1 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:06,559 Speaker 1: You're listening to Part Time Genius, the production of Kaleidoscope 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:07,720 Speaker 1: and iHeartRadio. 3 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 2: Guess what mango was that? 4 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:13,440 Speaker 1: Well? 5 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 2: All right, So I was reading up on ancient Greek 6 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 2: theater this week, which you know I like to do 7 00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 2: every October very personal reasons. I don't want to get 8 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 2: into it, and I came across this story about an 9 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 2: Athenian actor name he Geligos, and he once mispronounced a 10 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 2: word so badly that it tanked his entire career. That 11 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 2: sounds so harsh, like just one word tanked his career? 12 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 2: What was the word? Well, so here's the story. This 13 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:40,720 Speaker 2: happened back in the spring of four hundred and eight BC, 14 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,959 Speaker 2: and it was during the premiere performance of Orestes. This 15 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:47,880 Speaker 2: was this tragedy written by Euripides. He was playing the 16 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 2: lead role, and in a scene where his character recovers 17 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 2: from a bout of madness, he's supposed to say, quote, 18 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,440 Speaker 2: after the storm, I see once more a calm, But 19 00:00:58,480 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 2: because he was rushing to get the line out, there's 20 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 2: this word in it, galen, and he says it with 21 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:09,160 Speaker 2: the wrong inflection, which changed the meaning from calm to weasel, 22 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 2: Like that's a different word. Those are yeah, I always 23 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 2: think that's an improvement. Well, it was actually worse than 24 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 2: it sounds, because in ancient Greece, seeing a weasel was 25 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 2: considered a really bad omen So the mispronunciation not only 26 00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 2: made the line sound sillier, it also conveyed the exact 27 00:01:26,640 --> 00:01:30,959 Speaker 2: opposite mood. Instead of being this optimistic line about feeling better, 28 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 2: it became this ominous line about him having bad luck. 29 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:37,440 Speaker 1: And it was actually that big of a mistake just 30 00:01:37,560 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: mispronouncing this one word. 31 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,119 Speaker 2: I'm telling you it ruined his whole career. So comic 32 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 2: playwrights of the era teased him mercilessly and even referenced 33 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 2: him by name in their own play. This killed his 34 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,200 Speaker 2: reputation as an actor, to the point that he never 35 00:01:51,320 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 2: acted again after that one flub. It also gave him 36 00:01:54,480 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 2: a different level of fame than his contemporaries. Like basically, 37 00:01:58,040 --> 00:02:01,520 Speaker 2: even though ancient Greek tragedies are the bedrock of Western theater, 38 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,680 Speaker 2: we usually don't have record of the actors who appeared 39 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 2: in the original performances. You don't hear the names of 40 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,680 Speaker 2: any of them except for Geligos, who we still know 41 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 2: for this mistake, and this was definitely not the legacy 42 00:02:13,720 --> 00:02:16,160 Speaker 2: he would have hoped for, but it is still his legacy. 43 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,119 Speaker 2: No such thing as bad publicity. No, that's exactly right. 44 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,480 Speaker 2: So we're often hearing about the seven wonders of the 45 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 2: ancient world, so today I thought it might be fun 46 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 2: to explore the seven biggest blunders of the ancient world instead. 47 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 2: This slip of the tongue is just the first on 48 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 2: the list, but that still leaves six more gafts to go, 49 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 2: so let's dive in. Hey, their podcast listeners, welcome to 50 00:02:59,280 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 2: Part Time Genie. I'm Will Pearson, and as always I'm 51 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 2: joined by my good friend mangsh Hot ticketter and on 52 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 2: the other side of that soundproof glass wearing a It 53 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:09,360 Speaker 2: took me a minute to read this, but it says 54 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 2: po body's nerfic T shirt. He's so clear, so clever, 55 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 2: clever a picture of a great sphinx on it. That's 56 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 2: our friend and producer Dylan fag and he's just always 57 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 2: one upping the last thing he's done. 58 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,880 Speaker 1: So I am actually glad that Dylan referenced the sphinx 59 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: because I considered adding the sphinx to our list, specifically 60 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,640 Speaker 1: because of that broken nose it has, but once I 61 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: started looking into it, I realized the nose wasn't broken 62 00:03:33,520 --> 00:03:34,480 Speaker 1: off by mistake. 