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From buried ruins to impossible legends, some ancient Greek stories may have had a real-world spark behind them. Join us as we explore the myths that history, archaeology, and science have helped bring closer to fact than fiction. From lost cities and powerful rulers to strange creatures and epic voyages, these tales may be more true than anyone once believed.
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00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 30 old tales in
00:11Greek mythology that were seemingly based in reality, thanks to a scientific discovery
00:15centuries later. Number 30. The Cyclopean Walls. Cyclopes may not be real, but what is perceived
00:31as one of their creations does. We're talking about none other than the Cyclopean Walls.
00:36Massive stone fortifications fitted tightly together without mortars. They're so impressive
00:41that an ancient Greek traveler, Pausanias, believed they could only have been built by the one-eyed
00:45Thracian race of giants, the Cyclopes. But in reality, these walls were built by Mycenaeans
00:50to fortify their walls in the late Bronze Age. Now called Cyclopean Masonry, this technique is
00:55just brilliant engineering, manpower, and organization. It's also believed the Mycenaeans
01:00were able to develop these unique structures after studying other civilizations like Egyptians and
01:04Hittites. These structures can be found in places like Italy, Crete, and Greece. Number 29. Agamemnon's
01:11existence. Even if you're not a Greek mythology buff, you've probably heard of Agamemnon, the king
01:16of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus, who led the Greeks to war against Troy when Helen was taken.
01:21Will you go to war with me, brother? Yep, the same guy who sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia before
01:27setting sail for Troy. His tale is famously told in Homer's Iliad, but did he really exist? Well,
01:33historically, the city of Mycenae exists. Archaeologists have uncovered a tomb and gold mask,
01:38famously dubbed the mask of Agamemnon. But does this mean the man behind the myth existed?
01:43A great victory was won today, but that victory is not yours. Who knows? That tomb precedes his
01:50supposed time. So Agamemnon might not be a total myth, but he's not exactly proven history yet.
01:56Number 28. Semiramis. This legendary Assyrian queen was so iconic, her story echoed across cultures,
02:02blurring the line between myth and fact. Semiramis might sound like pure myth, but she's actually
02:07inspired by a real-life neo-Assyrian queen, Shamaramat. She was the wife of Shamshi Aded V and
02:13mother of Aded-Nirari III. Greek historians say Semiramis ruled after the death of her husband,
02:19King Ninus, expanding his empire dramatically, building the walls of Babylon, and controlling
02:24great armies. She's often portrayed as a powerful woman in a world dominated by men. And honestly,
02:30that's not far off. Shamaramat likely ruled in place of her younger son, wielding rare power for a
02:35woman of her era. Ancient records prove this. So while legends embellished her tale, her impact was
02:41definitely real. Number 27. Croesus. You may not know all the details about this ancient king,
02:47but you must have heard the phrase, rich as Croesus. That is how legendary his wealth was. Croesus ruled
02:53Lydia around the 6th century BCE, and was said to have hoarded unimaginable wealth, which was somehow
02:59linked to the King Midas myth. But his fame wasn't just about gold. In Herodotus' story,
03:04he learns the hard way from the Athenian sage Solon that money doesn't guarantee happiness.
03:10Still, Croesus wasn't just a legend. Archaeological and textual evidence confirm that this super-rich
03:15king ruled from the city of Sardis, and may have clashed with Cyrus the Great of Persia.
03:20The real source of his wealth likely came from taxes, and not from Midas' golden touch.
03:25Number 26. Homer. Homer is the name behind two literary masterpieces of ancient Greece,
03:30the Iliad, and the Odyssey. Now I can return to Ithaca and my sweet wife Penelope.
