Common errors about Antiquity

[jpvdgiessen]

Some others for the list:

Pocohontas was an adult, in reality she was a child of about 9-10 years
Palestinians today are the same as the Philistines at the time of David.
Jona was swallowed by a whale (in the Bible there is only mention of a "big fish")
Halley was the first who could predict comets (the Babylonians did this already)
There was a solar eclipse at the time of the crucifixion of Christ (Pesach!)
The most northern the Romans came was the Rhine (think about Ermelo)
Only for the Dutch calvinists: In the time of Nehemiah there were already riffles (Nehemiah 4: 17 Die aan den muur bouwden, en die den last droegen, en die oplaadden, waren een ieder met zijn ene hand doende aan het werk, en de andere hield het geweer [riffle = weapon]. AND Nehemiah 4:23 een iegelijk had zijn geweer [riffle = weapon] en water). I heard several orthodox pastors preaching this! Maybe they had to learn Hebrew
and to get a little bit political (and yes I'm a republican): the national song of the Netherlands: I have always honored Spain (why we were fighting them), the Oranjes are Dutch (I'm from German blood)

[Gorgon]

Some more:

-The "rudis" that gladiators received when freed from the arena penalty was a woden sword

-When freed from the arena penalty gladiators automatically became "free" individuals

[M. Demetrius]

How about, "All historians are reasonable, open-minded people."
Or, "All generalities are false."

[Jona Lendering]

How about, "All historians are reasonable, open-minded people."

I will address that topic in the epilogue, in which I will also mention the exaggerated press releases by archaeologists. The main problem with ancient history is that students have to learn Latin and Greek first, and have insufficient time to learn the logical foundations of the discipline. German ancient historians are generally above average, I admit, but usually, I have to explain to them what a cause is, and they are unable to define, for example, a fact. As a consequence, many ancient historians are unable to explain why their books are better than those of amateur historians.

Yes, the epilogue will be very bitter.

[john m roberts]

Biblical misconceptions can form their own category, there are so many of them. For instance:
There were three wise men at the nativity, sometimes called the three kings. The gospels only say that there were "men from the east," never that there were three, that they were wise or that they were kings.

Delilah cut Samson's hair. The Book of Judges says plainly that Delilah called in "a man" to clip Samson's locks.

Adam and Eve unwisely ate an apple. Genesis only says "fruit."

This could go on and on.

[Komet]

Don't forget Hannibal, who was obviously black too. After all, he came from Africa.

Good one, especially because Holywood is making a movie about the Carthaginian general. I expect a lot of nonsense talk when it turns out that Vin Diesel plays Hannibal.

I actually have high hopes for this movie. Vin Diesel has played a few really good roles when he's not in Fast and the Furious and Riddick movies. I heard the script was going to be in Latin and Punic--not sure what Punic is like, I guess Phoenician.

As for misconceptions, it really annoys me when people try to pin the "decline" of America on a perceived decline in morality and then draw a parallel to ancient Rome, which also fell due to its declining moral standard. Ironically, the people who talk about this are usually ardent Christians failing to realize that the Roman Empire was largely Christian by the 5th century.

[Jona Lendering]

Biblical misconceptions can form their own category, there are so many of them.

The one I love best is that you can find remains of Noah's Ark on the mountain that today is called Ararat; I translated that chapter of my little book into English and you can find it here.

[M. Demetrius]

There were three wise men at the nativity, sometimes called the three kings.

Actually, the Bible account doesn't even say they were at the nativity, but more likely at a house somewhere up to two years later.

It's the commentary that's in error in this and the two other instances you mention. Tradition isn't always factual.

[Jona Lendering]

BTW, how many people were crucified with Jesus? Because the Gospels present two of them as speaking, we know that there were at least two. There may have been more, though. As John already said, Biblical misconceptions can form their own category; but that may be something for a completely different book, which I am not going to write.

[M. Demetrius]

All we know from the Gospels, as you say, Jona, is that Jesus was crucified between two other men (malefactors=evil doers). There may have been more, or not. And we don't even know for certain if these two were crucified on the same day, iirc, or perhaps holdovers from a previous day. If not scourged too terribly, some people would last a day or two before their muscles gave out and they could no longer breathe. Not the best way to die.

[M. Eversberg II]

Some more:

-The "rudis" that gladiators received when freed from the arena penalty was a woden sword

What was it then? I've always wondered about that.

M.

[Gorgon]

Some more:

-The "rudis" that gladiators received when freed from the arena penalty was a woden sword

What was it then? I've always wondered about that.

M.

Acording to Dunkle (and Ville if I'm not mistaken) the word for the wooden sword used for training is always in the latin plural, "rudes", although with a singular meaning, while the wooden object given to the gladiator at his/hers release from service is a "rudis", singular, that is, a rod. So they were given a wooden rod, not a wooden sword.

[john m roberts]

That was life as a gladiator, always getting the shaft.

[Tarbicus]

Only Rome had slaves. I.e., they were evil because no other culture had them then, and little is known (or forgotten) about the abhorrent conditions more modern slaves were kept in.

[M. Demetrius]

:?:
I thought Egyptians, Babylonians and other cultures had slaves. OH, well, revision of history is the theme these days. Scratch all those slaves out of the record, then.

:wink: