Did the Ancient Greeks climb Mount Olympus to see the Gods? (Short Animated Documentary)

[@Longshanks1690]

“Where Zeus’ libido would ruin everything” is a top 10 History Matters line for sure.

[@jefferyhanderson7849]

That is almost 50% of Greek Mythology explained in one sentence.😂

[@Marinealver]

Could make a whole Doujin out of it.

[@KameroonEmperor]

Alongside "At Dunkerque the French fought the incoming Germans, while the British bravely ran away"

[@MrSteveK1138]

Greek Mythology summarized in one line.

[@CanadaMMA]

The hardest I've ever laughed at a History Matters video was in the "When did rulers stop leading troops into battle" video, when they showed Liz repelling out of a helicopter with an assault rifle.

[@rafaw387]

This channel should be called “Answering questions you didn’t know you had”

[@PhilippusPistor]

I actually had it, but I'm too busy to look it up.

[@TheManFromOctober]

@@PhilippusPistorI can’t believe I never considered it before

[@malcolmabram2957]

Mount Olympus is not the hardest climb for a fit walker. I would have thought many Greeks realised they could go up it and meet the gods.

[@SantaFe19484]

Why didn't (whatever) happen?

[@bunnerkins]

I totally had this question, it just didn't occur to me that this question could be answered.

[@stonedtowel]

A guy running up a mountain with every intention to fight a literal god in his mind is the epitome of gigachad

[@thekeeperofpromise]

Kratos?

[@pricel141l]

The funny thing with most ancient pantheons is that you clearly shouldn't blaspheme about them but there was few problem to actually confront them like you would yell to your neighbor about how he left his chariot full of olives in front of your house

[@authorofone]

@@pricel141lwell yes. The Greek gods were seen as being the creators of man, so if man could be petty, shitty, and awful, so could the gods. You couldn’t call Zeus a goat fucker but you could yell at him for the rain wiping out your harvest.

[@erlinacobrado7947]

*gets exiled by the entire city-state, his house burned to the ground*

[@blank_jenkins]

i'm not gonna spoil it, but Tortilla Flat is highly recommended

[@kostas0352]

As a greek who actually went on a hike on mount Olympus i saw no gods up here, only trash cans and a random guy shouting about olives

[@Ironman1o1]

Sounds like Zeus to me.

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@Ironman1o1 He's really let himself go, these past few millennia.

[@DerREALpatrich]

​@@tbotalpha8133Give the man a break. Nobody's worshiped his friends for Centuries

[@Kaiyanwang82]

@@Ironman1o1 In case was Poseidon, still mad that his horse lost to an olive tree. I mean the city is Athens now, and for a long time - bruh, let it go.

[@atakd]

I found a book you could sign on a concrete pillar. I also found a full rucksac belonging to an unnamed German in a gully on the way up. Seemed like it had been there a long time but nobody had heard of anyone going missing on the mountain.

[@AC-py9dk]

1:35 "How far to France?" I can't with this channel man. 😂😂😂

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎ ‎ ‎

[@AC-py9dk]

@@EEEEEEEE cringe

[@aiiv7839]

Same! Neither can Saint Peter!

[@r.i.peperoniiiiroh9625]

I took a screenshot of that it’s gonna be my next background for my laptop

[@gravitykat714]

Is that supposed to be vice chancellor Hess

[@richardplexx]

"Because the pantheon was hardly going to be hanging out in Persia, were they?" They did, in fact, accept that Ethiopia (their word for "anywhere past Egypt") was where they took their summer vacations and I believe it's even attested to in the Iliad.

[@wiel5908]

could they move the palace with them?

[@ginkiba3]

Can confirm. The Greek gods were so done with the Achaeans and the Trojans that they went to a hot African vacation since the Ethiopians were apparently so pious that they could party with the pantheon.

[@Alfonso162008]

I have no idea if what you're saying is true or if you're just joking (at this point I could believe almost anything that would be said about that mythology lol), but the idea of gods needing to have summer vacations from... whatever it is that they were doing, is hilarious 😂😂

[@paulcalixte2223]

@@Alfonso162008 I mean, Hera probably got a timeshare down there from how many time's she's lost it dealing with Zeus

[@ComfortsSpecter]

Vibey Beautiful Place Cradle Of Humanity and All

[@quuaaarrrk8056]

The text on the votive inscription being smaller at the end because of the writer underestimating the needed space is much appreciated!

[@seronymus]

Many such cases!