03:36We have tales of the Trojan War and Odysseus' wild journey home thanks to Homer. However,
03:41nobody knows if he was a real person. Some scholars believe he was a blind bard from the 8th century
03:47BCE, maybe from Ionia, since the poems use Ionic dialect. Others believe Homer was just a name for a
03:53group of storytellers who passed down oral traditions. Some even suggest the works were
03:57written by a woman or different authors, given the shift in tone in both epics. There's even a
04:02clan on the island of Kiosk claiming Homer as their ancestor. Real or not, Homer's legacy is
04:07undeniable. Number 25. Spartans. We've all heard epic tales of Spartans, the fearless warriors trained
04:14from childhood to be unstoppable. Movies like 300 make them out to be incredibly ripped fighters who
04:19never flinched, even in the face of death.
04:23Spartans! What is your profession?
04:26Who? Who? Who? Who?
04:29But how much of that is true? We know the Spartans were tough, just not exactly as Hollywood paints
04:35them. Their training system, known as a goge, focused on teamwork and discipline rather than
04:39on direct military combat. It was mostly about shaping citizens who would sacrifice everything for
04:44Sparta. Formal military training probably started at adulthood. While they were physically fit,
04:50what made Spartans really dangerous was their unity and precision on the battlefield. Still,
04:54they weren't invincible. Their rigid practice eventually failed when a more flexible army
04:59outmaneuvered them.
05:00Your position is hopeless. In a few moments, you will be dead.
05:05But Greece will live.
05:06Number 24. Narcissus. The word narcissism is tossed around quite often, but did you know it
05:12originated from Greek mythology? It all goes back to a young man named Narcissus who was so
05:17breathtakingly handsome that people fell in love with him almost instantly. But Narcissus rejected
05:22everyone, including the poor nymph Echo, who faded away from heartbreak. The gods didn't take his
05:28arrogance lightly and cursed him. He eventually withered away, dying for his own love, and a flower
05:34named after him bloomed where he died. This myth gave rise to the term narcissism, which describes a
05:40personality disorder based around self-importance. Number 23. Alexander the Great. Alexander was only
05:4620 when he became king of Macedon, and by 30, he had already conquered much of the known world.
05:51He crushed mighty Persia, took Egypt, and pushed all the way to India without losing one battle.
05:57He learns that the world is so much bigger than he ever thought it was, and it makes him determined
06:03to keep pressing on in order to conquer the world. Not once. While some chalk it up to luck,
06:09Alexander was indeed a tactical genius who outsmarted his enemies. He didn't just win wars.
06:14He reshaped civilization, founded many cities, and became a living legend. It's said he even believed
06:20he was the son of Zeus. Bold, right? But behind the image, some say he struggled with substance use,
06:26and had a violent temper. He likely wasn't towering or bulky in appearance. Then, when he died from a
06:36mysterious illness without naming a successor, his empire couldn't stand without him.
06:41Number 22. King Midas. When you hear the name King Midas, you probably think of a man who turned
06:46everything he touched into gold. According to legend, after helping the god Dionysus,
06:54Midas was granted a wish. He chose a gift that quickly turned into a curse. The myths may be
07:00fabricated, but a king named Midas certainly existed. In 1957, archaeologists unearthed a lavish
07:07tomb at Gordian, the ancient capital of Phrygia, dating back to about 740 BC. Inside were the remains
07:13of a wealthy ruler buried with luxurious items. It may not be the legendary Midas, but scholars believe
07:19the tomb could be his father's, since the timeline and wealth match. Even today,
07:24new burial sites believed to be connected to Midas' world are being discovered.
07:28Number 21. Alphabets. In Greek mythology, Cadmus, a Phoenician prince, is believed to have brought
07:34writing to Greeks. In their stories, Cadmus was a hero who taught them how to use letters,
07:39essentially giving them the alphabet. That's the myth. Now, the cool part is that some modern
07:43historians believe that it happened, but not exactly as the myth suggests. The Greek alphabet may have come
07:49from Phoenicians, though how the exchange occurred is somewhat unclear. Around 800 BCE, it's believed
07:55the Greeks took the Phoenician writing system, tweaked it, and added vowels, something the Phoenician
08:00script lacked. So Cadmus might be a legend, but the idea that the Greeks got their alphabets from Phoenicians
08:05isn't far from the truth. Number 20. Mount Olympus. But why did you leave me on Earth?
