The Chilling Accuracy of Greek Mythology
Greek mythology has captivated the imagination of countless generations, with a myriad of tales featuring various fantastical creatures, epic heroes, bewitching sorcerers and more. These stories often reflect different aspects of human relationships and societal dynamics. But even though these legends were written thousands of years ago, they contain multiple instances that bear an uncanny semblance to actual facts that were only officially published many centuries later.
For example, the legendary Charybdis, a sea monster that appeared as a whirlpool with a ravenous mouth at its centre, who plagued sailors and challenged Odysseus on his voyage home, was actually marked in 19th century naval charts. The erratic tidal activity in the narrow passage between Sicily and the Italian peninsula was known to create dangerous whirlpools (sans the gaping mouth), which earned it the name Charybdis, after the legend. While this area is not very difficult modern ships to navigate, it might have been hazardous during Homer’s time.
Similarly, in the story of the lotus eaters, Odysseus and his men arrive at a peaceful island, on which the natives offer them their prized lotuses to eat. These lotuses made anyone who ate them fall into a trance-like state, losing all sense of time, and could make a year feel like a blissful day, thus trapping the ‘lotus eaters’ on the island forever. Odysseus’ men fell prey to this magic, and were saved only by clever thinking by their captain. Hundreds of years later, researchers found a water lily that grows along the Nile, which was known as a narcotic, frequently depicted in ancient Egyptian art. Consuming this plant induces a state of ‘peaceful apathy’, making its effects strikingly similar to the tale of the lotus eaters.
In the two previous examples, both stories contain key elements that are very close to reality. Even though they weren’t officially discovered until centuries later, historians maintain the possibility that their existence might have been known around the world, and this could have influenced Homer.
However, the next two stories reveal truths about the human body that were only definitively proved around the 19th century, thousands of years after the stories were written. And yet, Greek mythology is almost exact in their depiction. The two stories in question are those of Achilles and Prometheus.
Most of us are familiar with Achilles’ involvement in the Trojan war. A powerful warrior, Achilles was also protected by the waters of the river Styx. When he was a baby, his mother dipped him in the river, which made his body immortal — except for his left ankle, which his mother held on to while dipping him underwater. His left ankle became his only vulnerability, and it was an arrow that precisely struck him in that area that resulted in his death.
In the 19th century, researchers discovered a tendon behind the human ankle which, if damaged, can never heal. They named it the Achilles tendon.
Prometheus was a Titan who defied Zeus by stealing fire and giving it to humans, to help further their civilisation. As punishment, Zeus bound him to a mountain to have his liver slowly eaten by an eagle. Every night, Prometheus’ liver would replenish itself, and every day the eagle would slowly and painfully eat it once more.
In the late 19th- early 20th century, it was discovered that the liver is the only visceral organ in the human body with the capacity of regeneration.
This eerie correlation created somewhat of a chicken-egg debate among academics: did the ancient Greeks know about these aspects of the human body, which then shaped their mythology, or were these tales pure coincidence? Which came first, the myths or the knowledge?
While some argue that the ancient Greeks might have had a superficial understanding of certain areas of human biology, there is no conclusive evidence of the same. Until further proof is unearthed, the truth behind the uncanny accuracy of Greek mythology remains a mystery.
Works Cited
Davies, Ella. “The Strange Inspirations Behind Greek Myths” BBC Earth. December 21st, 2016. Web. < http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161220-the-strange-inspirations-behind-greek-myths > as seen on June 3rd, 2020.
Power, Carl & Rasko, John. (2008). “Whither Prometheus’ Liver? Greek Myth and the Science of Regeneration.” Annals of internal medicine. 149. 421–6. 10.7326/0003–4819–149–6–200809160–00009.
Rejón, mauel Ruiz. “Greek Myths in Science: Scylla and Charybdis” Open Mind BBVA. January 23rd, 2018. Web. < https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/humanities/culture/greek-myths-in-science-scylla-and-charybdis/ > as seen on June 3rd, 2020.
