Myths are born when a person tries to explain incomprehensible things. In ancient times, almost everything was like that - from lightning in the sky to the birth of a child. Today we can assume that these legends were not fictions, but real historical facts.
BERSERKI
The legendary Vikings, who were sung in the legends of the Scandinavians, and then Eminem in rap, were so strong and violent that they could destroy an entire army with one angry glance. You get a rough portrait of a berserker by mixing Hulk, Thor and the lead singer of a German hard rock band.
And if the existence of the warriors themselves is not disputed (each country had an army), then super-duper-hyper-mega-strength is hard to believe.
In addition, the ability to fight in the ranks of the Vikings was often inherited - as well as hysteria, epilepsy and other mental illnesses.
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ATLANTIS
A beautiful, technologically advanced paradise has been and remains a dream for many scientists. What else to want: an ideal island, where science was ahead of its time, and people could read minds. According to the myth, an entire civilization went under water and may still thrive in the depths of the sea.
The legend of the tragic fate of the island came to us thanks to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Some scholars have suggested that in his writings, under the name of the lost land, the island of Santorini is hidden, which was destroyed in 1600 BC.
The philosopher also writes that Atlantis was destroyed by a catastrophe with thunderstorms, lightning and fire. Judging by archaeological excavations, the cause of the death of an entire Minoan civilization in Santorini was a volcanic eruption. Coincidence?..
THE GREAT FLOOD
The most famous version of this myth is the biblical one about Noah and the ark. The righteous man was chosen by God in order to save humanity from a worldwide catastrophe. He built a huge ship for his family, took a couple of each animal and sailed on the high seas for 12 months and 10 days.
In similar legends, God was angry at the sins of men and decided to kill every one. This means two things: either the peoples of the world quietly agreed to lie together, or the flood took place in the history of mankind.
There is a theory of the Black Sea flood: according to it, around 5600 BC. e. the Black Sea level rose to catastrophic proportions. On the site of the Bosphorus Strait, which now separates Europe and Asia, there was a huge fresh waterfall, 200 times larger than Niagara. One day, salt water rushed there, and the entire stream rose to the surface, filling the nearest land.
AMAZON
In ancient Greece, the Amazons were a tribe of immortal women warriors who refused to obey the patriarchy and went to live in the forests. According to legend, to reproduce offspring, they converged with men from other nations: the boys were killed, and the girls were raised as heirs.
For most people, the Amazons are nothing more than a myth. Some scholars did not want to believe in the existence of an army of angry maidens and assumed that they were beardless men. Apparently, for scientists of antiquity, a guy without a beard was unthinkable:)
However, archaeologists who carried out excavations at the end of the 20th century near Kazakhstan discovered about 150 graves of the ancient Sarmatian people. A feature of the tribes who lived in the VI-IV centuries. BC e., there was a high position of women in public life. Sarmatian women led the armies, were priestesses, and the girl could not get married without killing at least one enemy.
Women were buried according to their occupation: with weapons in their hands. These female warriors probably served as the basis of ancient Greek legends about the mysterious Amazons.
KING MIDAS
The story of Midas is a cautionary tale about an excessive love of wealth. It was about a king who asked God to turn everything into gold, no matter what he touched. God granted the wish, and Midas's life became a real nightmare, not a fairy tale. Vladyka could neither eat, nor sleep, nor drink water: literally everything that his body touched turned into cold metal.
Perhaps this myth was just an urban legend. A king with this name really existed: he lived near Turkey about three thousand years ago. Some believe that this legend is just an attempt to explain the eternal golden dress of Midas and his family. His wife, Demodika, was the first to mint a coin - they probably had too much gold:)