08:12Didn't you want me? Of course we did. Your mother and I loved you with all our hearts.
08:18Someone stole you from us. Every god needs somewhere to live. In Greek mythology, the 12 gods' home was
08:24based on the very real Mount Olympus on the Thessaly and Macedonia border, on its highest peak,
08:29Mytikos, at 9,572 feet up. Often, whenever Greeks settled in other areas, they named the highest peak
08:38Olympus too. In 1913, the first recorded climbing of Mount Olympus took place, by Frédéric Boissana
08:44and Daniel Bobovi. However, they weren't the first to climb, as Greek scientists later found items on
08:50the mountain from as far back as 400 BCE. Some scientists believe natural events on Mount Olympus,
08:56such as a meteor strike, may have inspired some of the gods' feats in the mythology.
09:01Uh, guys? Olympus would be that way.
09:06Dude!
09:08Number 19. The Palace of Nestor.
09:10The Trojans have never been conquered. Some say they can't be conquered.
09:14According to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Nestor was a former Argonaut and the king of Pilos.
09:20In those tales, now an older man, he gives others advice, including Agamemnon and Achilles.
09:25In 1939, American archaeologist Carl Blagen found the first signs of the Palace of Nestor
09:31and Pilos. However, World War II put a stop to the excavation for years. In 1952, Blagen and his
09:38team returned and continued uncovering the palace and ancient items until 1966. In 2015, a team from
09:46Blagen's former employers, the University of Cincinnati, uncovered the Griffin Warrior Tomb nearby.
09:51Dated around 1450 BCE, the tomb was filled with riches. However, while the body's identity has yet
09:59to be identified, it's not believed to be Nestor.
10:02How many battles have we won off the edge of his sword? This will be the greatest war the world
10:08has
10:08ever seen. We need the greatest warrior.
10:11Number 18, Cyclops
10:19Cyclopes play a role in many Greek mythological tales and have become one of the most famous
10:24mythological beings. Described as hulking creatures with immense strength, their most defining feature
10:30is the single eye they have centered on their face. Depending on the story, Cyclopes are depicted as
10:35barbarous raiders, builders, or blacksmiths for Zeus. While the creatures didn't exist in reality,
10:41they might have been inspired by a prehistoric elephant. In 1914, Austrian paleontologist
10:47Otenio Abel suggested the Cyclops myth could have originated from the discovery of dwarf elephant skulls
10:52by ancient Greeks. The animal's large nasal cavity for its trunk could have been misinterpreted as a
10:57single eye socket. Fossils of the dwarf elephants have been found in several mediterranean islands,
11:03including Greece's Crete. The skeleton looked sort of human-like, only much bigger and a little
11:09stranger. Next thing you know, bada-boom, bada-bing, bada-bam, you have a cyclops.
11:13Number 17, The Labyrinth of Knossos
11:24Greek mythology can get really weird. Due to Minos' wife Pasiphi hiding in a wooden cow that a
11:30bull impregnated, she gave birth to the Minotaur, the half-human, half-bull hybrid monster. Minos,
11:37the king of Crete, got Daedalus to create a labyrinth to house the creature, with the king
11:41sacrificing people to it. Minos wasn't a nice person. While thankfully he doesn't exist in reality,
11:47the labyrinth seemingly does. In 1900, a team led by British archaeologist Arthur Evans began
11:53excavating in Knossos. An elaborate maze was discovered with bull motifs, leading to the
11:58belief it was the infamous labyrinth. As for the Minotaur, it may have been inspired by the skull of
12:04the extinct elephant species, Denotherium giganteum.
