14 Things You Didn’t Know About Ancient Greece

There’s a reason why we call them ancient Greeks…though they didn’t

We call them Greeks from the term Graeci, used by the ancient Romans, but the ancient civilization that spanned the Mediterranean region and brought us the Odyssey and the Olympics did not call itself Greece. It wasn’t a single country. Instead, it was a collection of distinct and vibrant city-states (poleis), kingdoms, and colonies. Each part had its own traditions, dialect, calendar, politics, and interpretations of myths, but the people formed a collective identity based on shared language and culture. They called themselves Hellēnes and their land Hellas. Fun fact: The official name of modern Greece is actually the Hellenic Republic.

That’s what she—no, the ancient Greeks—said

Let’s set the stage: a crowded theater, with an audience of more than 15,000 ancient Greeks, all cackling at “that’s what she said” jokes…? Ancient Greeks were fascinated by phallic symbols and that showed in their comedy. This fixation was displayed in costumes and even large prop phalli that took center stage. Some believed that phallic icons served as protective amulets against infertility and evil spirits, thus leading to their incorporation in performances, art, and architecture. Similar to modern innuendo, phallic imagery was sometimes used to subvert taboos and humorously challenge norms. Perhaps Michael Scott, the hopelessly inappropriate and often offensive lead character of the sitcom The Office, would have loved ancient Greece.

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The theorem may not have been Pythagoras’s

a² + b² = c². Yes, that one: possibly the most famous algebraic notation in the mathematical world. It is likely that the Pythagorean theorem predates Pythagoras (c. 570 bce–500–490 bce). There is evidence that the Babylonians (sometimes called Chaldeans) and the Egyptians were familiar with the equation centuries earlier. It is Pythagoras’s name, however, that every school student still learns in math class. And you told your math teacher you would never need this in the real world.

Mourners for hire at ancient Greek funerals

Hiring professional mourners was standard practice in the event of a loved one’s death. Moirologists, as they’re now known, were usually women, and their job was to display grief by crying, wailing, and tearing their hair. This was regarded as a crucial social role as it supported the community’s healing.

Ancient Greeks didn’t exactly use toilet paper

Instead, they used:

• Xylospongia (sponges attached to sticks, moistened before use and rinsed afterward in saltwater or vinegar): These were commonly shared in public baths.
• Pessoi (pebbles, broken ceramics, or debris used for personal hygiene): Effective is perhaps too generous a description. The method could damage skin and irritate external hemorrhoids.

The Minotaur? Scary. Beans? TERRIFYING!

Greek mythology crawls with monsters, such as Typhon and Echidna in Tartarus, so it might shock you to learn that some ancient Greeks had a phobia of something far more commonplace: fava beans, which were believed to contain the souls of the dead. In particular, Greek mathematician-philosopher Pythagoras and his disciples may have associated beans with reincarnation, so some thought eating them was technically an act of cannibalism. This fear of beans was not irrational: People in the Mediterranean region tend to be more susceptible to favism, an anemia-causing genetic disorder caused by consuming fava beans or inhaling the pollen from fava flowers. Extreme cases can lead to heart failure. In light of this, it’s hardly surprising that some ancient Greeks would rather have been trapped in a labyrinth with the mythical Minotaur than with a very real beanstalk.

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Steve Jobs, step aside please

Somewhere in the 1st century bce the ancient Greeks built a device that experts have described as the first “analog computer.” Known as the Antikythera mechanism, its give-or-take 35 toothed, interlocking geared disks calculated the movements of many stellar quantities in the sky to tell celestial time and predict solar and lunar events. The ancient Greeks are also credited with giving us the yo-yo, the alarm clock, and the holy water dispenser—like a vending machine of sorts.

Before Grease, there was Greece

John Travolta’s gelled hair in the 1978 musical film Grease was no match for the groomed hair of ancient Greek men. A concoction of oils, combs, and tools shifted male hair according to what was in style. In the Archaic period, long hair was considered fashionable, while later, in the Classical period, shorter, stylized hair became the trend. Well-groomed beards were seen as indications of wisdom, leadership, and respectability among men. The ancient Greeks’ grooming was not limited to hair and beards; men used lotion from head to toe, often multiple times a day, and abrasive powders to brush their teeth. Meanwhile, women used toxic lead makeup to achieve what was viewed as a beautiful pale complexion. Vanity and the sometimes painful pursuit of beauty have never really been gendered ideas.

