Characters From Ancient Mythology That Might Have Actually Existed

[@christophercole8114]

I think mythology comes about mostly from actual historical people. As their stories get told and retold, they morph into something which becomes larger than life. Even in the United States founders such as George Washington get mythologized. It might just be an important aspect in forming the identity of a nation.

[@NewMessage]

As long as the legendary 'Weird History Narrator' really exists, I'm fine.

[@moosetasticbombastic1998]

Facts. If it's the other narrator, the female one, I instantly dislike it and don't watch it. This channel is only correct with this narrator.

[@funwithoutpants]

​@@moosetasticbombastic1998 Same. I'm not just here for the facts, I like this man's voice and delivery. It's sad because there's a couple videos I was interested in, but as soon as I heard her voice, I shut it off.

[@moosetasticbombastic1998]

@@funwithoutpants same.

[@GANJAxZOMBIE]

Isn't this just Stephen colbert? Lol, it sounds like him.

[@ritzharris1303]

@@moosetasticbombastic1998 I agree.

[@TetsuShima]

Speaking of Ihmotep, everytime I see the famous "The Mummy" meme, I cannot help but think what the real life builder would say if he knew that, 5000 years after his death, people still remember him, but not exactly as an omnipotent God...

[@whiteowl4097]

He is remembered as an immortal meme.

[@williamlong8859]

I have been ruined, anytime any Imhotep ot the Mummy is brought up, I wanna watch Bubba Ho-tep again.

[@TetsuShima]

*Fun fact:* Speaking of King Arthur, the book "The Last Legion" stablishes him as the son of Romulus Augustus, the last Roman Emperor in the West. Therefore, Arthur could be considered , not only as a symbol of british patriotism, but also as part of Rome's Immortal Legacy

[@feldgeist2637]

and a sworn enemy of the English...... hooray.....

[@Sgt.chickens]

​@@feldgeist2637 Actually at the time the romans left the romano-british had largely mixed with the locals. And with the arrival of anglo saxons, the local romano-british and the previous natives often seem to have worked together. Although, these time periods were not quite as bloody and war torn as we had previously believed. It seems when rome collapsed and all the soldiers went home. Most people were sat around like "uh what about us.....guys????"

[@jacksonpettit4690]

Bonapettit

[@feldgeist2637]

@@Sgt.chickens ja, I know about the less "toxic" narrative where everybody gets happily along with each other and where it is more about acceptance and tolerance instead of those detestable heroic manly deeds of our ancestors unfiltered archaeology tho states something different (know what I'm speaking of, as a detectorist from Old Anglia) and records and legends too the customs also literally the language speaks a lot about the english influence - especially old timey commoner's english without all the modern fancy sciency words just ask old Ceasar up there how possibly problematic groups of people were usually dealt with in the past after being conquered will explain a lot about the old english art, early medieval accounts, customs and english

[@Sgt.chickens]

@@feldgeist2637 fuck are we going back to early medieval accounts now? You say a lot of things. You arent convinced old english was widely spoken by commoners despite it being documented. You say there is evidence to contrary in the archaeological field, can you cite some? I dont need links as you tube tends to push them off. If you have any references i can explore im happy to look at them. What i suspect you are referencing is old slang and local colloqialisms as well as other Dialects that indeed were spoken. And even yes there is evidencr of other spoken languages outside of Norman and Old english during the post norman invasion. Of course there were other common languages spoken. But the largest by the time of the norman invasion was certainly old english. Note i said largest not Only

[@cadillacdeville5828]

I absolutely adore this channel

[@nicholasleipzig5448]

Mythologies have always fascinated me. They often seem so majestic or sometimes hideous. Nevertheless it's very convenient to think that some of these were real or could be out there somewhere even today.

[@rheverend]

Serious question: how much crap do u get for your profile pic? 😆

[@tremorsfan]

When a group of monks were digging at Glastonbury Hill in the 1190s, it was said that they came across two bodies and a grave marker that read: Here lies entombed King Arthur, on the Isle of Avalon, with Guenevere his second wife.

[@Willy_Tepes]

If the sea level was a bit higher, England would be a collection of islands. All the megalithic monuments in Southern Britain are above 90 meters.

