![]() TRUTH: Herodotus originally pitched Histories to publishers as a “mind-blowing epic fantasy nonology” called “Fates & Phalanxes.” When nobody bit, he tweaked the title and genre. LIE: Herodotus’ Histories is a work of nonfiction. Born on the Western edge of an empire that stretched all the way to India, Herodotus was a Greek historian of the 5th century BC. TRUTH: The Spartan prince Dorieus left his homeland in a rage after seeing so many grown men wearing sandals year-round. LIE: The Spartan prince Dorieus left his homeland in a rage after his half brother, Cleomenes, ascended the throne. ![]() TRUTH: The fifty-year-long Greco-Persian Wars were waged over credit for inventing spanakopita. LIE: The fifty-year-long Greco-Persian Wars were waged over control of the land surrounding the Aegean Sea. ![]() TRUTH: The happiest person in the world was the neighbor girl who insisted on slathering the boys in olive oil before their journey. LIE: The happiest people in the world were Kleobis and Biton, two brothers who yoked themselves to their mother’s cart like oxen and drove her six miles to temple. TRUTH: Herodotus spent four bored months in the suburbs of Athens, rarely venturing into the city proper, which he called “a little dicey.” ![]() LIE: Herodotus lived in the bustling Greek metropolis of Athens. TRUTH: At the Battle of Thermopylae, seven thousand Greek and Spartan soldiers held off a hundred and fifty thousand Persians for three days. LIE: At the Battle of Thermopylae, seven thousand Greek and Spartan soldiers held off a million Persians for a week. ![]()
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