These History "Facts" Are Actually False

In the Internet age, it's never been easier to find information. Within the past few decades, everything you could ever want to know has become available at the touch of a button. Learning has never been easier, whether your interest lies in Ice Age megafauna, Ancient Egyptian diets, or tent-making practices in the Mongolian steppe.

Although finding information is easy, finding accurate information has become far more difficult. With the rise of the internet has come another cultural phenomenon: anti-intellectualism, even though this is nothing new in human civilizations (all civilizations have struggled with this to some extent).

Today, countries like America are experiencing a plummet in trust in academic institutions, scholars, and independent sources of accurate information (like encyclopedias). This has led to many historical myths that everyone believes to be true but are not. It's important to examine and debunk ten of the most prevalent.

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11 False: Atlantis Was Intended To Represent A Real Place

The lost supercontinent of Atlantis was intended as an allegory

One of the biggest historical misconceptions of the modern era is that Atlantis was intended to be a real place. Clickbait articles, conspiracy theorists, and everyone in between can take a sigh of sadness, for the lost city of Atlantis just doesn't exist. We've all heard the story that was famously included in Plato's works Timaeus and Critias. Supposedly, Atlantis was a naval empire that ruled the entire world in a land that no longer exists.

Though they had ideal circumstances, Atlantis sunk into the Atlantic Ocean after becoming too greedy with its conquests. While this story might be tantalizing, examination of both the text and the cultural context of Plato's life point to this story being purely allegory. Some have even gone so far as to say that Atlantis was supposed to be a stand-in for the Achaemenid Empire.

Even Plato's most famous student, Aristotle, felt that the myth was invented out of whole cloth to demonstrate a point about hubris. Some have claimed that Atlantis was a remnant of a cultural memory about the eruption of Thera in 1600 BCE.

While many cultures around the world have incorporated stories about prehistoric natural disasters into their mythologies, the fact that Atlantis squarely begins with Plato and supposedly takes place in a completely different location (Atlantis was supposed to be in the Atlantic, whereas Santorini is in the Eastern Mediterranean region) means that these two things are most likely unrelated.

Is Atlantis a real place?

Was Atlantis intended to be a real place?

Who came up with the Atlantis myth?

Plato

10 False: Cleopatra Was An Egyptian

Cleopatra was not only Macedonian Greek but was also the product of incest

Sadly, for some Netflix producers, Cleopatra wasn't actually Egyptian. Though she was born in the city of Alexandria along Egypt's Mediterranean coast, her family wasn't indigenous to the area. Her family was the Ptolemies, who had ruled Egypt since the division of Alexander the Great's massive empire. Like Alexander, the Ptolemies were Macedonian Greek.

Some have argued that she could have been Egyptian through her mother. Her paternal line is very well documented, but it's unclear what her maternal lineage is. However, because the Ptolemies actively avoided marrying Egyptians, it's highly improbable that Cleopatra had any relation to Egypt on a genetic level. The Ptolemies often practiced incest to maintain a chokehold on royal lineages.

While Cleopatra's mother is never explicitly stated by ancient sources, it's generally thought that her mother was Cleopatra Tryphaena, her father's sister or cousin or both. Unfortunately for both modern speculators and Cleopatra herself, it's more likely that her mother was a close blood relative of her father than an indigenous Egyptian.

Was Cleopatra Egyptian?

What ethnicity was Cleopatra?

Macedonian Greek

Who was probably Cleopatra's mother?

Her probable-aunt or probable-second cousin, Cleopatra Tryphaena

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9 False: We Don't Know What Cleopatra Looked Like

Misconceptions about Cleopatra strike again, but this time focusing on her physical appearance

Similar to her confused origins, many people don't realize that archaeologists have a very good idea of what Cleopatra looked like. This queen was featured throughout Roman art and iconography, with her likeness being captured in busts, coins, wall paintings, cameo glass, reliefs, and statues.

Near universally, Cleopatra is portrayed as having a long face, a skinny neck, a high-bridged / straight nose, light-brown wavy hair, pale skin, and pouted lips. She is usually adorned with elaborate hairstyles in both Greco-Roman and Egyptian styles, luxurious jewelry, and rich clothing (when present).

Another fun fact about Cleopatra is that there is a document with her signature!

Papyrus document that has Cleopatra's signature on it

Do we know what Cleopatra looked like?

Yes

How do we know?

Because of countless statues, paintings, coins, and reliefs of her

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8 False: Africa Had No Great Empires

Africa was a place with many great civilizations that often get overlooked in favor of other time periods/places

In North America, when our education system teaches about "World Civilizations" or "Western History," most courses only have room for a precious few civilizations to be covered. Sadly, this has meant that certain groups' history has been prioritized over others. Usually, this means that Ancient Egypt/Greece/Rome, Medieval Europe, Colonial North America, WWI, WWII, and the Cold War take center stage, leaving out many significant chapters in our world's history.