[@SiiriCressey]

@@Willy_Tepes What's that have to do with the supposed grave?

[@sirloin8745]

Kids have played pranks for centuries, then?

[@Willy_Tepes]

@@sirloin8745 Fools have denied literal proof for centuries.

[@Willy_Tepes]

@@SiiriCressey The location of a grave says something about how old it is. Neolithic cultures buried their dead along the coast. The Arthur story is older than you think.

[@Dawnchaser115]

What a fun topic! I love learning how history and mythology overlap

[@CassieJo]

You forgot one thing about Imhotep that would certainly disqualify him to be a monster in a movie: that when he was deified after his death, his place in the pantheon spoke volumes of how important he was in the overall scheme of things that he accomplished. The Egyptians thought he was so magically gifted in the art of healing, that he was said to be the son of Ptah, the god of creation, and Sekhmet, the goddess of destruction and the patron of Upper Egypt. This guy was a BIG deal.

[@Bearak_]

@0:50 "...his tables had zero edges". No, his table had zero CORNERS. There's a very distinct difference.

[@MethosWolf]

This would be way more interesting if you made this a long form video and went in depth for each of the individuals you talked about.

[@billsmith912]

You should do the same for Odin. There’s a book in England that traces the monarchy back to Wotan

[@Joanna-il2ur]

The book in question is the Annales Britanniae. Its nameless author in his own words says he he made a heap of everything he could find that his foolish ancestors threw away.

[@justinakers3196]

I'm offended. Gandalf is clearly the most famous wizard of all of fiction

[@skyden24195]

I'd speculate that Gandalf is somewhat based on Merlin in the Arthurian legend. One very important aspect of this theory is that both helped facilitate the return of a king, as well, neither was ever really subordinate to any king. Also, the long white beard. 😉

[@Blokewood3]

​@@skyden24195 Gandalf was also heavily inspired by Odin. Odin would go wandering around disguised as a mysterious traveler with a broad-brimmed hat and a beard.

[@vianeyboruel504]

He was clearly based on Merlin, old man in a robe and hat and a staff...tolkeinnwasnt exactly known for inventing things, just mixing already created elements from different cultures in a fascinating way

[@YeshuaKingMessiah]

@@vianeyboruel504I would say Odin Tolkien was obsessed with Nordic myths

[@DoloresJNurss]

A couple speculations: 1) I think it's completely plausible that an oracle told Croesus that "A great empire would fall" but didn't specify which one. Oracles were notorious for grand-sounding messages that were nevertheless so vague that no matter what happened they'd be right. When two empires clash, one is bound to fall. I have often wondered if Imhotep and Joseph in the Bible were the same person, considering how I and J can shift into each other when languages change, as can P and PH, and to a lesser extent T and S. You've got a slave who rises to high power as Pharaoh's right-hand man, known for his intelligence but also magic (remember, in the Biblical version, he frames his brother as the thief of a cup used for divination.) Biblical Joseph got his reputation as a magician through dream interpretation, which can seem like magic to a lay person, since, among other things, dreams can put together clues that one consciously wishes to ignore, and bring to awareness symbolically. Pharaoh must have had feedback from all over the country about all the little changes that precede a prolonged drought, for instance.

[@skyden24195]

I was thinking the same thing about Croesus and the oracle. Since both, historically, did exists, and it is well known that everyone who could would visit the Oracle at Delphi, it is not at all far-fetched to believe that a king form anywhere, during the time of the Delphi Oracle, would take the time to consult the oracle (even via a messenger of some kind) before setting off on a major war-campaign.

[@wandamontgomery6030]

Joseph didn't "frame" Benjamin. He did it so that his brothers were brought back to the palace.

[@DoloresJNurss]

@@wandamontgomery6030 You're talking about motive, I'm talking about action. Two different things. But it's great that you know what I'm referring to!