63 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:36,520 Speaker 2: This is one of those stories that I feel like 64 00:03:36,520 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 2: I've heard a few times that I never can like, 65 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 2: wasn't it cut off on purpose? Or shot off by 66 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,080 Speaker 2: French troops or something like that. No one actually knows 67 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:45,160 Speaker 2: who did it for sure. 68 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: There have been all these rumors over the years that 69 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: it was Napoleon soldiers they had blasted the nose off 70 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: with the cannonball in the seventeen nineties. That was the rumor, 71 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,960 Speaker 1: But most historians actually think that the schnaws was chiseled 72 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,320 Speaker 1: off in the late fourteenth century and chiseled off like 73 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: it's a mass of nos that's huge. The most likely 74 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:06,680 Speaker 1: culprit was this man named Mohammad Sayim al Dhar and 75 00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:09,560 Speaker 1: apparently the Egyptian peasants of the era had started making 76 00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: offerings to the sphinx in the idea that it would 77 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,200 Speaker 1: improve their harvests or whatever. But when Aldaar found out, 78 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 1: he was so outraged by this idolatry that he destroyed 79 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: the sphinx. 80 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,120 Speaker 2: Nose just despite them. Wow, So did the villagers kind 81 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 2: of snap out of it after that or what? No, 82 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 2: they executed him for vandalism. Oh god. Okay, yeah, so 83 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 2: far we've talked about some people that they're just lives, 84 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,920 Speaker 2: have gone poorly after things. But all right, so now 85 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:37,599 Speaker 2: that we've got that nose story out of the way, 86 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 2: what's your first fact? Mango? 87 00:04:39,160 --> 00:04:41,039 Speaker 1: Okay, So I actually kind of want to stick with 88 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: Egypt for a minute, because not only is it home 89 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: to the only ancient wonder that still exists, the Great 90 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: Pyramid of Giza, but it's also home to a true 91 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:53,520 Speaker 1: anciente blunder called the Bent Pyramid. Have you ever seen this? 92 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 2: Actually have not. 93 00:04:54,279 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: I'm actually going to put a photo here, but the 94 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: three hundred and thirty foot tall Bent Pyramid of Dashu 95 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 1: Where was built for pharaoh Sneffru in about twenty six 96 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: hundred BCE, and its name stems from an engineering issue 97 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,479 Speaker 1: that required the builders to abruptly change the angle of 98 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,200 Speaker 1: the pyramid slope about halfway through the construction. 99 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,120 Speaker 2: Yeah. I'm just looking at this picture, and the slope 100 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 2: really does change drastically right there in the middle of 101 00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:22,280 Speaker 2: the pyramid, Like the lower portion looks so much deeper 102 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:23,360 Speaker 2: than the top. Yeah. 103 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:25,400 Speaker 1: So the whole thing was originally designed to be built 104 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,440 Speaker 1: at a fifty four degree angle, which would have given 105 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:32,040 Speaker 1: it smooth, straight angles that you see on traditional pyramids. 106 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,839 Speaker 1: But as the builders added more and more layers of blocks, 107 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:37,800 Speaker 1: these cracks started appearing in the structure, and they realized 108 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:39,960 Speaker 1: it would probably collapse if they kept going, and so 109 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,280 Speaker 1: after a bit of number crunching, they decided to reduce 110 00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:45,760 Speaker 1: the angle for the upper portion to a much more 111 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 1: stable forty three degrees. 