Few places can feel this loss in teaching time, such as the continent of Africa. Throughout history, Africa has been home to countless civilizations, empires, cities, and kingdoms that deserve time and attention. Notable examples include Ancient Egypt, the Empire of Kush (which built more pyramids than the Egyptians did!), Great Zimbabwe, Carthage, Aksum, the Mali Empire, and Numidia. This list leaves many out, though, so this is a great research point for those with an interest in this subject.

Did Africa have great empires, cities, and civilizations?

Yes

Examples:

Ancient Egypt, Great Zimbabwe, Carthage, Aksum, the Mali Empire, the Empire of Kush, and Numidia

7 False: The Book Of Enoch Describes A Literal War Between Men & Giants

No, the Book of Enoch was not intended to be literally true

One of the saddest experiences a historian or archaeologist can have is to strike up a conversation with someone, have them mention the Book of Enoch, misinterpret the conversation as being about the 2nd century BCE text's impact on religions in the Levant, and then find out that the other person was talking about the idea that giants existed at one point in human history.

The Book of Enoch was written sometime between 300-100 BCE to extrapolate from several passages from Genesis: Genesis 4:17-18, Genesis 5:18-24, and Genesis 6:1-4. The text attempts to expand on who the "sons of God" were from Genesis 6, creating them to be a society of fallen angels and giants that caused havoc on Earth. According to the Book of Enoch, it was these fallen angels that introduced the "bad parts" of civilization to humans, including warfare, astrology, and sorcery. God sends four angels to destroy these fallen angels.

While giants and fallen angels feature heavily in Enoch, this text is not a literal representation of what happened in antiquity. This text is a mythology that was meant to bring forward topics that are familiar to Christians today: salvation, the promise of a Messiah, final judgment, prophecy, and resurrection. The Book of Enoch is part of a larger historical genre called Jewish Apocalyptic Texts. Many Early Christian texts were a part of this genre, including the Book of Revelation.

A recently found 1,800-year-old Roman amulet in Germany reflects adherence to these apocalyptic texts among Early Christian members on the Roman frontier.

Was the Book of Enoch a literal depiction of a war between giants and men?

How is the Book of Enoch related to Christian texts like Revelation?

They're all part of the same genre, Jewish Apocalyptic Texts

When was it written?

~300-100 BCE

6 False: Nan Madol Was Built 20,000 Years Ago

Nan Madol was built during the Middle Ages

Since the airing of Netflix's series Ancient Apocalypse in 2022, a pseudoarchaeological myth has been circulating in North American pop culture. This myth is that Nan Madol, an archaeological site on Pohnpei, a mountainous island in the Pacific that ranks among the best places to visit in Micronesia for first-timers, is 20,000 years old and was built by a race of superhumans who had a widespread civilization during the last ice age.

The city was built between 900 CE and 1630 CE using maritime technology like boats, ancient stonecutting methods, and generations' worth of indigenous knowledge on landscape and water management. Some of the oldest buildings in the city have been reliably radiocarbon-dated to 1180 CE. Nan Madol was indeed an advanced city for its time, but it was not built by an ancient civilization before the glaciers melted.

Was Nan Madol built 20,000 years ago?

When was Nan Madol built?

After 900 CE

Where is Nan Madol?

Pohnpei, Micronesia

5 False: Gunung Padang Was Made By Humans

No, Gunung Padang is not the world's oldest pyramid

Gunung Padang, often called the "world's oldest pyramid," wasn't made by humans. The "pyramid" is a volcano that looks like a pyramid. Like Nan Madol before, Netflix's Ancient Apocalypse is behind many of these rumors, but this TV program isn't the only culprit here. In the wake of colonialism, some people in Indonesia want to reclaim their country's heritage.

Despite having many cool sites to study and understand, these people have instead created an alternate narrative: that Gunung Padang is actually 20,000 years old, and that Indonesians built the world's first pyramids. Unfortunately, pottery analysis at the site has shown an initial human inhabitation date of 45 BCE.

When do some people think Gunung Padang was built?

20,000 years ago

When was it built?

It was never "built" because it's a dormant volcano, not a pyramid

When did human habitation on the dormant volcano start?

45 BCE

4 The Romans "Copied" Greek Mythology

The Romans, Etruscans, and Greeks all shared similar pantheons due to their common ancestors: the Indo-Europeans

When discussing Roman mythology outside expert circles, you'll often hear phrases like "The Romans just stole their whole mythology from the Greeks." Since the rise of the internet, this has become a common meme trend among people interested in Classical studies. While the Romans did indeed draw inspiration from the Greeks, they didn't just "steal" all of their ideas. Foremost, when these discussions rage, prominent Roman gods that don't have a one-to-one Greek counterpart are left out entirely. Liber, Fortuna, Bellona, and Janus are hardly mentioned in these conversations.