[@Sgt.chickens]

Impossible given imhotep predated judeaism by many thousands of years. The pharoah he served under was Djoser. The first builder. It was long before even the great pyramid was standing. At this point levantine religion appeaars to have no developed into monotheism, The biblical account very specifically names ramses as pharoah. A man who livedd many thousands of years after imhotep

[@DoloresJNurss]

@@Sgt.chickens New stories evolve from old stories. The Bible makes no attempt to actually line up chronologically in the sense that we think of history today--its job is to map out a spiritual sequence, whether or not it happened in that order or not. Look at the Gospels, which I do believe are historical, in the sense of retelling actual events: the events aren't told in the same order in all four accounts, but rather each in a sequence which illustrates the different emphases of the different writers. As for when monotheism officially started, archaeology can only map large movements effectively. It would be extremely hard--a matter of sheer luck--to pinpoint a time when there was one single family practicing monotheism. As for names like Ramses, the Bible didn't hesitate to borrow famous names from other times. Ahaesuerus was not known to do any of the things mentioned in the Book of Esther, yet there he is. On the other hand, I might be completely wrong, and you're right. It was only a theory.

[@oprz2343]

always great info and vids. would love to hear more on GIANTS, Angels, spices, female pirates,. people here before native American Indians, White animals, ancient sports similar to todays sports, crypted creatures, Biblical archeological finds, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. waterfall myth an mysteries, hybrid animals, female warriors, different wedding traditions, Why some water is salty, and some water is fresh & what creatures can live in both salt water & fresh water.. Mirrors & what did people do before having them.

[@jakobwarmare5333]

It is also quite likely that Urien, king of Rhegged, inspired the character of Arthur

[@VampiraVonGhoulscout]

"Hey O'Connell, looks to me like I got all the horses!" "Hey Benny! Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the riverrr!"

[@eu29lex16]

I think that a lot of mythologies are inspired from some real events that took place and which made a really good and big impression on people for that, enough to be remembered for generations and pass it on as a story.

[@mikmik9034]

King Arthur was supposed have had a Round Table, with he (Arthur) siting in the center [on a slowly turning chair] so none of the knights were favoured by sitting closer to him. Yet in most all of the depictions I see is a round table with Arthur at the outer rim, thereby having knight's favourably sitting next to him.

[@Doones51]

Always a clever tale told with a wry sense of humor. Never dull.

[@barbarossarotbart]

About Croesus: The full prophecy was this: "If you cross the Halys, you will destroy a great empire." He believed that this empire would be Persia and thus he would win the war, but the Oracle of Dephi was always ambiguous. The priests who interpreted the gibberish uttered by the Pythia did this to make sure that their prophecies were never wrong.

[@hasenfangmusic]

You guys left of Siegfried from Die Nibelungen. I did some research on this one too, and it seemed that this character may very well have been a real life person, as well; with both histories in Germania, as well as Iceland.

[@georgeboesdorfer4046]

I hope you love this job because you are my favorite channel

[@potatomatop9326]

As a Diablo Demon Hunter, i can confirm that i met all the guys on the list.

[@ariesleorising9421]

Same

[@Joanna-il2ur]

The earliest reference to Arthur is probably the work in old Welsh called Yr Gododdin (the DD is th). The Romans called them the Votadini, and a Roman V is usually a W. In this long poem, the hundred warriors come together in Dyn Eidyn, Edinburgh (and the source of the NZ city of Dunedin) and feast for a year and a day, we’d call in team building, and then attack the Military base at Catterick, in Welsh Catraeth. This is in North Yorkshire and had been Roman (Cateractonium). It remains an army base today, although it currently houses RAF. This was in the kingdom of Deor, which the Angles had taken over from Welsh rulers, who called it Dewr. In Latin it was Deira. What later became Bernicia was too thinly settled and the Gododdin just marched through it. The poem, claimed to be by Aneurin, who had been an eyewitness, describes the individual warriors who faced unnamed enemies, but who were all killed. Of one warrior, the Welsh translates as ‘he was valiant although he was not Arthur ‘. If the poem was really written shortly after this defeat in c.630AD, then it suggests that the story of Arthur could be casually referred to as something all readers would know. I though it was hilarious to make Arthur, as Artorius the son of Romulus Augustulus, a twelve year old nobody who was pensioned off to live out his days in comfort in Calabria. The connection of Artorius is to Sidonius Apollinaris, who met him as an adult before Romulus was born. Sidonius was a gallo-Roman noble, son in law of the praetorian prefect of Gaul. He wrote nine books of letters (like Pliny) and several pretty horrible poems. He was prefect of Rome for several years, then left under a cloud because his friend was a traitor, and was elected Bishop of Arvernum (Claremont), and is our best witness to the fall of Roman Gaul.

