As you know, there is some truth in every fairy tale: there is morality in fables, and in the sacred legends (myths) of Ancient Greece there is something that may interest people of the 20th century, if you look at the events taking place there on the basis of modern concepts.
One of the famous myths is about the campaign of the Argonauts. Let us recall the episode of the meeting of the Argonauts with the Stimphalia birds. “A large bird rose from the island, flashing its wings in the sun's rays: it flew over the Argo and dropped its feather onto the ship, wounding the Argonaut Oiley in the shoulder. The comrades rushed to his aid, pulled out the pen and saw that it was copper and sharp as an arrow.
A second bird soared over the island and flew to the "Argo", but the Argonaut Klytius was already waiting for her with a bow in his hands. As soon as the bird flew close, Cletius struck her with an arrow, and she, falling into the water, instantly drowned. The Argonauts donned armor, took shields and swords, and, before disembarking ashore, began to shout and clang their weapons. Birds soared over the island in a huge flock, soared high above the Argo and showered the Argonauts with a shower of feather arrows. The Argonauts raised their shields over their heads and suffered no losses. The birds, having described a circle over the "Argo", disappeared over the horizon."
Before proceeding to the modern presentation of the events that took place near the island, we note that such deadly "feathers" existed in our era. They were dropped during the Civil War from airplanes and could pierce through the rider along with the horse. Now everyone can see them in the Museum of the Armed Forces in Moscow in hall 5 under glass in a showcase. These "feathers" were called "aircraft arrows to defeat enemy personnel."
And now a modern version of what happened in the XIII century BC. e. events.
Observation posts detect the appearance of a foreign ship near the island, and on alarm, an aircraft takes off into the air, which fires one warning shot at the intruder, demanding to stop and drift. "Argo" really does drift, as the whole crew, abandoning oars and sail, crowded around the wounded man. A second aircraft takes off from the island and flies directly to the ship, trying to determine its type and nationality. He is shot down with one shot, and the Argonauts, with weapons in their hands, imitate a landing.
The whole "flock" takes off into the air and flies high - the "birds" obviously took into account the death of aircraft number 2, flying at low level flight. A massive blow falls on the landing; after the ammunition has been used up, the aircraft make a circle over the bombing site to see the result. He is not, and the whole "flock" flies from the island - the enemy should not capture the aircraft.
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Where in the ancient myth could a description of practically modern aviation tactics, moreover, border aviation, appear?
Let's try to take a closer look at the Stimphalia birds, as far as their brief description allows. “Glitters in the rays of the sun” - apparently, we are talking about metal or fabric sheathing (like the first airplanes), impregnated with varnish, which in the sun can give reflections during turns. There is no mention of bird noise.
The flight was silent or the sound was faint and could be drowned out by the splash of waves, shouts and the clang of weapons. Birds - Stimphalids - are referred to precisely as birds. It can be assumed that the cockpit was completely enclosed, it was indistinguishable from the outside. If there was no noise, this means that the “birds” could be flies. An aircraft with flapping wings (flapper) is still the dream of aircraft designers.
Of course, bombs (albeit small) and machine guns would suit these "birds" better than arrows. But if we recall the history of the development of modern aviation, then it is quite possible to assume that the Stymphalian birds could have been in the stage of “getting up on the wing,” and their design was imperfect and primitive, like airplanes in the early 20th century. But what country could in the XIII century BC? e. to have, albeit imperfect, but still flying vehicles, and still not one or two?
The Argonauts were not afraid of the Stymphalian birds and were even able to give an "anti-aircraft" rebuff, but how did Cletius manage to shoot down an aircraft with an arrow almost instantly? After all, the "birds" are covered with several layers of feathers and he could not pierce the metal casing of the apparatus with an arrow, but he could damage the apparatus, having hit, say, the engine, but in this case the apparatus would have crashed into the sea like a "stone".
Was Cletius the oldest anti-aircraft gunner in history shooting from a bow? Probably, he was the only person who shot down in the XIII century BC. e. aircraft, according to the myth. This is only one episode from the myth of the Argonauts, but in it each line contains information about an extraordinary event of antiquity. But to know this event, you need to read and study this myth in the canvas of a modern detective story!