Top 30 Ancient Greek Myths That Turned Out To Be TRUE

#30: The Cyclopean Walls

Cyclopes may not be real but what is perceived as one of their creations does. Were talking about none other than Cyclopean walls: massive stone fortifications fitted tightly together without mortars. Theyre so impressive, an ancient Greek traveler, Pausanias, believed they could only have been built by the one-eyed Thracian race of giants: the Cyclops. But in reality? These walls were built by Mycenaeans to fortify their walls in the late Bronze Age. Now called Cyclopean masonry, this technique is just brilliant engineering, manpower, and organization. Its also believed the Mycenaeans were able to develop these unique structures after studying other civilizations like Egyptians and Hittites. These structures can be found in places like Italy, Crete, and Greece.

#29: Agamemnon's Existence

Even if youre not a Greek mythology buff, youve probably heard of Agamemnon. The king of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus, who led the Greeks to war against Troy when Helen was taken. Yep, the same guy who sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia before setting sail for Troy. His tale is famously told in Homers Iliad. But did he really exist? Well, historically, the city of Mycenae exists. Archaeologists have uncovered a tomb and gold mask, famously dubbed the Mask of Agamemnon. But does this mean the man behind the myth existed? Who knows? That tomb precedes his supposed time. So, Agamemnon might not be a total myth but hes not exactly proven history yet.

#28: Semiramis

This legendary Assyrian queen was so iconic, her story echoed across cultures: blurring the line between myth and fact. Semiramis might sound like pure myth, but shes actually inspired by a real-life Neo-Assyrian queen, Shammuramat. She was the wife of Shamshi-Adad V and mother of Adad-nirari III. Greek historians say Semiramis ruled after the death of her husband King Ninus, expanding his empire dramatically, building the walls of Babylon and controlling great armies. Shes often portrayed as a powerful woman in a world dominated by men and, honestly, thats not far off. Shammuramat likely ruled in place of her young son, wielding rare power for a woman of her era. Ancient records prove this. So, while legends embellished her tale, her impact was definitely real.

#27: Croesus

You may not know all the details about this ancient king, but you mustve heard the phrase rich as Croesus. Thats how legendary his wealth was. Croesus ruled Lydia around the 6th century BCE, and was said to have hoarded unimaginable wealth, which was somehow linked to the King Midas myth. But his fame wasnt just about gold. In Herodotus story, he learns the hard way, from the Athenian Sage Solon, that money doesnt guarantee happiness. Still, Croesus wasnt just a legend. Archaeological and textual evidence confirm that this super-rich king ruled from the city of Sardis, and may have clashed with Cyrus the Great of Persia. The real source of his wealth likely came from taxes, not from Midas' golden touch.

#26: Homer

Homer is the name behind two literary masterpieces of Ancient Greece: the Iliad and the Odyssey. We have tales of the Trojan War and Odysseus wild journey home thanks to Homer. However, nobody knows if he was a real person. Some scholars believe he was a blind bard from the 8th century BCE, maybe from Ionia, since the poems use Ionic dialect. Others believe Homer was just a name for a group of storytellers who passed down oral traditions. Some even suggest the works were written by a woman or different authors, given the shift in tone in both epics. Theres even a clan on the Island of Chios claiming Homer as their ancestor. Real or not, Homers legacy is undeniable.

#25: Spartans

Weve all heard epic tales of Spartans- the fearless warriors trained from childhood to be unstoppable. Movies like 300 make them out to be incredibly ripped fighters who never flinch, even in the face of death. But how much of that is true? We know the Spartans were tough, just not exactly as Hollywood paints them. Their training system, known as agoge, focused on teamwork and discipline rather than on direct military combat. It was mostly about shaping citizens who would sacrifice everything for Sparta. Formal military training probably started at adulthood. While they were physically fit, what made Spartans really dangerous was their unity and precision on the battlefield. Still, they werent invincible. Their rigid practice eventually failed when a more flexible army outmaneuvered them.

#24: Narcissus

The word Narcissism is tossed around quite often, but did you know it originated from Greek mythology? It all goes back to a young man named Narcissus who was so breathtakingly handsome that people fell in love with him almost instantly. But Narcissus rejected everyone, including the poor nymph Echo, who faded away from heartbreak. The gods didnt take his arrogance lightly and cursed him. He eventually withered away, dying for his own love, and a flower, named after him, bloomed where he died. This myth gave rise to the term narcissism, which describes a personality disorder based around self-importance.

#23: Alexander the Great

Alexander was only 20 when he became king of Macedon and by 30 hed already conquered much of the known world. He crushed mighty Persia, took Egypt, and pushed all the way to India without losing one battle. Not once. While some chalk it up to luck, Alexander was indeed a tactical genius who outsmarted his enemies. He didnt just win wars, he reshaped civilization, founded many cities and became a living legend. Its said he even believed he was the son of Zeus. Bold, right? But behind the image, some say he struggled with substance abuse and had a violent temper. He likely wasnt towering or bulky in appearance. Then, when he died from a mysterious illness without naming a successor, his empire couldnt stand without him.