112 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 2: I guess it worked. It's still standing today, and you 113 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,919 Speaker 2: could argue that the slightly curved appearance is part of 114 00:05:53,920 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 2: the landmark's charm. I guess. But I'm curious why the 115 00:05:57,120 --> 00:05:59,920 Speaker 2: Egyptians made such a mistake in the first place. I mean, 116 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 2: building pyramids feels like kind of their thing, you know. 117 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Egyptians are well known for building pyramids. I 118 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: think we're going to break that fact, right, Yeah, okay, 119 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: But Snepfer's bent pyramid was. 120 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:11,640 Speaker 2: Kind of in early work. 121 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,840 Speaker 1: It was just the second pyramid burial structure that the 122 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: Egyptians had ever constructed. The first one had been built 123 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: about two hundred years earlier, southwest of Cairo. And the 124 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: interesting thing about that one is it was actually a 125 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: stone step pyramid, So the kinds you see in like 126 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: Central America, rather than a smooth faced one like the 127 00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:30,880 Speaker 1: kind that they would later become famous for. 128 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, so I guess this bent pyramid was in this 129 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 2: transitional phase where they were still trying to figure out 130 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 2: what it really meant or what it needed to build 131 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:40,560 Speaker 2: a pyramid. 132 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:42,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, they were still fine tuning the process, and obviously 133 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: there was a fair amount of trial and error along 134 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 1: the way. The Egyptians learned from this mistake, and once 135 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: the Bent Pyramid was finished, they built a second, more 136 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,040 Speaker 1: successful one for the same pharaoh, This three hundred and 137 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: forty foot tall, smooth side red pyramid, and it's just 138 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 1: to the north and the future pyramids built in the area. 139 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: It was built at that same forty three degree angle 140 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: that saved the Bent pyramid. I don't know what it 141 00:07:07,279 --> 00:07:09,359 Speaker 1: is about forty three degrees, but it just works. 142 00:07:09,440 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, and definitely does. That's every when we want to 143 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:15,040 Speaker 2: build a pyramid. All right, Well, I've got an architectural 144 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,640 Speaker 2: mishap to add to our list as well, except mine 145 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 2: is more of an ecological oversight than some sort of 146 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 2: design flaw. All so, I'm gonna give you a little 147 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:25,239 Speaker 2: bit of background here. This was in the Great Maya 148 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,560 Speaker 2: city called to Call and that formed around six hundred BCE. 149 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 2: Now to Call started as this tiny village in what's 150 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,640 Speaker 2: now Guatemala, but over the course of about one thousand 151 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 2: years it developed into this full blown jungle metropolis so 152 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 2: to call hit its stride between three hundred and nine 153 00:07:43,760 --> 00:07:46,400 Speaker 2: hundred CE, and at the peak of its power in 154 00:07:46,440 --> 00:07:51,000 Speaker 2: the mid eighth century, it boasted upwards of sixty thousand inhabitants, 155 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 2: so there was a lot of people living in one place, 156 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,280 Speaker 2: making it one of the largest and most powerful city 157 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:56,680 Speaker 2: states in all of the Americas. 158 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: And I'm guessing the architecture there was pretty impressive as well. 159 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, the architecture is actually pretty stunning. So they're these 160 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 2: one hundred foot tall temples more than two dozen pyramids. 161 00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 2: But maybe most impressively, it also had this highly advanced 162 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,120 Speaker 2: water management system that was there to help residents survive 163 00:08:13,240 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 2: the region's dry season. So this included a series of 164 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 2: dams reservoirs that collected and stored as much rain water 165 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,600 Speaker 2: as possible, as well as these paved sloping plazas to 166 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,480 Speaker 2: help direct the water where it needed to go. So 167 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,680 Speaker 2: the city even had this sand filtration system to keep 168 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:31,800 Speaker 2: the water clean, so really advanced systems. 169 00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:34,120 Speaker 1: That sounds gorgeous actually, and I'm guessing all that water 170 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: work was necessary because of where the city was located. 