[@RMProjects785]

I like how this is a new style of video that doesn't focus on border changes/conflicts but rather society and culture.

[@Spacey_key]

As of now academics value these little topics more than the grand history

[@egregius9314]

And it's exactly a question I once wondered about, so there's that familiar aspect.

[@sarasamaletdin4574]

@Spacey_key Academics value both. But events is not merely glorifying “great men” history. Cultural history is important but so is political history and other historical topics

[@Spacey_key]

@@sarasamaletdin4574 buddy this is what my professor told me, and the reason for that is because it's really hard to tell anything new regarding the grand history, while there is a lot of previously untouched topics in the aspects of everyday life

[@robinrehlinghaus1944]

@@Spacey_key That depends on perspective. Little aspects like this are necessarily related to the grand history; it consists of them - plus the great majority of people doesn't know much about the grand history either. And it's not like we could stop teaching it one day; as if there were a point in which any aspect of history were 'finished'.

[@ISAF_Ace]

It would have been funny if someone built a palace up there one night and demolished it the next just to troll all the locals.

[@austinclements8010]

found out what im doing with a time machine xD

[@zawwin1846]

Unless you have some serious magic, building a palace at that height is already hard enough, but to do it in one night would be impossible

[@flaviushonorius4629]

​@@zawwin1846🤓☝️ ( humour lost )

[@willfakaroni5808]

@@zawwin1846not like a real place just a facade of one

[@ecurewitz]

The locals simply wouldn’t allow it. They wouldn’t want to anger the gods

[@Gamerguy826]

1:35 "How far to France?" 😆 Saint Peter: "Bruh."

[@gideonmele1556]

*gets a big stick and starts pushing it back down “3rd time this week”

[@tigertankerer]

It's Jesus. Look at holes in hands.

[@s3m1f64]

that's Jesus

[@Gamerguy826]

@@tigertankerer Oh, OK. I didn't notice those.

[@calmbbaer]

Pity poor France: So far from heaven, so close to Germany!

[@awesomehpt8938]

Bit of an uphill struggle if you ask me.

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎ ‎

[@ThatGuyFromEgypt]

Shut up and take my like!

[@GRANOLA77]

*slow clap*

[@Patrick-y4d1z]

Alright Sissyphus, straight to Tatarus with ya.

[@kgpspyguy]

*throws trash can at you.

[@larkivisto]

0:26 "Dear Zeus I got you an apple and some honey but I ate it on the way please don't be mad at me" 🤣

[@alt_zaq1_esc]

Love you, Bye (in minuscule carving)

[@maxwell6881]

Its like that meme where someone goes "I tripped and accidentally ate a shawarma and apple slices"

[@martinmortyry7444]

"Dear Zeus, I made you a cookie, but I eated it."

[@varoonnone7159]

​@@martinmortyry7444 Ate it, you unschooled heathen

[@natheriver8910]

🤣🤣

[@MustacheCashStash125]

The top of Mount Olympus was where James Bissonette’s base was

[@pabcu2507]

Now, his base is on the moon

[@jhon6378]

​@@pabcu2507 Soon enough,it'll be Mars

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

Now it's ogly boogly's base to take over the world

[@marcoleal7466]

You mean where the...Basonette...was

[@MichaelThomas-dx8gd]

😂

[@rkr9861]

1:02 AT LEAST ON EARTH THAT IS Though the tallest mountain in the solar system, on Mars, is Olympus Mons which is latin for, you guessed it, Mount Olympus.

[@barosz123]

Thank you for pointing out the obvious point. We wouldn't have made it out without you.

[@vulpes7079]

That's the highest mountain on a planet. Olympus Mons is 21.9km tall. There is an impact crater called Rheasilvia on the asteroid Vesta, at the center of which is a peak that's approximately 22.5km tall

[@vulpes7079]

Complimentary fun facts, Olympus Mons' very top is actually outside Mars' atmosphere, its area is comparable to that of Poland and the climb up to the top is so smooth you might not even notice it's a climb, nor be able to make out the mountain in the far distance

[@JosePineda-cy6om]

@vulpes7079 wrong. Martian Mount Olympus is NOT outside Mars, atmosphere. You can check NASA's website: pressure at its top is between 1/200 and 1/500 that at the bottom of Mariner Canyon, but it's NOT a void. Please stop propagating this factually wrong factoid, it's been debunked a number of times, let it die. Next you'll cite this other false factoid, that the separation between railroad tracks has something to do with Roman horses...