The most famous hero you know by the wrong name

You probably know of the Labors of Hercules. Only, that wasn’t his original name. Ancient Greeks called him Heracles (Hēraklēs in Greek), which the ancient Romans adapted to Hercules. The name Heracles, meaning “glory of Hera,” was his mother Alcmene’s attempt at appeasing the angered goddess Hera, whose husband, the chief Greek god Zeus, had conducted an extramarital affair with Alcmene. The Roman re-branding of Heracles stuck. The 1997 Disney movie Hercules mixed Roman and Greek names, helping propagate this and other inaccuracies (not uncommon in Hollywood’s depictions of ancient Greece). While the lead character is given the Roman name in the film, other characters retain their Greek names: Hades and Zeus rather than Pluto and Jupiter or Jove, for instance.

Sneezes could bless you. Or curse you.

Ever stop to think that your sneeze could be an omen from the gods? No? Well, the ancient Greeks did. A number of things considered commonplace today were regarded as signs in the ancient world. Sneezes could portend good or bad luck for the ancient Greeks. It was all about the timing. If your nose began to wrinkle at the start of a task, hooray—it was a signal of favor from the gods. In the Odyssey, Penelope interprets a sneeze from her son, Telemachus, as a sign that her wish for Odysseus to return and punish her suitors would come true. An ill-timed sneeze, however, was seen as a harbinger of doom…the worst was yet to come.

The Delphic oracle was not a myth

Amid the myths and fiction of ancient Greece, the Delphic oracle was very much a historical fact. While her legendary origin—that she belonged to Gaea and was later given to or stolen by Apollo—was clearly an invention, the oracle itself existed and was remarkably influential. The medium, a succession of Delphic priestesses, was a woman who offered prophecies (sometimes in highly ambiguous verse) which were ostensibly based on counsel that came directly from Apollo. The oracle was most powerful between the 8th and 4th centuries bce and reportedly delivered her last prophecy about 393 ce. She was the original fortune cookie, if fortune cookies could influence the fate of great wars and empires.

The statues were not white. Neither was history.

You might know that the Statue of Liberty was not originally sea green but reddish brown, and that its copper was weathered by time and history. Ancient Greek statues underwent a similar transformation. Once painted in vibrant blues, greens, reds, and yellows, similar to the colors found in ancient frescoes, Greek statues underwent centuries of weathering, stripping away much of their pigment and leaving behind the white marble we see today. The misconceptions of color do not stop there. Ancient Greeks would not have understood themselves through modern racial categories, such as “white.” Like their sculptures, ancient Greek history has lost some of its color.

Not all Greek tales ended in tragedy

Greek mythology and literature are almost always associated with tragedy, replete with murder, karmic justice, betrayal, hubris, and incest. Even in the story of Philemon and Baucis, a happy ending was achieved at an enormous cost: The elderly couple were the stars of one of the first feel-good romantic comedies. They showed hospitality toward the disguised Zeus and Hermes and were saved from a great flood that drowned the rest of their country, living happily ever after, together as trees. A handful of stories stand out for their relative lack of tragic elements. The mortal princess, Psyche, and the god of love, Eros, pioneered the romantic drama. Theirs was a tale of passion, prophecy, and promise. After a series of trials that kept them apart, Psyche proved her devotion to the gods, was rescued by her divine husband, and became immortal herself.

Helen of…where exactly?

In the Iliad and Odyssey, Homer described Helen in a variety of ways, such as “lovely Helen” and “fair-haired Helen.” She is also sometimes referred to as “Argive Helen,” either a generic term for the Greeks or a reference to the Peloponnesian region, where she was born and raised. One phrase Homer didn’t use? “Helen of Troy”—because Helen wasn’t actually from Troy. She was a Spartan princess who eloped with or was abducted by a prince of Troy, Paris. The epithet “Helen of Troy” was popularized by later authors. Homer also did not originate the phrase “the face that launched a thousand ships”—this familiar description was written by Christopher Marlowe in his play Doctor Faustus (published 1604).

On the subject of Homer and Helen, read Britannica’s article on whether the Odyssey was a true story to learn more about the events that may have inspired the myths surrounding the Trojan War.

Ancient Greece may have given us an early form of democracy, originated Western philosophy, and made advances in mathematics—but it also reminds us how easily historical misconceptions take hold. Which of these surprised you most?