10 myths about the ancient world, in which many for some reason still believe
A Life / / January 06, 2021
1. Dinosaurs looked like reptiles
In popular culture, dinosaurs look like giant bipedal reptiles with scaly skin, like modern crocodiles. Such are they, for example, presented in the film by Steven Spielberg "Jurassic Park». And at the time when the picture was filmed, such an image was considered quite scientific. Here are just modern paleontological finds showThey Had Feathers: Is the World Ready to See Dinosaurs as They Really Were?, How Dinosaurs Shrank and Became Birdsthat dinosaurs were more like birds than lizards.
Most of them had feathers - even the famous Tyrannosaurus!
In fact, this is not so surprising, because birds descended from dinosaurs. So the terrible lizards in reality looked like huge, toothy, clawed and wingless chickens or kiwis, moved accordingly and had bird habits.
And something else about the monstrous roar that scares viewers in films: in reality, dinosaurs were more likely to churl and cooCoos, booms, and hoots: The evolution of closed-mouth vocal behavior in birdslike doves.
2. Ancient people sat on a paleo diet
Recently, many fans of healthy lifestyle are inclined to believe that returning to the diet of our distant ancestors helps to become healthier. The popular paleo diet contains only what ancient hunters and gatherers could get: meat and fish, vegetables and fruits, herbs and nuts. It contains no milk, grains and legumes.
However, in reality, the modern paleo diet has very little in common.Palaeolithic diet (“stone age” diet), How to Really Eat Like a Hunter ‑ Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet Is Half ‑ Baked Interactive & Infographic with the diet of people of the Paleolithic era. There is too much meat in it and fish, whereas the ancient collectors had problems with these products. And plants, on the contrary, are not enough: in the distant past, people usedAncient leftovers show the real Paleo diet was a veggie feast even those roots, flowers and herbs that we would definitely consider inedible for food. For example, water lilies and thistles.
With all your desire, you will not be able to reproduce a real Paleolithic diet, since the plant world has changed over the millennia.Prehistoric Dining: The Real Paleo Diet and the current fruits and roots are not at all similar to those that surrounded our distant ancestors. Not to mention cooking such complex dishes that this diet abounds inPaleo diet: What is it and why is it so popular?, in the absence of ovens and multicooker, it was clearly difficult.
Study the question🥒🌽
- What is the paleo diet and how to sit on it
3. Egyptians wrote in hieroglyphs
Ask any person what Ancient Egypt is associated with, and he will name the pyramids, pharaohs and hieroglyphs - mysterious drawings that served people as writing and depicting household items, gods, animals, birds and other things. Egyptians usedScribes, Hieroglyphs, and Papyri they are almost 4,000 years old.
However, one should not assume that they wrote in hieroglyphs all the time. According toAncient Egyptian Writing researcher Rosalie David, these complex drawings were only used in special cases. The Egyptians believed that if something was written in this way, it would come true. So the hieroglyphs had a magical purpose.
In addition, it is too long and difficult to write with these signs all the time. Therefore, the Egyptians had an everyday, so-called hieratic, and later - demotic writing. It is a cursive writing type that looked like more or less like this.
4. The pyramids have always been sandy
By the way, more about Ancient Egypt. In the films about him, the pyramids are always depicted in their modern form - covered with yellowish sand. It was only under the pharaohs that they were snow-white.The pyramids at Giza looked very different when they were first built, What The Great Pyramid Looked Like More Than 4,000 Years Ago!
They were built of white limestone, and the polished surface of the stone reflected the sun's rays so well that it was difficult to look at. This is what a fragment of the facing of the Great Pyramid looks like. in Giza:
Over time, the polished stone became uneven and covered with sand. And if you think the Great Pyramid looks impressive, just imagine what it was like when it was also shining in the sun.
5. Ancient Greeks wore togas
Usually people represent the ancient Greeks as either muscular athletes or gray beards philosophers (also of an athletic build), dressed in some kind of rags - right on the naked body. Take a look at the pictureSocrates Jacques-Louis David "Death of Socrates" and you will understand what it is about. Those who are especially interested in history may even remember the name of this veil - toga.
But the Greeks did not wear togas. They were inventedToga the Etruscans, who called this garment tebenna. Later it was borrowedToga, Etruscan Clothing Romans and gave it its current name - toga. The Romans often painted togas in different colors and supplemented the background with patterns. And white models, "candida", were worn by applicants for public office - hence the word "candidate".
The Greeks preferredAncient Greek Clothing raincoats called "himation". And they were not worn on a naked body - only over their underwear.
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- TEST: Which Greek gods are you?