[@pessien8474]

Maybe the Gods are there?! Have the greeks tried to climb that one?

[@Deltaflot1701]

"Otherwise WW2 would have taken a really odd turn", fell out of my chair on that one! :D

[@aiiv7839]

One of my favorite History Matters jokes so far!

[@kieragard]

I don't get this joke. I must be missing something.

[@stischer47]

@@kieragard If above the clouds was truly Heaven, as planes flew above the clouds in WWII, they would run into the Pearly Gates and St. Peter. Hence the sign "How far to France" by the Allied pilot.

[@kieragard]

@@stischer47 that's silly people would think that, lol

[@rfichokeofdestiny]

@@kieragardA lot of people take things very literally.

[@Nyx773]

1:12 "Don't over think it!" 🌼 Words to live by

[@stevencooper4422]

Not to mention the folk who climbed Mt. Olympus and experienced stormy weather would've thought that was the battle against the gods themselves. They weren't looking for personages.

[@dabbasw31]

As with every somehow mystical story: You can overthink every myth, every fairy tale, every fantasy story - but you do not have to.

[@seronymus]

​@@dabbasw31please read the beautiful free book Genesis Creation and Early Man

[@NicoBabyman1]

Zeus! Your son has returned, I bring the destruction of Olympus!

[@RoyalKingOliver]

This is weirdly the most religious video on this channel And I absolutely love all the jokes in this one

[@ssl3546]

Why weirdly? Because you would prefer a video about Thor and friends? Obviously that would be good to have but this is was an important question to answer and the Greek gods are just as real as Thor was.

[@gigigigi955]

Same

[@eduardomoraes2650]

​@@ssl3546the Greek gods are as much a myth as Jehovah too...

[@15oClock]

Well, it’s a very religious question.

[@emirefe5452]

​@@eduardomoraes2650well one is real and you will go to hell for it

[@pacificostudios]

Japan has the same issue, but the Shinto gods and goddesses are known to be invisible, and that's why there need to be shrines everywhere to tell you where they live. Fortunately, they live nearly everywhere, from the top of Mt. Fuji to off the shore of Itsukushima island. You're never far from a Shinto shrine in Japan.

[@AloisAgos]

So does that make Shinto Shrines fast-travel locations then?

[@pacificostudios]

@@AloisAgos - No, its just a communication point.

[@LuigiLitoLL]

Actually probably one of the best videos on this channel. The humor here is a lot more superb than the other more 'straightforward' videos, probably because the topic at hand isn't at all well documented.

[@DardanellesBy108]

Agreed!

[@themandan1702]

0:13 I love that the "Home of the Gods" is represented by the US Capitol Building.

[@macleunin]

It’s so refreshing to see a simple video with a simple question not being stretched to 10min!

[@capncake8837]

I’ve wondered this for years. I always just assumed that it was too high up and nobody bothered to climb it until modern times.

[@lazaros1312]

i remember being taught in school that climbing the mountain was insulting for the gods so they did everything in their power to stop mortals from doing it but it was probably just a pain in the ass to climb it without modern equipment and the wind wasn't helping it

[@NIDELLANEUM]

Yeah, I also thought their equipment wasn't that good. Like, would you really try to climb up a mountain wearing a tunic and sandals?

[@capncake8837]

@@NIDELLANEUM Yeah, that too.

[@seneca983]

@@lazaros1312 From what I've read, it's actually very easy to go up Mt. Olympus. You can almost reach the peak by just walking (uphill) without a need for climbing (though reaching the very peak requires a bit of climbing at the end). Any reasonably fit person with enough time can do it.

[@thenoobprincev2529]

Bruh mount Olympus is like 2600 meters(from the sea that is, so way less from the ground around it). It's literally a glorified hill compared to Many mountains in the world, in particular in Asia.

[@nicocolarusso5770]

The line "where Zeus' libido would ruin everything" got the Like from me. Not even 10 seconds into this video and I'm 100% on board with wherever this goes

[@owenowen212]

We're so back

[@CharlieZColt]

What’s your preferred ending of New Vegas vault boy?

[@Longshanks1690]

The gods don’t really exist on top of Mount Olympus; It’s so over bros, Greece has fallen, millions must pay tribute to the Persians.