12:15Number 16, Scylla and Charybdis
12:18In Greek mythology, Scylla and Charybdis are sea monsters who are said to share the same strait,
12:29both residing under rocks. When Odysseus sailed near them, he was advised to go closer to Scylla
12:35rather than Charybdis to lose some crew, but not all of them if he did the opposite. As such,
12:39the duo gave rise to the idiom between Scylla and Charybdis, which is similar to between a rock and a
12:45hard place. Charybdis used whirlpools to drag ships to her mouth, while Scylla snatched people to consume.
12:51Scientists believe the duo may have been inspired by the Strait of Messina in southern Italy,
12:56as the area is known to have a whirlpool and rocks.
12:59It's Charybdis! Charyb... what?
13:02She guides the sea of monsters!
13:04Number 15, Archimedes' Heat Ray
13:06Probably the most famous ancient death ray was the one that was built by the Greek inventor Archimedes.
13:14While the siege of Syracuse actually happened from 213 BCE to 212 BCE,
13:20there's one part of the story that some believe to be nothing more than a myth.
13:23When the Roman Republic sent ships to attack, inventor Archimedes got creative.
13:27He used mirrors to create a heat ray that set the enemy ships ablaze.
13:31This far-fetched technology was tested in 1973 by Greek scientist Ioannis Sackis.
13:37He managed to set a mock-up Roman ship on fire, seemingly giving significant weight that this
13:42may have happened. However, the Mythbusters TV show couldn't replicate his experiment.
13:46Three times they tried, and their experiment did little beyond minor fires.
13:50Conversely, in 2023, 13-year-old Brendan Senner made a mini-version of Archimedes' Heat Ray
13:56with much better success.
13:58But how could Archimedes have conceived such a formidable weapon,
14:02one far in advance of any known at the time?
14:06Number 14, The Deucalion Flood
14:19Many cultures have a great flood mythology, such as Noah in the Bible.
14:23In ancient Greece, it was the Deucalion Flood.
14:25Zeus, in another one of his rages, decided to end the Bronze Age by inciting a flood to destroy everything.
14:32Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha survived the flood by building a chest or ark,
14:36with help from his titan father, Prometheus.
14:38The real-life Perian Chronicle, which details some of Greece's history,
14:42believes a regional flood happened around 1529 BCE.
14:46For years, marine archaeologists had found evidence that seemingly confirmed a big flood took place.
14:51In 2000, Robert Ballard, who famously discovered the Titanic wreck,
14:55found evidence in the Black Sea that a major flood had happened over 7,000 years ago.
15:00Great flood is coming.
15:02The waters of the heavens.
15:05We'll meet the waters of the earth.
15:07Number 13, Golden Apples
15:09My last labor, by far, was the most difficult.
15:13I had to pick the golden apples of Hesperides.
15:16This legendary fruit has popped up in several Greek myths.
15:20Most famously, Eris had thrown the apple of discord during a marriage with the words,
15:24To the Most Beautiful.
15:25This led to three goddesses claiming it.
15:28Typically, Zeus delegated the decision to Paris.
15:30He gave the golden apple to Aphrodite, who bribed him with Helen of Sparta's love,
15:35sparking the Trojan War.
15:36While there are apple species that share similarities with the mythical one,
15:40it's believed another real-life fruit is the fabled golden apple.
15:44Argan fruit, quince, and tomatoes have all been suggested by scientists.
15:48However, with many languages describing it as a golden apple,
15:51an orange is the favorite explanation,
15:53especially as it wasn't grown in the region at the time.
15:57Necklace of Harmonia, Hercules' bow, golden apple of discord.
16:00Three millennia of gods and demigods,
16:02you'd think that someone would have come up with a cure for Talia's tree.
16:05Number 12, Hercules and the Nemean Lion
16:07This was no ordinary beast.
16:13It had a hide so tough, no weapon could penetrate it.
16:18Born of the sky father Zeus and the mortal Alcmeni,
16:21Hercules the demigod was tricked into slaying his family by Hera,
16:25his stepmom slash aunt.
16:27Yeah.
16:28Anyway, to redeem himself,
16:29he worked under King Eurystheus,
16:31who gave him the 12 labors of Hercules.