Much of this misconception stems from the way Western Civilization is taught in schools. The Romans are taught as a successor to the Greeks in the Mediterranean sphere. What most world history books won't tell you about the Romans is that they actually started building their civilization in 753 BCE (according to legend), just after the end of the Greek Dark Ages. The Roman Republic itself began in 509 BCE, interestingly, around the same time as the Athenian Revolution that invented democracy. Rome, as a location, wasn't just a successor to the Greeks on the world stage, but was its own civilization that rose up independently.

As the Greek empire began to rise, parts of Italy were colonized, which led to increased contact with Italic peoples. This is one of the reasons why many Roman deities share elements of Greek gods. In Roman paganism, unknown gods are often incorporated into the fold rather than excluded, like they are in modern Abrahamic religions. For instance, this is why Apollo is part of the Roman pantheon.

Yet the Greeks weren't the only ones influencing the Romans. The Etruscans played a massive role in shaping Roman religion from its earliest days. From their gladiator games (which once held religious significance) to Juno (who was heavily inspired by the Etruscan goddess Uni), the Etruscans contributed much to what we consider "classical Roman mythology."

Ultimately, though, many of the similarities between the Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans actually come from a far older origin: the Indo-Europeans. Indo-European mythology features a male sky god, an earth mother, Divine Twins as his sons, an underworld guarded by a watchdog and a river, a goddess of the dawn, three fates who spin the thread of life, and a world tree. This mythological cast of characters and events should not only sound familiar to those who know Greek and/or Roman mythology, but also those who know Norse mythology, too.

The reason for all these similarities is that these wildly diasporic groups were once one people around 6,000 BCE and gradually branched off from each other, losing contact. When they met each other again, they didn't recognize one another, but did notice that their gods were strangely similar. So, while inspiration definitely was taken from the Greeks and Etruscans, the similarities were already there when these groups made contact with one another.

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3 The Greek Gods Didn't Have Easy Definitions & Attributes

Modern pop culture has distilled the Greek gods down to their most basic forms, but is this how ancient people saw these gods?

In modern pop culture about the Greek gods, the personalities, spheres of divinity, and attributes of the gods are seen as clear cut and easily digestible. Popular media, for example, will say phrases like "Athena is the goddess of wisdom, Ares is the god of war, and Artemis is the goddess of the hunt."

While these attributes were certainly given to these deities in antiquity, the lines between them are not as hard. For example, many people might balk at the idea that Athena was actually also a war goddess. "How can Athena be the goddess of war when Ares is already the god of war?" many might ask. The answer is that the ancients who were devoted to these gods were capable of nuance -- Athena was the goddess of wartime strategy, warcraft, the physical discipline required to enact war, and wartime diplomacy, while Ares was the god of horrific, violent war, when savagery and bloodlust took over the minds of soldiers. As a war deity, Athena was the one more widely worshiped than Ares; Ares' involvement in Greek life was seen as an overall negative by the ancients.

Regional differences also meant that the gods were not always perceived the same way across Ancient Greece. The Athena of Athens (the one we most recognize today) would have been understood very differently to Athena Chalkioikos of Sparta.

When we Marvel-ize ancient deities, we forget that these ancient gods were actually seen as real forces in the world by regular people. We forget the human complexity that goes into human perceptions of religion. Look at how many sects of modern religions there are; broadly speaking, there are six main groups of Christians...but each of those six groups has strong variation within them. Think of how different the UCC is from Evangelical Christianity, and how different both of those are to Catholicism.

2 False: The Eruption Of Thera Caused The Exodus

While many online will claim that the eruption of Thera proves the plagues in the Exodus, the timeline does not match

Like the Atlantis myth before it, some who seek to prove the Biblical story of Exodus have used the Eruption of Thera (a volcano on the Greek island of Santorini) in their arguments. The argument goes that the eruption of Thera in 1600 BCE caused the plague of darkness mentioned in Exodus, and that the resulting tsunami caused the parting of the Red Sea.

Unfortunately, the timeline is off. Scholars place the date of the Exodus to sometime between 1450 and 1200 BCE. Since the eruption happened in 1600 BCE, this would have impacted the time by 150 years. While it may be tempting to connect these events (a volcanic winter might seem tantalizing for people who want to find historical parallels to the plagues), the eruption of Thera just doesn't fit.

This entry is in no way seeking to debate the historicity of the Exodus either way; rather, it is critiquing the involvement of Thera in this issue.

Did the eruption of Thera caused the Exodus?

Why?

The timeline is off by 150+ years

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1 There Was A Year Zero

No, there was not a "year zero"

You may have heard people online or in-person referring to a "year zero" in our calendar, the Gregorian calendar. This is wrong: in the Gregorian calendar (and the Julian calendar that proceeded it), there isn't a year zero at all between BCE and CE. Instead, the calendar goes immediately from 1 BCE to 1 CE.

Is there a year zero in the Gregorian calendar?

What do we have instead?

The year 1 BCE seamlessly translates to 1 CE

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These History "Facts" Are Actually False

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