[@awesomehpt8938]

I think I read somewhere that the classical Greeks believed that the gods had separated themselves from being personally involved in the events of mortals. All the stories such Hercules and the Trojan war where great heroes and gods were present amongst the Greek people happened in the Mycenaean period or before when the world was being created. The story of Hercules and the 12 labours is partly an explanation why no one sees giant hydras and lions and other scary creatures anymore. Because Hercules deals with them all. Maybe the Greeks believed that once you could climb up mount olympus and visit where the gods lived as the titans tried to do during the titanomachy but not anymore.

[@boobah5643]

Yes, a recurring theme in Greek thought is that there were various ages, and the Trojan War was the end of the Age of Heroes; after that point the gods were more distant and mere mortals just were... less.

[@vanillajack5925]

Kind of similar to modern Christian thought, all the miracles and magic of the Old Testament supposedly happened but God stopped doing stuff like that afterwards.

[@anubhavgangwar1383]

​@@vanillajack5925 god suddenly stopped doing all the miracles when humans became intelligent 😂😂

[@Nilb3rt_11]

Hate to be that guy but it’s Heracles

[@boobah5643]

@anubhavgangwar1383 Before you strain something patting yourself on the back, maybe you should find out what 'modern Christian thought' on the subject actually _is._ The most obvious example is the genre of miracle where the faithful finds a holy image that no human could have put there; the archetypal example is finding the face of Jesus in the burn pattern of toast.

[@rimabros98]

0:03 you just explained over half of the Greek mythology stories.

[@Createrz2015]

He definitely did it to plants

[@347Jimmy]

Most of the other half is "...just as he had betrayed his father before him" 😂

[@DardanellesBy108]

⁠​⁠@@347JimmyMaybe more accurately: Zeus’ libido ruined everything - 50% He/She was betrayed and took revenge - 50% I read the full story of Jason and the Argonauts. Those chicks with powers didn’t mess around when they were crossed!

[@AvioftheSand]

What story did he bang a plant? lol. Worst I can recall was turning into a swan and enjoying him some Leda.

[@NIDELLANEUM]

It's nice to see you talking about Ancient History every now and then. By the way, I love that the Greeks' faith was so strong that they simply reacted to "the gods aren't here" as "of course, you fool! You really thought you can *see* the gods and their palace?"

[@ДАРТАНЬЯН-з2щ]

Pure stupidity

[@NIDELLANEUM]

@@ДАРТАНЬЯН-з2щ we won't have this conversation, thanks

[@ДАРТАНЬЯН-з2щ]

@@NIDELLANEUM I smell a coward here

[@through-faith-alone]

Yharnam when you gather more insight 👁️

[@AedanTheGrey]

Its less about rabid faith covering up dissonance and more about an understanding that myths are inherently not literal, unlike the abrahamic faiths or modern cults. There were superstitious folk, yes, but they are described as pitiable and aside from the norm by thinkers of the time.

[@Hazzy113]

You are so good at asking questions I have thought about in the past before completely forgetting

[@Shantari]

The inscription at 0:25 is so cute!!

[@mahuk.]

What a great video. Presented the question, gave the answer, extra context, and managed to fit a few jokes in less than 2 and a half minutes. Man this is a masterclass in how to make great videos.

[@thorskjelver8564]

Not enough people are talking about the "at least on Earth, that is" line. Absolute gold.

[@Siptom369]

These history questions start getting a bit more mythical

[@EEEEEEEE]

E‎ ‎ ‎

[@flavius2884]

Well, religion played a big part in history.

[@miguelpadeiro762]

The video didn't touch on myth, it touched on the historical view Greco-Roman peoples had on the idea of Mount Olympus. It's like asking what did Jews think of the Holy Trinity, it touches Christian myth, but it's still an historical question that refers to the historical views of the Jewish people had on Christian theology.

[@MrFaorry]

"Past peoples perceptions of myths and how they shaped their view of the world" is very much still a historical question.

[@Quin_Ram]

Imagine if they found Kratos at the top of the mountain with the bodies of the Greek Gods.