16:34The first task was to slay the Nemean Lion,
16:36who was attacking the city of Nemea.
16:39Despite the beast's pelt being reputedly impenetrable,
16:42Hercules managed to do it and wore its pelt.
16:44Nowadays, lions don't live in Europe,
16:47but they used to and may have gone extinct there as late as the Bronze Age.
16:51As such, some scientists believe that a real-life version inspired the Nemean Lion fable.
16:56Lions terrorizing a community isn't unheard of,
16:59as the Savo man-eaters of Kenya wreaked havoc in 1898.
17:03Ever heard of the man-eating lions of the Savo?
17:07Well, in 1898, during the construction of the Kenya-Uganda
17:11that really lied, more than 135 were mauled to death.
17:15Reasons of why lions would choose human
17:17as their first prey still raises eyebrows.
17:21Number 11, the Mycenaean civilization.
17:23I have decreed that this boy shall remain here with us in our city.
17:28Furthermore, he shall from this day forward be my own son
17:32and heir to the throne of Mycenae.
17:34The settlement Mycenae and the civilization that bears its name
17:37have been heavily featured in Greek mythology.
17:40After being founded by Perseus, the slayer of Medusa,
17:43Agamemnon later took the crown and famously led the Greeks in the Trojan War.
17:47In 1874, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann,
17:50desperate to prove Homer's work true,
17:53began excavating a site that turned out to be Mycenae.
17:56He found a royal cemetery and many artifacts,
17:58including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon,
18:01which is dated before the fabled ruler's rule.
18:04Schliemann's work not only proved
18:06that the Mycenae site existed,
18:08but a whole civilization that was believed lost to time
18:10had walked the earth.
18:12On either side of me stand two assistant priests
18:15wearing masks as well, lumpy, pop-eyed masks,
18:18such as were also found at Mycenae.
18:20Number 10, the City of Tenea.
18:23According to mythology, after the Trojan War,
18:26a bunch of prisoners were taken to the island of Tenedos.
18:29Eventually, Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae,
18:32allowed them to create a settlement,
18:34which became the City of Tenea.
18:36The location also played a part in the story of Oedipus,
18:39who famously had a whole complex named after him.
18:42But Tenea eventually vanished from the records
18:44and was seemingly a fictional place.
18:47That was until 1846,
18:49when the Kouros of Tenea was found in the area.
18:51Then in 1984,
18:53a sarcophagus was discovered by local villagers
18:56and archaeologist Elena Korka.
18:58In 2013, Korka led an excavation of the site.
19:01Since then, various ancient items
19:04and the remains of Tenea's buildings have been discovered.
19:07Number 9, Orychalcum.
19:09It was Cadmus that brought the making of bronze.
19:12He knew how to make alloys, special metals,
19:16which in the early days of civilization
19:18was the beginning of technology.
19:21When you think of the most precious materials in the world,
19:24Orychalcum wouldn't be considered.
19:26However, to the ancient Greeks,
19:28this metal was believed to only be behind gold in value.
19:32In Plato's Critias,
19:33he speaks of the walls of some of Atlantis' buildings
19:36being decked out with the unusual material.
19:38He described the metal as,
19:48While many believed Orychalcum to be a work of fiction,
19:52in 2015, a discovery was made.
19:55Off the coast of Gela in Sicily,
19:56a 2,600-year-old shipwreck was located.
20:00On board were 39 ingots made from seemingly Orychalcum.
20:04Scientists discovered the material was an alloy,
20:06primarily made from copper and zinc,
20:08but also had traces of lead, nickel, and iron.
20:13Number 8. The Golden Fleece
20:20In mythology, looking to become king of Iolcus,
20:24Jason and the Argonauts set out to claim
20:26the Golden Fleece of Chrysomalos,
20:28which has long ties to his heritage.
20:30When do we sail?
20:32Tomorrow.
20:36As the name suggests,
20:38the sought-after item was a fleece made from gold.