#22: King Midas

When you hear the name King Midas, you probably think of the man who turned everything he touched into gold. According to legend, after helping the god Dionysus, Midas was granted a wish. He chose a gift that quickly turned into a curse. The myths may be fabricated but a king named Midas certainly existed. In 1957, archaeologists unearthed a lavish tomb at Gordian, the ancient capital of Phrygia, dating back to about 740 BC. Inside were the remains of a wealthy ruler buried with luxurious items. It may not be the legendary Midas, but scholars believe the tomb could be his fathers since the timeline and wealth match. Even today, new burial sites believed to be connected to Midass world are being discovered.

#21: Alphabets

In Greek mythology, Cadmus, a Phoenician prince is believed to have brought writing to Greeks. In their stories, Cadmus was a hero who taught them how to use letters, essentially giving them the alphabet. Thats the myth. Now, the cool part is that some modern historians believe that it happened, but not exactly as the myth suggests. The Greek alphabet may have come from Phoenicians, though how the exchange occurred is somewhat unclear. Around 800 BCE, its believed the Greeks took the Phoenician writing system, tweaked it and added vowels, something the Phoenecian script lacked. So, Cadmus might be a legend but the idea that the Greeks got their alphabets from Phoenicians isnt far from the truth.

#20: Mount Olympus

Every god needs somewhere to live. In Greek mythology, the Twelve Gods home was based on the very real Mount Olympus on the Thessaly and Macedonia border, on its highest peak, Mytikas, at 9,572 feet up. Often, whenever Greeks settled in other areas, they named the highest peak Olympus, too. In 1913, the first recorded climbing of Mount Olympus took place by Frédéric Boissonnas and Daniel Baud-Bovy. However, they werent the first to climb, as Greek scientists later found items on the mountain from as far back as 400 BCE. Some scientists believe natural events on Mount Olympus, such as a meteor strike, may have inspired some of the gods feats in the mythology.

#19: The Palace of Nestor

According to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, Nestor was a former Argonaut and the king of Pylos. In those tales, now an older man, he gives others advice, including Agamemnon and Achilles. In 1939, American archaeologist Carl Blegen found the first signs of the Palace of Nestor in Pylos. However, World War Two put a stop to the excavation for years. In 1952, Blegen and his team returned and continued uncovering the palace and ancient items until 1966. In 2015, a team from Blegens former employers, the University of Cincinnati, uncovered the Griffin Warrior Tomb nearby. Dated around 1450 BCE, the tomb was filled with riches. However, while the bodys identity has yet to be identified, it's not believed to be Nestor.

#18: Cyclops

Cyclopes play a role in many Greek mythological tales and have become one of the most famous mythological beings. Described as hulking creatures with immense strength, their most defining feature is the single eye they have centered on their face. Depending on the story, Cyclopes are depicted as barbarous raiders, builders, or blacksmiths for Zeus. While the creatures didnt exist in reality, they mightve been inspired by a prehistoric elephant. In 1914, Austrian paleontologist Othenio Abel suggested the Cyclops myth couldve originated from the discovery of dwarf elephant skulls by ancient Greeks. The animals large nasal cavity for its trunk couldve been misinterpreted as a single eye socket. Fossils of the dwarf elephants have been found in several Mediterranean islands, including Greeces Crete.

#17: The Labyrinth of Knossos

Greek Mythology can get really weird. Due to Minoss wife, Pasiphaë, hiding in a wooden cow that a bullimpregnated, she gave birth to the Minotaur, the half-human, half-bull hybrid monster. Minos, the king of Crete, got Daedalus to create a labyrinth to house the creature, with the king sacrificing people to it. Minos wasnt a nice person. While, thankfully, he doesnt exist in reality, the labyrinth seemingly does. In 1900, a team led by British archaeologist Arthur Evans began excavating in Knossos. An elaborate maze was discovered with bull motifs, leading to the belief it was the infamous labyrinth. As for the Minotaur, it may have been inspired by the skull of the extinct elephant species, Deinotherium giganteum.

#16: Scylla and Charybdis

In Greek mythology, Scylla and Charybdis are sea monsters who are said to share the same strait, both residing under rocks. When Odysseus sailed near them, he was advised to go closer to Scylla rather than Charybdis to lose some crew, but not all of them, if he did the opposite. As such, the duo gave rise to the idiom Between Scylla and Charybdis, which is similar to between a rock and a hard place. Charybdis used whirlpools to drag ships to her mouth while Scylla snatched people to consume. Scientists believe the duo may have been inspired by the Strait of Messina in Southern Italy, as the area is known to have a whirlpool and rocks.