171 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:39,240 Speaker 2: That's exactly right, Like the city was built in the 172 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 2: middle of this dense rainforest and people didn't have easy 173 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,680 Speaker 2: access to lakes or rivers, so that's how the city 174 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,760 Speaker 2: compensated for this. But what's ironic is that the very 175 00:08:48,800 --> 00:08:52,240 Speaker 2: system that helped to Call survive droughts and dry spells 176 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 2: also led to its downfall. And much of the Maya 177 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:58,680 Speaker 2: Kingdom collapsed at the turn of the ninth century, and 178 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:02,040 Speaker 2: in fact, to Call seems to have been outright abandoned, 179 00:09:02,080 --> 00:09:05,480 Speaker 2: like with all of its structures left completely intact, as 180 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,120 Speaker 2: if everyone just picked up and left at some point. 181 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,559 Speaker 2: So for the longest time, there's been this mystery about 182 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:14,679 Speaker 2: what caused the city's demise. It obviously wasn't a violent struggle, 183 00:09:14,679 --> 00:09:16,880 Speaker 2: as there were no signs of damage to the city, 184 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 2: so that led historians to conclude that the city's collapse 185 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,240 Speaker 2: was probably related to droughts and overpopulation. 186 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: And we're saying the fancy water system that the city has, 187 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: that's the reason that they left. 188 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 2: Yeah, So there was this very recent study. It was 189 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:35,040 Speaker 2: back in twenty twenty that was published in Scientific Reports Journal, 190 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,800 Speaker 2: and it was this investigation of to Call's reservoirs, and 191 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 2: they revealed that they were dangerously polluted with high levels 192 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:45,880 Speaker 2: of mercury. And not only that, scientists also found traces 193 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 2: of very toxic algae blooms. Now, the presence of mercury 194 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 2: is most likely attributed to a red mineral called cinebar 195 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,800 Speaker 2: or mercuric sulfide, which the ancient mile widely used as 196 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 2: a pigment or a die for various things. So, for example, 197 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 2: the city's temples and the main palace were said to 198 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:08,280 Speaker 2: be caked in cinnabar, which means that during the rainy season, 199 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 2: all that mercury rich powder, it just washed right off 200 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:14,559 Speaker 2: the buildings. Yeah, so you know, it's not good news. 201 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:18,079 Speaker 2: And so thanks to those sloping plazas, this just flowed 202 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:21,080 Speaker 2: straight down into the city's reservoirs and obtained the water 203 00:10:21,120 --> 00:10:22,280 Speaker 2: supply of course. Yeah. 204 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,719 Speaker 1: And so obviously with people drinking and cooking with all 205 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: this poisoned water, they. 206 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 2: Must have started getting sick, right, very sick. Once the 207 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 2: blue green algae began to bloom in those phosphate filled reservoirs. 208 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 2: The locals could probably tell from the site and smell 209 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 2: alone that the water was no longer safe to drink. 210 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: And I guess what's weird about this is that the 211 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: entire population just gets up and leaves, right. I mean, 212 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: this civilization has lasted what like a thousand years, and 213 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,600 Speaker 1: it feels like they'd almost wanted to fight to save 214 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 1: their city a little bit more. 215 00:10:53,920 --> 00:10:55,720 Speaker 2: Well, you've got to keep in mind that Takol was 216 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:00,000 Speaker 2: already struggling due to intensifying droughts. So even if they're 217 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 2: was a way to fix the pollution, the residents really 218 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 2: didn't have the time to implement it. Like, they obviously 219 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:08,240 Speaker 2: needed to deal with this immediately, and so they had 220 00:11:08,280 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 2: to find a new water supply. And there's also the 221 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,960 Speaker 2: religious component to consider. So water was sacred to the 222 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:18,280 Speaker 2: Maya because it was key to their whole existence, So 223 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 2: when their supply suddenly went bad in the middle of 224 00:11:20,559 --> 00:11:23,080 Speaker 2: a terrible drought, they likely took it as a sign 225 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 2: that the gods were displeased with them. So from a 226 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 2: practical standpoint and a symbolic one, abandoning their once great 227 00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 2: city probably felt like the most sensible option. 