[@whiteowl4097]

King Arthur's round table HAD edges but no corners.

[@skyden24195]

Yeah, people tend to overlook the fact that Arthur did cut corners.

[@whiteowl4097]

@@skyden24195 LOL.

[@LassieFarm]

They say that one legend that appears throughout nearly every culture, is the legend of Popeye

[@debbieellett9093]

Absolutely loved this one!

[@cleverusername9369]

"Mythological backstories Weird History should cover next": the identity of the Weird History narrator

[@duybear4023]

It would be funny if future archeologists dig up our electronics and think we seriously believe in all the Chuck Norris memes. The myth of our times!

[@Katiowanio]

i just love your jokes during videos. they always make me giggle and don’t distract too much

[@btetschner]

A+ video! I LOVE IT.

[@Friendship1nmillion]

Yeah but I didn't need that potential NIGHTMARE fuel of a Mummy ( monster ) 🧟🏔🐫

[@btetschner]

@@Friendship1nmillion You do need it. This will be a character-building experience for you!

[@thewavewitch3238]

I love your videos!!

[@jaywheaton2800]

I don't know how much this narrator makes, but double it

[@randyhill1492]

There's a documentary from the BBC that list several people that could have been him.

[@TheSunIsPurpleStudio]

He's got the Midas touch. He touched it too much. He's Goldmember!

[@deb6759]

Lancelot did not exist until the Queen of France got bored with the guys were gone on various crusades, so she bugged the trouveres to do romances, and what do you know, Lancelot became a knight of Arthur's and a Frenchman. Peace and roses, Deb the TN Scary Lady

[@jacksonpettit4690]

What do you think sir Camelot did? Came a lot?

[@deb6759]

@@jacksonpettit4690 I am afraid that I do not know as I am not that damned old! LOL peace and roses, Deb the TN Scary Lady

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks for this! 📜 #WeirdHistory #Historical #Mythology

[@Alaskan-Armadillo]

Honestly I think a lot of the reason that stories like this are so hyperbolic and allegorical is because of how it is easier to memorize them if you come from a tradition that doesn't have writing.

[@j-masako]

Ah, the best narrator

[@tonymaloney7096]

King Arthur "saved the Britons from the Anglo Saxons" lol that is too funny. Today, modern Anglo Saxons be like "We ARE the Britons" in Palpatine voice

[@Sgt.chickens]

No person in britain today is an anglo saxon. Everyone in the nation is mixed. Also the invasion model is no longer supported. It wasnt just big mean anglo saxons rocking up and warring everywhere

[@SunnySide388]

0:48 A round table still has one edge!!

[@seatspud]

But no corners.

[@jeanne-marie8196]

Very enlightening. I didn’t know Arthur was so good looking! Nice etching, Arthur

[@12thMandalorian]

Fun Fact: Lara Croft discovered King Arthur's tomb in Devon

[@araasis3239]

I'd like to see a video on Lola Montez, the dancer turned Countess.

[@v.emiltheii-nd.8094]

"Legends are just fragmented truths that need their pieces assembled by time."

[@REHANKHAN-en5zn]

History is forgotten but myths and legends live on in society's consciousness.

[@msteele674]

I'm choked on my bowl when I heard "He was also a fox sometimes" 😂

[@jackb.6537]

I am absolutely on board for your fantastic banter, however on slightly sceptical subjects it can be a little harder to distinguish the banter from the obscure facts than you may think. Just a thought.

[@MagdaleneDivine]

That's the shiniest banana I have ever seen.

[@brandtaron5922]

Extremely impressive research. Can your team help me with a mystery?

[@ShadowBolt869]

make a part 2

[@onebigboy1861]

How is everyone on these videos so fast?!

[@ebbiarevalo]

KZbin app notifications 😁

[@TheJ0kerr]

The flash *ZIP*

[@j.c.ca.o.l7035]

There was an Arthurian mystery trilogy where Merlin is a detective, but he is not a wizard, but simply a scholar who lives a very reclusive life. I found this version quite interesting (although I would love it if someone would write a story about his time at Hogwarts in house Slytherin).