6. In Greek myth, Pandora opened a box
In mythology, the curious Pandora, the first woman on Earth, opened the casket given by Zeus, where all the troubles of the world were kept. Realizing what she had done, she slammed the drawer, but it was too late: at the bottom there was only one hope.
Since expressions "Pandora's box / casket / casket" has become a household name. But in the real myth, which the Greeks told each other, there was no box.
Zeus handed Pandora the pithos, a large ceramic vessel for olive oil.
When in the 16th century Erasmus of Rotterdam translated“Pandora’s Box” was actually “Pandora’s Jar”: A translation error made 500 years ago has persisted to this day, Theogony: And, Works and Days Hesiod's story about Pandora in Latin, he confused pythos with another Greek word - pyxis ("box"). And because of this mistake, the idiom "Pandora's box" was born.
7. Gladiators have always fought to the death
When people talk about gladiatorial battles, they imagine that in them, under the screams and hooting of the crowd, the warriors fought to the last drop of blood. But research showsWhy gladiators of Rome didn’t die as often as you thoughtwhat gladiators really are were dying not nearly as often as is commonly believed.
Professor Michael J. CarterThe death of your gladiator in the arena meansWhy gladiators of Rome didn’t die as often as you thought huge loss of investment.
Before the games, people who wanted to participate in them rented gladiators from coaches. And if a fighter died, the sponsor was forced to pay almost 50 times the rental price.
The training and preparation of a gladiator cost his master a pretty penny. Therefore, the fighters were well cared for and after the fight, the loser was not finished off, but treated. Is consideredWhy gladiators of Rome didn’t die as often as you thoughtthat out of 10 fights only one ended in murder.
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- 10 historical myths we still believe in
8. Gladiators had perfect abs
Something else about the regulars of the Colosseum. Thanks to the film Ridley Scott we think of fighters in arenas as muscular, handsome athletes, often half naked. But real gladiators could hardly be called the dream of any girl, because their muscles were covered with a quivering layer. subcutaneous fat.
Studies by anthropologists from the Medical University of Vienna, who studied the remains of the fighters, showedGladiator Diets Were Carb ‑ Heavy, Fattening, and Mostly Vegetarianthat they ate little animal protein, but at the same time ate a lot of legumes and grains rich in carbohydrates. The historian Pliny also arguedThe roman gladiatorthat the gladiators were nicknamed hordearii - "barley eaters".
Such a diet helped to build up fat, and he protected from injury. Gladiator fights did not always end in death, but they were still bloody and cruel. And the well-fed soldier had a better chance of avoiding damage to internal organs when struck with a sword. So gladiators were definitely not guys with perfect terrain.
9. The Romans had excellent hygiene
Some argue that if the Roman Empire had not collapsed and its achievements had not been forgotten in the Middle Ages, we would now be colonizing the galaxy. Judge for yourself: the Romans had plumbing, sewerage ("cesspool"), baths and aqueducts. And in the gloomy Middle Ages people will throw chamber pots out of windows. The degradation of humanity is evident.
However, Roman hygiene is greatly overrated. Archaeologists knowHuman parasites in the Roman World: health consequences of conquering an empirethat people then suffered massively from intestinal parasites, fleas, lice, as well as diseases like dysentery, typhoid and cholera.
Yes, the Romans had steam baths and public toilets. But the water was changed in the firstRoman Plumbing: Overrated very rarely, and the toilets were dirty, and rats often bit people there in the most unexpected places. For intimate hygiene, reusable sponges on sticks were used - xylospongiumSome odd facts about life in ancient Rome. After use, they were thrown into a dirty water tank where they waited for the next visitor.
And the Romans also rinsedFrom Gunpowder to Teeth Whitener: The Science Behind Historic Uses of Urine mouth urine to keep teeth clean, and used it as an ingredient in some medicines. Moreover, according toFrom Gunpowder to Teeth Whitener: The Science Behind Historic Uses of Urine by the Roman poet Catula, both human and animal fluids were used.
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- TEST: Do you know basic things about hygiene?
10. People in the past were much shorter
Someone is inclined to idealize the past and argue that thousands of years ago the Earth was inhabited entirely by tall giants. Others believe that in ancient times, people were short. But as show archaeological researchMen From Early Middle Ages Were Nearly As Tall As Modern People, the population of the planet used to be about the same growth as we are now.
Average growth in the human population fluctuates. People are getting higher and lower - this is due to changes in living conditions. Over the past 150 years, average human growth in developed countries has increasedWhy are we getting taller as a species? by about 10 cm. And before that it was decreasingMen From Early Middle Ages Were Nearly As Tall As Modern People - from 173.4 cm in the early Middle Ages to 167 cm in the XVII-XVIII centuries.
These fluctuations are associated with nutrition and health status of people. So growth only increases when living conditions improve, not just over time.
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