράγος — ”goat”, ᾠδή – “song”). The term comedy came from the word κῶμος, which means “celebrations”. Another holiday loved by the Greeks was the Olympic Games. They liked it so much that they even adopted a calendar based on the games. The iconic event was held once every five years in July. Thus, the ”1st Year of the 1st Olympiad” began in July 776 BC, the ”2nd Year of the 1st Olympiad” began in July 775 BC, and so on until the next games in 772 BC. days and, a month before its start, all military conflicts on Greek territory were strictly prohibited, to ensure that visitors could safely reach the venue of the competitions. Athletes competed naked, so women could not attend the Olympics, either as spectators or as participants. However, they could participate from a distance. The Spartan princess Cinisca even won the competitions, without having attended the games. His team of horses was first placed in the races at the games, in 396 and 392 BC, and the owner of the horses was considered the winner.

The myth that in Sparta weak boys were thrown into the abyss is one of the most common. The ancient Greek historian Plutarch wrote about it. However, according to the most recent data, he distorted the information to please the political elites of the time. Archaeological excavations in the gorge, where children were supposedly thrown, have not revealed any evidence of Plutarch’s words. Indeed, prisoners and criminals were executed there. However, Spartan upbringing was really tough. At the age of seven, boys were sent to special military camps. They slept on straw mattresses and were only allowed to dress from the age of 12. Some put nettles on their mattresses to keep warm, even burning themselves. The boys were constantly exercising, learning to wield the sword and spear. They were forced to look for food and often stole it. One of the traditional dishes of Laconia was the so-called black soup. Its exact composition is unknown (supposedly, the main ingredients were ox blood and lentils). According to some ancient writers, its taste was disgusting. Jokes that associate the legendary bravery of the Spartans with black soup are found in many authors. The idea boils down to the fact that those who constantly ate such a disgusting dish no longer appreciated life.

Sparta’s army was the best in the Greek world and was long considered invincible, but many of its stories are certainly exaggerated. For example, the famous Battle of Thermopylae, which formed the basis of the film “Sparta’s 300🇧🇷 Indeed, against the army of Xerxes also fought the Corinthians, the Mycenaeans, the Thespians and the Thebans, among others. In total, the Persians were confronted by over 7,000 Greek troops. The detachment of 300 Spartans was joined by about 900 helots (slaves owned by the state), who also took part in the battle. By the way, the same real detachment, consisting of 300 Spartans, was much more equipped than the one in the film. Soldiers wore protective weapons including helmet, chest shell and leg greaves. The weight of the protective weapons amounted to about 30 kg.

It was not only the Spartan 300 detachment that gained special fame in Ancient Greece, but the Sacred Battalion of Thebes as well. By the way, it was he who for the first time managed to overthrow the Spartans, who were considered invincible. However, the main characteristic of the battalion of Thebes was the fact that it was composed of homoaffective male couples who swore loyalty on the tomb of Iolaus, coachman and friend of Hercules. In general, the ancient Greeks were very sensitive people. They classified love into four types. Eros is the love of passion. Philia is a word that means disposition and attraction of people to each other, which is sometimes translated as “friendship”. Storge is a familial love that, for example, parents feel for their children. Agape is a sacrificial and selfless love for others.

Love marriages were rare. Between the spouses, at most there could be philiabut the husband used to look for other women for the Eros🇧🇷 Women who provided intimate services were easy to identify by the red on their lips. If they appeared without this striking makeup, they could be punished for not having highlighted their status social, deceiving people. The ancient Greeks were the first to abolish polygamy. At the same time, celibacy was severely punished. The man who didn’t marry until he was 35 had to pay taxes. In Sparta, the authorities forced bachelors to walk around the central square in winter, naked, singing a scandalous song explaining why they were unwilling to marry. The married woman was totally dependent on her husband. They did not have the right to vote, could not own land and inherit property, it was extremely undesirable for them to walk unaccompanied. Even their names could not be mentioned publicly. Life for Spartans was easier, they could own land and play sports. However, they must prepare the terrible black soup and, most likely, eat it. At the same time, the gourmet in Sparta he was not welcome. Cooking refined dishes was forbidden by law.

Women in ancient Greece had a way of gaining independence from men by becoming a hetaira or hetera, sometimes seen as a woman of easy behavior, which is not true. They were usually successful and respected by society. However, to become one, it was necessary to study at a special school, and training began from childhood. In addition to music, dance and the art of dressing, the girls also learned political science, philosophy, oratory and rhetoric. By the way, the famous poet Sappho graduated from such a school. Another famous hetaira, Rhodopis, became the prototype of Cinderella in the fairy-tale world. According to the historian Strabo, when the girl was bathing, her sandal was taken by an eagle, brought to Memphis and thrown into the Pharaoh’s lap. The monarch, impressed by the beauty of the sandal, ordered its owner to be found. The result of the quest was the hetaira becoming the queen of Egypt.

Women weren’t the only ones who could make money from the entertainment of the rich, men too. Impoverished citizens were often seen at parties. His task was to address flattering words to the host and make funny jokes. They were called parasites, which can be translated as “one who eats from another’s table”. Speaking of tables, it is believed that all ancient Greeks ate lying down, but this is not entirely true. The women and children ate seated at the table, while the hetairas ate lying down, like the men. The parties of close men in closed groups were called symposiums (from this came the word “symposium”, in the current sense). They spent that time having fun and throwing kottabos – the remains of drink from their glasses, trying to hit the target.

In Homeric times, the average Greek family home was very dirty. First of all, the reason was the soot from the smoke from the fireplace and the fat from the roasted meat that dripped onto the coals. The wood used for lighting also generated a lot of soot, which quickly covered the walls and was absorbed by the wood used in the construction of the house. In Homer’s poems, we often find complaints that this soot spoiled the weapons that hung on the walls. At its economic peak in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, Ancient Greece was the most developed economy in the world. The average daily salary of the Greeks can prove it: it corresponded to 12 kg of wheat. In Roman times, the average wage for an Egyptian worker was 3.75 kg.

If you could travel back in time, would you want to visit Ancient Greece? Why are you interested in this period of history?