20:41During a perilous journey filled with one ridiculous task after another,
20:46Jason manages to get the iconic item from a grove in Colchis,
20:49located in modern-day Georgia.
20:51Well, this tale might be based on fact.
20:53Back then, sheep fleeces were used to collect gold flakes from rivers and streams.
20:58And, several of these gold-rich water sources were in Georgia and mentioned in Jason's tale.
21:03As such, it's likely the Golden Fleece is talking about this ancient way of prospecting.
21:08The fleece! Give me the fleece!
21:12It has the power to heal.
21:15Number 7. The Chimera
21:18Keep away! It's Venom! Catch his fire!
21:23Probably one of the most terrifying creatures from Greek mythology,
21:26the fire-breathing Chimera is typically depicted as having the head of a lion,
21:30a goat, and a snake-headed tail.
21:33According to Homer's Iliad, Bellerophon defeated the beast in Lycia, modern-day Turkey.
21:39Well, it's likely a real location that inspired this story.
21:42In Yanartash, near the ancient city of Olympus in Turkey, is Mount Chimera.
21:47Legend has it that a fire-breathing monster was killed here by a Greek god,
21:51and its breath lives on beneath the rocks.
21:54On the slopes are fires that are still burning centuries later,
21:58which have natural gas vents below feeding them.
22:01On top of this, the area is said to have been inhabited by lions,
22:05snakes, and goats at one point.
22:07Suspicious.
22:08As the rocks of Yanartash continue to burn,
22:11geologists are continuing their search for more deposits like these.
22:16Number 6. Plutonian at Herapolis
22:18Nicknamed Pluto's Gate,
22:21these areas were thought to be entrances to the underworld in ancient Greece.
22:24This magnificent place hides a dark secret.
22:29Legend says that beneath these streets lies the gate to hell.
22:33Named Plutonian after the god Pluto, who was previously called Hades,
22:37animal sacrifice was a common practice there,
22:40especially at the site in ancient Herapolis in modern-day Turkey.
22:43During a ceremony, a priest would take an animal into the eerie depths.
22:48The rising toxic gas would then cause the creature to pass away,
22:52but the human to live.
22:53They believed the gas was sent by Pluto.
22:56However, after the cave was discovered in 2011,
23:00studies have shown the gas is pockets of carbon dioxide from seismic activity.
23:04It's amazing that the myth was not only a myth, but it is a reality.
23:09The priests would hold their breaths to escape the effects,
23:12and be celebrated for making it through Pluto's sacrifice.
23:15The priests likely believe the deadly vapors rise straight from the underworld.
23:21They almost certainly believed it was the gates of hell,
23:24and that this was the only way they could survive it.
23:28Number 5. The Oracle at Delphi
23:30One of the top jobs in ancient Greece involved being the Pythia at the Temple of Apollo.
23:35At any given time, a single oracle known as the Pythia communicates Apollo's will.
23:41Also known as the Oracle of Delphi,
23:43the high priestess was visited by many, including rulers.
23:47She would go to a chamber and inhale the vapors from a crack in a rock,
23:51putting her into a trance as she gave advice.
23:53In antiquity, just like today, people had a lot of uncertainties in life,
23:57and they presumed that the gods knew more than they did.
24:00However, this occasionally caused delirium or led to their demise.
24:04When the temple was excavated in the late 1800s,
24:07the mystical vapor wasn't present.
24:09So, it was thought of as a myth.
24:11However, in 2001, geological studies found fault zones underneath the site.
24:17Researchers believe the vapor was a hydrocarbon gas.
24:20In a nearby water source, ethylene was discovered,
24:23which was once used as an anesthetic.
24:26Scholars think water running underground could have carried gases up through the fault lines,
24:31directly to the priestess.
24:34Number 4. Amazon Warriors
24:37When thinking of Amazon Warriors,
24:39Wonder Woman would probably be the first thing to spring to mind.
24:48The second is that they're fictional.
24:51But are they?
24:52Ancient Greece was fascinated by them.