#15: Archimedes' heat ray

While the Siege of Syracuse actually happened from 213 BCE to 212 BCE, theres one part of the story that some believe to be nothing more than a myth. When the Roman Republic sent ships to attack, inventor Archimedes got creative. He used mirrors to create a heat ray that set the enemy ships ablaze. This far-fetched technology was tested in 1973 by Greek scientist Ioannis Sakkas. He managed to set a mock-up Roman ship on fire, seemingly giving significant weight that this may have happened. However, the MythBusters TV show couldnt replicate his experiment. 3 times they tried, and their experiment did little beyond minor fires. Conversely, in 2023, 13-year-old Brenden Sener made a mini-version of Archimedes's heat ray with much better success.

#14: The Deucalion Flood

Many cultures have a Great Flood mythology, such as Noah in the Bible. In Ancient Greece, it was the Deucalion Flood. Zeus, in another one of his rages, decided to end the Bronze Age by inciting a flood to destroy everything. Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha, survived the flood by building a chest or ark, with help from his Titan father, Prometheus. The real-life Parian Chronicle, which details some of Greece's history, believes a regional flood happened around 1529 BCE. For years, marine archaeologists had found evidence that seemingly confirmed a big flood took place. In 2000, Robert Ballard, who famously discovered the Titanic wreck, found evidence in the Black Sea that a major flood had happened over 7000 years ago.

#13: Golden Apples

This legendary fruit has popped up in several Greek myths. Most famously, Eris had thrown the Apple of Discord during a marriage with the words to the most beautiful. This led to 3 goddesses claiming it. Typically, Zeus delegated the decision to Paris. He gave the Golden Apple to Aphrodite, who bribed him with Hellen of Spartas love, sparking the Trojan War. While there are apple species that share similarities with the mythical one, its believed another real-life fruit is the fabled Golden Apple. Argan fruit, Quince, and tomatoes have all been suggested by scientists. However, with many languages describing it as a Golden Apple, an orange is the favorite explanation, especially as it wasnt grown in the region at the time.

#12: Hercules and the Nemean Lion

Born of the Sky Father Zeus and the mortal Alcmene, Hercules the demigod was tricked into slaying his family by Hera, his stepmom-slash-auntyep. Anyway, to redeem himself, he worked under King Eurystheus, who gave him the 12 Labors of Hercules. The first task was to slew the Nemean lion, who was attacking the city of Nemea. Despite the beasts pelt being reputedly impenetrable, Hercules managed to do it and wore its pelt. Nowadays, lions dont live in Europe. But they used to, and may have gone extinct there as late as the Middle Ages. As such, some scientists believe that a real-life version inspired the Nemean Lion fable. Lions terrorizing a community isnt unheard of, as the Tsavo Man-Eaters of Kenya wreaked havoc in 1898.

#11: The Mycenaean Civilization

The settlement Mycenae and the civilization that bears its name have been heavily featured in Greek Mythology. After being founded by Perseus, the slayer of Medusa, Agamemnon later took the crown and famously led the Greeks in the Trojan War. In 1874, German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, desperate to prove Homers work true, began excavating a site that turned out to be Mycenae. He found a royal cemetery and many artifacts, including the so-called Mask of Agamemnon, which is dated before the fabled rulers rule. Schliemanns work not only proved that the Mycenae site existed but a whole civilization that was believed lost to time had walked the Earth.

#10: The City of Tenea

According to mythology, after the Trojan War, a bunch of prisoners were taken to the island of Tenedos. Eventually, Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, allowed them to create a settlement, which became the city of Tenea. The location also played a part in the story of Oedipus, who infamously had a whole complex named after him. But Tenea eventually vanished from the records and was seemingly a fictional place. That was until 1846 when the Kouros of Tenea was found in the area. Then, in 1984, a sarcophagus was discovered by local villagers and archaeologist Eleni Korka. In 2013, Korka led an excavation of the site. Since then, various ancient items and the remains of Tenea's buildings have been discovered.

#9: Orichalcum

When you think of the most precious materials in the world, orichalcum wouldnt be considered. However, to the ancient Greeks, this metal was believed to only be behind gold in value. In Platos Critias, he speaks of the walls of some of Atlantiss buildings being decked out with the unusual material. He described the metal as [flashing] with the red light. While many believed orichalcum to be a work of fiction, in 2015, a discovery was made. Off the coast of Gela in Sicily, a 2,600-year-old shipwreck was located. Onboard were thirty-nine ingots made from seemingly orichalcum. Scientists discovered the material was an alloy, primarily made from copper and zinc, but also had traces of lead, nickel, and iron.