[@crapsound]

I just stopped watching for a little bit and watched a few other videos and all of a sudden youtube decides not to recommend this channel and no notifications. Nice to see this in my recommendation this time. Hopefully the algorithm doesn't mess up again. 😅

[@garrick3727]

Surely King Arthur's table had one edge, and zero corners. If his table had zero edges it would be the Spherical Table. Admittedly that's Weird Math rather than Weird History. Oh, and Imhotep was Invisible.

[@markedis5902]

Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government

[@Fjado]

Music in this video was on another level. My Turkish ears are pleased

[@tjviper1991]

You should do a video on mythical beasts.

[@glennso47]

How about the mythical United States of America?

[@Arlecchino_Gatto]

Rhi Bran y Hud is "Robinhood" in a series of novels by Stephen Lawhead. If I remember right it means something like high king raven, and the series is called Raven King. Lawhead also has a great series about King Arthur named Pendragon Cycle.

[@danielmalinen6337]

"If a person is said to be a legend, fable or myth, that is already the first warning sign that the person in question is just fiction and a fairy tale," and this is not even my own opinion, but a quote from a popularized science magazine that told about King Arthur, Robinhood, Jesus, Moses, Odysseus, Socrates, and Romulus and Remus. The magazine's article also reminded of the importance of skeptical thinking in the critical interpretation of history because all old texts are biased and often against physical, such as archaeological and geographical, evidences. It's also easy to fall into thinking that some of the heroes of fables, legends, myths and fairy tales are real person because they awaken hope ad admiration in us, and that's why I myself have once been tempted by this wishful thinking about something bigger than reality.

[@kiniburk]

Hey, Weird History folks, ever consider an episode on the evolution of shaving?

[@eringemini7091]

There is always some basis of fact in Legends. Gorillas were said to be Cryptids until they were classified as a species in 1929.

[@jasonkirton1047]

Please make a video about world war II rationing programs and also world war I if there were any. Jason

[@nyaangel9338]

Make a video about Lancelot please! :)

[@Music_is_Breathing]

There were at least 4 men named Robin Hood who lived around the time of the first legends. In the first Robin Hood stories (done as songs and poetry), Robin and his Merry Men stole from everyone and kept it for themselves. He was still an enemy of King John and Guy of Gisborne.

[@Myself-yf5do]

Roger Godberd was halfway to becoming Robin Hood; he robbed from the rich, but never got around to giving it to the poor.

[@maryellencook9528]

All myths and legends stem from a kernel of truth.

[@feresmourali5783]

Please make a video about Emma Goldman!

[@ReginaRegenbogn]

I think there were lots of "Robin Hoods" all over the world whenever there was oppression, taxes or hunger. The original legend is way older, but I know of a German, Dolf Mohr, who lived between 1815 and 1851. The 1840s were a time of failed crops and great poverty, not only in Ireland, and Dolf began stealing food from some farmers who were a little bit better off, and then distributed it to some of his neighbours (but originally stole for his own family). He formed quite the gang, and usually he was more of a "gentleman robber". However, a few of his gang (around 40 people, give or take) favored violence, and sometimes subgroups of the gang robbed highway coaches, and there were injuries and deaths, too. Times were harsh, Dolf was incarcerated several times and managed to escape. In the end, he was carousing at a pub with a few friends when the police came. He jumped through the window and was shot outside (quite by accident, as he had hidden in some shrubbery. The officer got a lucky shot). He died soon after. He also had a lot of siblings and a few children, and as far as I can trace my heritage, either Dolf himself (doubtful) or one of his siblings is my direct ancestor, which I find quite cool. Yes, he was a criminal, but he is remembered as the "Robin Hood of Dortmund", and I like that.

[@jeremyw6246]

At 3:56 what is Robin hood trying to do to that poor horse?

[@Ad_Astra2023]

I’ve been to Tintagel two years ago and it was pretty awesome. 🇬🇧

[@natnatpogi]

pls do a timeline 2000s

[@kieran0006]

I'm from Colchester and been to that castle and never seen that

[@amberbush1999]

I wonder what the name Piyaramadu means, I tried looking it up but I couldn't find so now I really want to know now.