24:54As such, they were featured in many stories,
24:57including the labors of Hercules,
24:58and showcased their superior combat skills and strength over Greek folk.
25:03Amazon battle scenes decorated the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis.
25:07Paintings and statues of Amazon's adorned temples and public spaces.
25:12In 2019, a tomb in the Voronezh region in Russia was excavated.
25:17The archaeologists found the remains of four women warriors from three generations buried together.
25:22They found an elaborate golden headdress, weapons, and other goods within.
25:26The women's skeletons show battle injuries,
25:29ribs slashed by swords,
25:31skulls bashed by battle axes,
25:33and arrows embedded in bones.
25:36While the remains were officially credited to be Scythian nomads,
25:39some researchers believe they are the basis for the Amazon legend.
25:44Number 3. Atlantis
25:45An ancient structure bears a striking resemblance to a stone staircase.
25:52But is it natural or man-made?
25:54Since Plato wrote about the island of Atlantis in his work,
25:57the human race has been fascinated with the place.
26:00Within his tales,
26:01Plato describes the utopian island from its highest point to its lowest,
26:05when the gods sunk it into the ocean's depths.
26:08While Atlantis is thought of as fictional,
26:10the story might not be.
26:12Instead, it could be based on an actual natural disaster that swallowed an island.
26:17One example is the volcanic eruption and earthquake that turned the singular island of Santorini,
26:22previously known as Thera,
26:24into an archipelago.
26:25The quake also created tsunamis,
26:27which swept over other settlements.
26:30This devastated the highly advanced Minoan civilization,
26:33which was effectively wiped out.
26:35There is a huge amount of unrecorded human history beneath the ocean's surface
26:41that we don't know very much about at all.
26:45Number 2. Giant Squid
26:47The video of the 20-foot giant squid,
26:50100 miles off of New Orleans,
26:52captured the public's attention.
26:54Many ancient civilizations have tales about the monstrous giant squid
26:58that destroys boats and terrorizes the oceans.
27:01And the Greeks were no different.
27:02In Homer's Odyssey,
27:04he describes the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis
27:06that resided in a narrow strait.
27:08The latter was known for creating whirlpools,
27:11while the former had six heads,
27:13was 12 feet,
27:13and had rows of sharp teeth.
27:16Athena, protect us.
27:23Scylla would use her multiple noggins to devour six sailors
27:27that got too close to a rock.
27:28It wasn't until 2004
27:30that scientists managed to get a photo
27:32of a giant squid in its natural habitat.
27:35And it had some resemblance to the legend of Scylla.
27:38People are very interested in this kind of thing,
27:41and we need to make people more aware
27:44of just how many incredible things there are in our ocean.
27:48Number 1. The City of Troy
27:50To the ancient Greeks,
27:52the city of Troy in Turkey
27:54was a powerful kingdom that had its downfall
27:56during the Trojan War.
27:58But this isn't the only document
28:00that Oleg has brought to show me.
28:02So there's another Roman numeral 2 for February.
28:05This says the case started on the 6th of February, 1959.
28:091959.
28:10And then on the next page...
28:11Detailed in Homer's work in Iliad and Odyssey,
28:14after 10 years of besiegement,
28:16it was conquered by the Greek army led by Agamemnon.
28:19It's also the setting for Achilles
28:21and Hector's legendary fight.
28:28But then, Troy fell to history
28:30and was considered a myth.
28:33That was until 1865,
28:35when Frank Calvert began excavating a site in Hisarlick
28:38and found evidence of its existence.
28:47He brought in Heinrich Schliemann,
28:50who was notorious for his reckless methods.
28:53In 1871,
28:54they found multiple ruins
28:56believed to be attributed to Troy.
28:58Since then,
28:59archaeologists have discovered further evidence
29:01that the legendary city may have existed.
29:04What other Greek myths are based on true stories?
29:06Let us know in the comments section.
29:12Don't know where you are,
29:13Let us know in the comments section.
29:14And as you can see,
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