#8: Golden Fleece

In mythology, looking to become king of Iolcus, Jason and the Argonauts set out to claim the golden fleece of Chrysomallos, which has long ties to his heritage. As the name suggests, the sought-after item was a fleece made from gold. During a perilous journey filled with one ridiculous task after another, Jason manages to get the iconic item from a grove in Colchis, located in modern-day Georgia. Well, this tale might be based on fact. Back then, sheep fleeces were used to collect gold flakes from rivers and streams. And several of these gold-rich water sources were in Georgia and mentioned in Jasons tale. As such, its likely the golden fleece is talking about this ancient way of prospecting.

#7: The Chimera

Probably one of the most terrifying creatures from Greek mythology, the fire-breathing Chimera is typically depicted as having the head of a lion, a goat, and a snake-headed tail. According to Homers Iliad, Bellerophon defeated the beast in Lycia, modern-day Turkey. Well, its likely a real location that inspired this story. In Yanarta, near the ancient city of Olympus, in Turkey, is Mount Chimaera. On the slopes are fires that are still burning centuries later, which have natural gas vents below feeding them. On top of this, the area is said to have been inhabited by lions, snakes, and goats at one point. Suspicious.

#6: Ploutonion at Hierapolis

Nicknamed Plutos Gate, these areas were thought to be entrances to the underworld in ancient Greece. Named Ploutonion after the god Pluto, who was previously called Hades, animal sacrifice was a common practice there. Especially at the site in ancient Hierapolis in modern-day Turkey. During a ceremony, a priest would take an animal into the eerie depths. The rising toxic gas would then cause the creature to pass away, but the human to live. They believed the gas was sent by Pluto. However, after the cave was discovered in 2011, studies have shown the gas is pockets of carbon dioxide from seismic activity. The priests would hold their breaths to escape the effects and be celebrated for making it through Plutos sacrifice.

#5: The Oracle at Delphi

One of the top jobs in ancient Greece involved being the Pythia at the Temple of Apollo. Also known as the oracle of Delphi, the high priestess was visited by many, including rulers. She would go to a chamber and inhale the vapors from a crack in a rock, putting her into a trance as she gave advice. However, this occasionally caused delirium or led to their demise. When the temple was excavated in the late 1800s, the mystical vapor wasnt present. So, it was thought of as a myth. However, in 2001, geological studies found fault zones underneath the site. Researchers believe the vapor was a hydrocarbon gas. In a nearby water source, ethylene was discovered, which was once used as an anesthetic.

#4: Amazon Warriors

When thinking of Amazon warriors, Wonder Woman would probably be the first thing to spring to mind. The second is that theyre fictional. But are they? Ancient Greece was fascinated by them. As such, they were featured in many stories, including the Labours of Hercules, and showcased their superior combat skills and strength over Greek folk. In 2019, a tomb in the Voronezh region in Russia was excavated. The archaeologists found the remains of four women warriors from three generations buried together. They found an elaborate golden headdress, weapons, and other goods within. While the remains were officially credited to be Scythian nomads, some researchers believe they are the basis for the Amazon legend.

#3: Atlantis

Since Plato wrote about the island of Atlantis in his work, the human race has been fascinated with the place. Within his tales, Plato describes the utopian island from its highest point to its lowest when the gods sunk it into the oceans depths. While Atlantis is thought of being fictional, the story might not be. Instead, it could be based on an actual natural disaster that swallowed an island. One example is the volcanic eruption and earthquake that turned the singular island of Santorini, previously known as Thera, into an archipelago. The quake also created tsunamis, which swept over other settlements. This devastated the highly-advanced Minoan civilization, which was effectively wiped out.

#2: Giant Squid

Many ancient civilizations have tales about the monstrous giant squid that destroys boats and terrorizes the oceans. And the Greeks were no different. In Homers Odyssey, he describes the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis that resided in a narrow strait. The latter was known for creating whirlpools, while the former had six heads, was twelve feet, and had rows of sharp teeth. Scylla would use her multiple noggins to devour six sailors that got too close to her rock. It wasnt until 2004 that scientists managed to get a photo of a giant squid in its natural habitat. And it had some resemblance to the legend of Scylla.

#1: The City of Troy

To the ancient Greeks, the city of Troy in Turkey was a powerful kingdom that had its downfall during the Trojan War. Detailed in Homers work in Iliad and Odyssey, after ten years of besiegement, it was conquered by the Greek army led by Agamemnon. Its also the setting for Achilles and Hectors legendary fight. But then, Troy fell to history and was considered a myth. That was until 1865 when Frank Calvert began excavating a site in Hisarlik and found evidence of its existence. He brought in Heinrich Schliemann, who was notorious for his reckless methods. In 1871, they found multiple ruins believed to be attributed to Troy. Since then, archaeologists have discovered further evidence that the legendary city may have existed.

What other Greek myths are based on true stories? Let us know in the comment section.