Ancient History Myths Debunked!

Where this show ranks

About this podcast

Cleopatra Was Not Stunningly Beautiful: And Other Ancient History Myths Was Cleopatra really the world's most beautiful woman? Did Nero actually fiddle as Rome burned? Find out in this 4000-word humorous essay debunking the biggest myths from ancient history! From biased Roman chroniclers to Hollywood films putting opulence before accuracy, ancient history comes riddled with misconceptions. We set the record straight on some of the biggest falsehoods still causing confusion from the Stone Age up to the Fall of Rome. Myth #1: Cavemen All Lived Short, Brutish Lives Thanks to cartoonish pop culture images of fur-clad hunter-gatherers perpetually on the brink of disaster, many envision prehistoric man's existence as not just nasty and brutish but extremely short too. Yet archeological evidence reveals Stone Age life expectancies rivaled 19th-century totals. Examinations show relatively few injuries or debilitating conditions on ancient skeletons indicating survival rates statistically on par with recent rural laboring populations when factoring out infant mortality. So while scraping out survival posed challenges, lifespan length surprisingly did not for Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon ancestors mastering naturalistic living skills over generations. They hunted, built complex shelters, developed medicine, created artworks, and sustained their numbers effectively for nearly three million years before agrarianism upended humanity's longest-enduring lifestyle. Myth #2: Roman Vomitoriums Enabled Overindulgence When envisioning lavishly reclining patricians enjoying never-ending feasts, it seems logical they'd require on-demand vomitoriums enabling continuance from one meal directly into the next. Yet no dedicated barf halls existed in ancient Rome. Vomitoriums instead referred to entrance/exit passageways through multi-tiered coliseum seating radially spewing out spectators post-gladiator matches. So while orgies of eating and drinking occurred among decadent Roman elites, tactical purging did not. Their continual indulgence eventually caused obesity, gout and death at young ages instead. Yet the misconception still nauseates history. Myth #3: Spartans Threw Weak Babies Off Cliffs Cinematic depictions show Sparta's warrior culture precipitously hurling sickly infants into the abyss to weed out physical inadequacy. But would the world's fiercest regimented fighting force really murder its own future manpower so wantonly? In reality, evidence suggests a ceremonial Brazen Bull ritual where babies were symbolically placed upon a hilltop representing life’s hardness. Priests then issued verdicts on an infant’s likelihood of surviving harsh military upbringing. Strong babies remained in Sparta while priests recommended weak ones receive communal upbringing instead. So Sparta proved harsh, but never actually flung their future legions off terra firma. Myth #4: Nero Fiddled While Rome Burned When the Great Fire of 64 AD incinerated three-quarters of Rome over six days, legend tells of deranged Emperor Nero sauntering to his penthouse balcony where he fiddled with songs extolling the destruction as the city smoldered. Beyond the suspicious unlikelihood that an emperor witnessed disaster front row amidst panicked evacuations, the oft-cited fiddle instrument did not even exist in 1st century AD Rome. References to Nero's musical talents on the distinctly European vielle a European bowed stringed instrument used in the medieval period 4 centuries later got absurdly translated into “fiddling.” His relief efforts involved personally funding recovery programs to house Rome’s displaced population. While Nero made for a dysfunctional despot in other ways, falsely dramatized tales unfairly cemented his villainous legacy. Myth #5: The Pyramids Were Built By Hebrew Slaves Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments immortalized the Hollywood image of ancient Hebrews s