[@CharlieZColt]

Then 1000 years later the same thing happens to a Viking

[@josephsarra4320]

That would be shocking for them. Although, if you played the Greek saga games, their bodies basically either A) blowed up such Athena and Zeus, B) disintegrated into whatever element it becomes is such as Hermes' death which his body disintegrates into flies carrying infecting who remains on top of the mountains or Poseidon which his body falls down into the sea and created huge waves of tsunamis flooding everywhere at Greece, or C) confirming your point there, there are actually bodies that you can find which didn't explode depending on the location, Ex: Persephone explodes in God of War: Chains of Olympus, but you see her body in the Underworld in God of War III, Ares blowed up in Athens in God of War I and see his body at Mt. Olympus in God of War III, Erinyes died at the outskirts of Sparta in God of War: Ghost of Sparta and her body was still there, while the other Greek Gods died at either the Underworld or Mt. Olympus itself at different points if you know where to look such as Hades and Hephaestus in the Underworld, Helios and Hera at Mt. Olympus, presumably Aphrodite; although we just assumed at that point where she and her escorts died indirectly due to Gaia's death which her body broke apart and huge chunks of earth fell down on top of the buildings of Mt. Olympus after fighting and killing Zeus inside her body and then kill Zeus again on top of the mountain just to make sure he's dead which is all in God of War III. So, that depends on whatever Greek God you've talked about throughout the saga. The only Greek gods and goddesses that are not killed by Kratos would be Artemis and Apollo which Artemis showed up once in God of War I and never see her again afterwards, and Apollo was mentioned many times, but never showed up in the Greek saga at all. So, yeah, that's all you need to know about that.

[@ginowashington8389]

@@josephsarra4320 Did Kratos kill Nike? If not I’ve found another Greek God he didn’t kill. She’s the Greek Goddess of Victory so would that even be possible?

[@josephsarra4320]

@@ginowashington8389 No, he didn't actually. Listen, if Kratos killed the King of the Gods, God of Lightning, and Father, Zeus, he can also kill Nike as well.

[@paulovinasrocha6166]

​@@ginowashington8389in the games. The gods domain was self proclaimed.

[@mikecronis]

Each video is like a life's work of historical effort broken down into 2 minutes.

[@cooperross9495]

It's important to remember that people in ancient times still had a concept of metaphors and poetic language like we do. In fact, the idea of taking holy texts literally is actually more of a recent development.

[@rfichokeofdestiny]

We do the same thing today with _our_ model of reality: all of the stuff you learn in physics is actually just a mathematical representation of how reality seems to behave according to our limited perception. But we speak (and often think) as if the math itself actually _is_ the reality it models.

[@tokoonz_00]

@@rfichokeofdestiny well, according to Platon, mathematical objects were "more real" than the object we observe directly. So considering that the math itself actually is the reality is hardly a modern point of view :) I agree though with you, we need not to forget that physic models are models and don't represent perfectly the reality, the essence of what makes matter being virtually impossible to catch, since we can only experience reality through our senses.

[@bsadewitz]

​@@rfichokeofdestinyEh, not really. That is sometimes how science communicators (including some scientists) present it, but many--if not most--physicists, philosophers of science, etc. do not believe that. David Hume (perhaps the champion of empiricism) wrote: "It is confessed, that the utmost effort of human reason is to reduce the principles, productive of natural phenomena, to a greater simplicity, and to resolve the many particular effects into a few general causes, by means of reasonings from analogy, experience, and observation. But as to the causes of these general causes, we should in vain attempt their discovery, nor shall we ever be able to satisfy ourselves, by any particular explication of them. These ultimate springs and principles are totally shut up from human curiosity and enquiry." For instance, I don't think that most physicists actually believe that "the singularity" is actually a physical aspect of a black hole. It's just where general relativity stops making sense, and we have no established theory of quantum gravity. But the story that's often told (at least implicitly) on KZbin is that singularities are something black holes contain. Now, I'm not a physicist, so maybe some do think that, but I doubt it. The notion of "infinite density" or "infinitely small" is absurd.

[@bsadewitz]

There is another way to view it: what if they were describing literally what they experienced? Do we KNOW that they weren't? How do we know that? How do we know that they did not actually believe--and even perceive--that they were interacting with gods, etc? "Oh, it's all metaphor" is also an assumption. How do we know that people didn't hear "voices" that they ascribed to "gods"? Is that somehow impossible? I'm not saying that they actually were interacting with gods. I'm saying that may have been what they experienced. This is not the majority view, but it is hardly a crackpot idea. One can make a serious case for it. Google Julian Jaynes.

[@bsadewitz]

​The concept of "reality" itself is a metaphor. Metaphor is so essential to our language and thought that it may seem like a silly thing to say, but I think it is.

[@notaragornelessar48964]

As a Hindu, We also hold the believe the Lord Shiva resides atop Mount Kailash in present day Tibet. Expeditions are not taken there owing to its' sanctity, although there ae legends of spiritually enlightened souls ascending to the top of it.