[@GaryCarpenter-y2k]

I've heard so much about Tarzan and Middle EARTH 🌎

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

So, I studied how ideology affects legitimacy when I was getting my masters from National Defense University, and I'm still curious about how dark age Britain was cool with strange women handing out swords as a basis for government.

[@frederickburke9944]

This is very eurocentric! Well done

[@johncarroll772]

Robin Hood was a black man

[@cyankirkpatrick5194]

One sultan of the past was the richest man in that time period and his wealth,so it ruined him ,it was mind blowing about that.

[@danielanderson6013]

All myths contain a grain of truth.

[@eu29lex16]

This is why myth is another word for old take or story, it doesn't instantly mean false.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

It just means word. The same as mot in French and motto in Italian. A legend was a Christian story fit to be read to monks at meals to stop them talking. The Latin word for ‘fit to be read’ is legendum. It comes from the Rule of St Benedict.

[@therealhellkitty5388]

How convenient that “Lancelot” was carved into the table… like no one else would have done that

[@juanlugo7492]

I personally think it’s more about Artorius Castus combined with other historical figures the same as Robin Hood

[@Lumos89]

The king midas one is even better. They were able to make their clothes shine due to faux gold that was found over the region, giving the impression that the king dressed in gold

[@emariaenterprises]

Paul Bunyon and his Big Blue Ox... I bet he was real.

[@JOEFABULOUS.]

Arth yr means the Bear in Welsh it was a war name of the Welsh prince who fought against the Saxon invasion

[@CymonTempler]

I like to believe within every myth lies a modicum of truth.

[@NagasakiBladers]

this guy sounds like he's related to arthur from hollywood graveyard

[@Pvstt]

About the King Arthur evidence Archeologists dug up a stone tablet, inscribed with ancient tools. Believing the inscriptions to be just as old. Turns out a lady inscirbed it to show her students, and it wasnt ancient, only the method and stone were. Couldnt someone (hundreds of years ago) have scribbled the Lancelot markings on some/the table?

[@scheru]

I legit thought the guy in the thumbnail picture was holding a pizza cutter.

[@daitrinh6887]

Do one about Wong Fei Hung. A Chinese hero.

[@SmetadAnarkist]

Zero edges? Surely it should be zero corners.

[@Mobleymoon]

You would think......

[@hayleymorris5835]

The sword in the stone actually goes as far back as Moses. Moses, after fleeing Egypt, became imprisoned, and was later freed to pull a staff from a rock when nobody else could, that he then used when he freed the Jews

[@rheverend]

Just to clarify, that is NOT a part of the biblical narrative of Moses and the Exodus. It is only found in later Jewish writings. Also the myth says he pulls the staff from the ground in the middle of Jethro’s garden, not from a stone, according to what I’ve read. Where did you find the stone version?

[@briansullivan5908]

Many stories from different time periods started with some truth, so not surprised that these people exited.

[@Joanna-il2ur]

The sword in the stone is an ancient myth, and the other well known version was in the myth of Theseus, who as a youth proved he was the rightful king of Athens by removing a sword from the stone where it had been placed by his real father Aegeus, the king. Medea, who had a son with Aegeus (in the Euripides play Medea, he is complaining about nor being able to father children) tries to poison Theseus. A similar story is told about th father of Siegfried in Germanic myth, so it probably long predates Greeks, Germans and celts.

[@TheirWisecrackingUncle]

I read somewhere that some people believe Robin Hood was based on William Wallace. However, I believe the Robin Hood myth predates William Wallace. Kind of an interesting idea, though.

[@Blokewood3]

Another candidate is Hereward the Wade, a rebel who fought against the Normans after William conquered England.

[@rudevalve]

Certified Gold!!!!!

[@Mina-Diamandis]

Anyone knows the name of the music that starts at 10:17 please

[@leeb8186]

Don't forget Gilgamesh!

[@singpower010]

“And was also a fox sometimes.” 😂 I laughed waaaay to hard at that!

[@ar4040smith]

Merlin? There are some who call him Tim.