[@nobleman9393]

Have anyone consider using Satellites?

[@NIDELLANEUM]

I wonder if there's an Indo-European connection with how both Hindus and Greeks thought "this mountain is where gods live"

[@azlanadil3646]

Hey, dumb question but if the mountain is in Tibet… then why does the Chinese government care about Hindu beliefs? I mean, no offence to Hindus, but the CCP aren’t exactly the most accepting of chaps.

[@davidweihe6052]

@@NIDELLANEUM The connection is deeper than that. Why were pyramids built: because they imitated mountains, the logical link between mundane Earth and divine “Sky”. This is endemic to humans.

[@YuiFunami]

@@azlanadil3646 they care enough about buddhist beliefs to claim the dalai lama is reincarnating in china next

[@notaragornelessar48964]

“Where Zeus’ libido would ruin everything”- HistoryMatters back with its' top notch wisdom

[@BOBBOBBOBBOBBOBBOB69]

Hera approves of this comment.

[@TheClintonio]

That WW2 joke was brilliant.

[@MrWooaa]

Thanks for making this. I had wondered about this question and was trying to find a good well thought out answer.

[@LucasBenderChannel]

Not a topic I would've expected to see on this channel! But I'm really glad you decided to cover it :)

[@BS-vx8dg]

Thanks to whoever suggested this topic.

[@Arjun0905]

Somehow, as soon as I wonder about a historical topic, this guy makes a video for us. Thank you Mr.

[@avakio19]

An interesting change in content, bold. Love it.

[@dragonsword2253]

I've had this question for like ten years now. You always answer questions that everyone is curious about but not enough to research it themselves

[@lucianoosorio5942]

“I’m heaven sent divine and holy. So don’t even try to approach the Gods, or you get a huge sack like Novgorod!” Ivan the Terrible

[@noahtowler8469]

"Hell fella, swell diss" -Alexander the Great

[@ryuuducat]

@@noahtowler8469 "But now you got the Panhellenist from Pella Hella Pissed" -Alexander the OK

[@julianius484]

​@@noahtowler8469But now you got the Panhellenist from Pella hella pissed

[@spiffygonzales5160]

Look man. All I'm saying is Eminems been REEEEEAAAAAL quiet since Pompeii started rapping.

[@C-Farsene_5]

@@julianius484 “stepping up’s foolish as well as useless, little Vasilyovich let me spell out the list” - Alexander the Goat

[@Prauwlet213]

Love how the channel just answers history questions that we all kind of wonder, but never really focus on enough to ask.

[@fiorino4554]

1:35 imagine mistankely bombing heaven thinking it was france

[@CaptainKaramelo]

Funny you’d say that, there’s an expression in German about living in bliss and comfort: “to live like God in France”. 👌

[@GuusvanVelthoven]

​@@CaptainKaramelothe Dutch have the same expression

[@xymos7807]

St Peter: "Understandable. They piss me off too."

[@B3RyL]

It's fine. No one lives there anyway.

[@fiorino4554]

@@B3RyL "lives"

[@patrickt601]

I love that you also talk about ancient times

[@pubgoncrack3178]

“Where Zeus’s libido would ruin everything”. best start to a video

[@popuppete]

I’ve always wondered about this but never got around to looking it up. Thanks for answering!

[@luke8958]

Please more ancient history!!!

[@thebigm7558]

The visual humor is always the best part!

[@TooLateForIeago]

Zeus’s libido didn’t ruin everything so much as represent how the Greeks understood how the universe worked: nature does whatever it pleases to humanity, whether humanity says yes or no.

[@AedanTheGrey]

Its amazing how abrahamic faiths have completely buried the concept of myths being allegorical in nature

[@TooLateForIeago]

@@AedanTheGrey Which is crazy, given that Pope John Paul II (who I consider an authority on Abrahamic religion,) once stated, "The Bible itself speaks to us of the origin of the universe and its make-up, not in order to provide us with a scientific treatise but in order to state the correct relationships of man with God and with the universe. Sacred Scripture wishes simply to declare that the world was created by God, and in order to teach this truth it expresses itself in the terms of the cosmology in use at the time of the writer."

[@mightypirat9875]

This Channel has undoubtedly the best history/humor ratio.

[@MegaHalofan11]

1:40 Did this hoplite get to the top of the mountain? With a Pike? Give that man a medal.

[@seneca983]

Maybe he just walked.

[@samiamrg7]

0:25 I love how the words get smaller and smaller and trail off at the end. Incredibly real.

[@scientificconsideration8294]

1:19 Zeus did the bush dirty, didn't he?

[@TheAppalachianEsq]

Your little comedic animations always crack me up!

[@notaragornelessar48964]

They couldnt go to the top of the mountain because James Bisonnete wasn't ready to sponsor the climbing gear

[@n.s.mcmahon6180]

There he is!

[@daniel-t8b3q]

It feels so well to see a History Matters video and then realise that you where one of the first people to see it.

[@SirHarryFlashman]

As you said, a man had to be given the power to see the gods. In the Iliad, Athena gives this power to Diomedes and he goes on a rampage attacking the gods who are helping the Trojans. When Diomedes stabs Ares with a spear, Ares lets out a terrifying roar that alarms both the Greek and Trojan warriors. As they are unable to see the source of the noise, they were petrified.

[@LandCrow]

This is definitely one of your funniest videos

[@warron24]

The extent to which ancient peoples genuinely believed in their myths and the extent to which they took them as allegorical is hotly debated. But the ease with which they accepted contradictions in their myths suggests they probably mostly treated them as allegories.

[@AedanTheGrey]

This seems to track with most european and Mediterranean concerns based on my hobbyist digging. Western literalism as a normal concept was primarily spread by the abrahamic faiths, which were noted to be prone to superstition by roman thinkers

[@geisaune793]

Hey great stuff. Okay speaking of topics on ancient history next do a video on how did the ancient world react to the disaster at Pompeii

[@RomanMapping176]

Well done

[@jimparsons6803]

A clever and interesting presentation. Liked the reference to WWII's airplanes. More than a few lessons.

[@charliespurr7325]

I asked myself this question a few months ago.

[@snicket87]

Man, you were really inspired on the subtle jokes on this one! Great!

[@phoenixmilburn6598]

0:39 110% some mad lads made there way up there to have a go at it with Zeus for sure 😅😂🤣

[@TheRatsintheWalls]

You've created some of your best visuals in this one.

[@zigzgshodzixhoxohxh3800]

Hey History Matters, do you think you will ever return to the 10 minute British history series? Or is it dead for good?

[@yarpen26]

He said years ago he abandoned it because it was way too much work for too little an audience.

[@josephsarra4320]

Believe me, I wished he would continue it, but abandoned it years ago because of KZbin algorithm. It sucks, but that's the reality.

[@johanrodriguez3275]

Well done, ever since i saw Hercules from Disney this question is in the back of my mind, thanks for answering it 😊

[@kirbyone]

It's like how we all know that James Bissonette, Kelly Moneymaker, and the others in the pantheon, (sorry I mean "patreon") exist, but we just assume they can hide themselves from mortals

[@АнтонПирожков-б8г]

When ancient Greeks climb on Olympus, they don’t wanted to see gods, they wanted to see James Bissonnet

[@David_Crayford]

Interesting that you covered Theology. Never expected that. Makes a change from the usual cast list of famous battles.

[@beoweasel]

1:35 Picturing a shellshocked Allies pilot curled up in a fetal position next to his fighter, which is covered in blood, bits of harp, and lots of feathers.

[@Helipshon]

You can tell he had fun animating this one

[@angelb.823]

Fun fact: The Greek philosopher Protagoras is among the philosophers who questioned and doubted the existence and capability of the gods in the philosophical aspect, making him more like an ancient atheist/agnostic man of his time.

[@occam7382]

Didn't he also found a cult based on math and establish a theocracy in some Italian city?

[@YuiFunami]

@@occam7382 pretty sure that was pythagoras

[@angelb.823]

@@occam7382 No, you confuse him with Pythagoras, primarily a mathematician, not a philosopher.

[@HYDRAdude]

Fitting that he invented moral relativism then, truly the proto-redditor.

[@occam7382]

@@angelb.823, ah, gotcha. Got the names mixed up.

[@MusicalGirl2311]

This is actually something I’ve wondered about before. Thank you for giving the answer!

[@charlieputzel7735]

0:45 the image of a Greek man climbing Mt. Olympus in order to fight Zeus because he thinks Zeus knocked up his wife is both absolutely hilarious to me and very much something I could see happening.

[@muhammadhabibieamiro3639]

Another amazing video

[@franciscojavierdelatorreba3554]

2:20 the world become greece

[@Totalynormalper]

Bad ending

[@MCsCreations]

Now I can't stop imagining an ancient Greek at the top of Mount Olympus looking shocked. Thank you very much.

[@cursedhfy3558]

The image of war planes crashing through literal biblical heaven is genuinely hilarious tbh. I actually do wonder how the course of modern history would go if we literally could fly into heaven.

[@tallshort1849]

If heaven existed

[@cursedhfy3558]

@@tallshort1849 Entropy does, so why wouldn't heaven?

[@tallshort1849]

​@@cursedhfy3558because it's all make believe?

[@cursedhfy3558]

@@tallshort1849 No, it's just not so materially literal as you're used to.

[@tallshort1849]

​@@cursedhfy3558it's supernatural and there is no evidence of the supernatural. Like there's no evidence of supernatural beings like gods and goddess

[@dominicaustin6016]

It's massively understated, from us who are born into modernist understandings of 'reality', that that ancient cultures had more fluid and less categorised perceptions of their world. Science/faith, philosophy/mathematics, heaven/earth are recent dichotomies that an ancient greek wouldn't have conceived. To ask the question 'Is there actually a God behind that peak' is making the assumption they framed the world as we did. Love the videos my man, thanks for the uploads.

[@AedanTheGrey]

This. Non-abrahamic societies understood the nature of myth as allegory to understand the world and the divine rather than a superstitious literal interpretation of absolutely truth

[@dedrinzypool1209]

First. I've always wondered about that since Olympus isn't that big to climb so any Greek could either be easily spooked or believe it's invisible or that the gods might have been elsewhere.

[@uvbe]

Lost to someone else by 3 seconds RIP

[@Diamondking599]

You ain’t first L

[@justinsullivan1285]

A nice change of pace for History Matters.

[@Longshanks1690]

History Matters once again proving effortless superiority in the field of “questions about history you’ve thought about before but never enough to actively research the answer for yourself.”

[@Unhinged29]

History Matters, answering questions I never thought to research but have always been in the back of my mind somewhere.

[@YetAnotherSADXFan]

I'd love if you (or anyone else for that matter) would make a video/explain the Portuguese "hot summer" of 1975

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

NEED MORE OF THIS TYPE OF VIDEO! I love this one because it’s not about politics and or war but just about what people thought about X or Y at the time.

[@MatheusLB2009]

Yes, and there they found the palace of James Bisonette

[@videonofan]

This was the video I didn't know I needed until I saw it! Thanks!

[@SoDakJason]

Yes, the ancient Greeks did climb Mount Olympus to see the gods, but James Bissonette turned them away claiming the gods weren't in.

[@draspian]

Listening to the videos of this channel at 1.25x speed is my new favourite thing to do

[@notaragornelessar48964]

0:03 : Entire Greek Mythology in a nutshell

[@Skarrier]

Another interesting fact about Greek gods: everyone in ancient Greece actually knew that the mythological gods are representations of the human society with all different aspects (just like titans were representions of the forces of nature), so many, if not all, myths are basically a teachings in a form of fanfictions featuring human society aspects merely given flesh (gods). So, Zeus as an entity in their actual belief system might've actually not been an all-lover, Hades never stole anyone and Heracles never did any of his labours. They were like "Yes, there's Zeus. Yes, he is powerful. Yes, we respect, worship and fear him and his power. But if we make some «classic society moment» fanfics with him making a dozens of children to illustrate the idea better, he isn't gonna be upset at this, we think".

[@johnnylollard7892]

That's a big misrepresentation of ancient Greek thought, and highly anachronistic. More like, some Greek philosophers considered the gods as akin to 'metaphysical' or spiritual forces in the world, and this doesn't mean they deny the existence of gods in an ordinary sense either. Aristotle says of Thales, who is considered the first philosopher, that he "supposed that all things are full of gods." And of many Greek writers, we only have fragments. Most philosophers before Socrates don't have a single complete work preserved, just scattered statements quotes later in time. I think it's a little ridiculous to give such a broad stroke to ancient Greece, a culture which is ultimately alien to our own sensibilities.

[@ThePowerLover]

@@johnnylollard7892 This.

[@AedanTheGrey]

​@johnnylollard7892 literalism and superstition were derided by greco-roman thinkers, so its not an entirely modern thought process

[@skittering]

oh an ancient history video, I like it, you should do more

[@wizardsweetflips59]

Yeah it’s a metaphor dude

[@acolytexiv]

This is one I've always wondered! Thank you!