228 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess it's a luxury to be able to 229 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: learn from your mistakes. Like when you think about the 230 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 1: Egyptians working on that bent pyramid, they make this awkward pyramid, 231 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:43,400 Speaker 1: and then they have time to reflect and figure out 232 00:11:43,400 --> 00:11:45,440 Speaker 1: like how to make the next one perfect. Right, But 233 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: for the Maya, they don't really have a chance to 234 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:49,640 Speaker 1: be scientific. 235 00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 2: In order to survive. They just have to scramble. Yeah. Yeah, 236 00:11:52,320 --> 00:11:54,040 Speaker 2: Actually it's funny that you put it that way, because 237 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,520 Speaker 2: the next blunder on my list is from someone who 238 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,880 Speaker 2: also had to walk away in order to survive a mistake, 239 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 2: but in his case there was a literal dead elephant 240 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:05,920 Speaker 2: blocking the exit. How about that for a tease? Mango. 241 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, I have no idea what you're talking about, but 242 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,680 Speaker 1: I'm very curious. So let's take a quick commercial break 243 00:12:11,679 --> 00:12:28,560 Speaker 1: and then you can tell me all about it. You're 244 00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: listening to Part Time Genius and we're talking about the 245 00:12:30,520 --> 00:12:32,160 Speaker 1: seven blunders of the Ancient World. 246 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,319 Speaker 2: So will where are you taking us next? All right? 247 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:37,760 Speaker 2: So for this one, we're headed back to ancient Greece 248 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,640 Speaker 2: to about the third century BCE, which was a tumultuous 249 00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:44,720 Speaker 2: time in the Mediterranean. The recent death of Alexander the 250 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:48,440 Speaker 2: Great had created this serious power vacuum, and all of 251 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 2: his former generals and allies were competing to fill it. 252 00:12:52,040 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 2: And one of the would be successors King Pirus was 253 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:58,440 Speaker 2: this ruler from northern Greece, and he managed to extend 254 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:02,679 Speaker 2: his domain by winning their victories against the armies of Macedonia. 255 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 2: Now this was in the year two eighty, and that's 256 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,880 Speaker 2: when he set his sights on conquering Rome. So Piras 257 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 2: sailed to Italy with about thirty thousand soldiers and twenty 258 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:16,680 Speaker 2: war elephants, marking the first time that elephants had ever 259 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:18,559 Speaker 2: been seen on the peninsula. 260 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: So this must predate Hannibal and the Alps, then, I guess. 261 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 2: By about sixty years, so not not a ton of time. 262 00:13:26,200 --> 00:13:28,640 Speaker 2: But as you might imagine, the Romans on the battlefield 263 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:32,559 Speaker 2: were pretty freaked out by the site of these enormous 264 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 2: armored ann I can't even imagine if I had never 265 00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:39,160 Speaker 2: seen an elephant. But even with the advantage of intimidation, 266 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:42,599 Speaker 2: Peiris only barely pulled out a win. In fact, the 267 00:13:42,679 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 2: number of casualties he sustained was so high that the 268 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:50,240 Speaker 2: Greek historian Plutarch quoted him as having said, quote, if 269 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:53,200 Speaker 2: we are victorious. In one more battle with the Romans, 270 00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 2: we shall be utterly ruined. So you can imagine that 271 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 2: these were hard won battles. So King Pierris became well 272 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,120 Speaker 2: known for his narrow winds, and people started using the 273 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 2: expression pyic victory, which of course means a victory that 274 00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:10,800 Speaker 2: comes at such great costs that it's almost like a defeat. 275 00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:11,720 Speaker 2: It's funny. 276 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:15,160 Speaker 1: I remember taking a class on the moguls in college, 277 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,280 Speaker 1: and elephants are obviously so massive and so intimidating, but 278 00:14:19,320 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: they also scare incredibly quickly, and so they're not great 279 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: war animals. 280 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 2: I can imagine that, especially if you let a bunch 281 00:14:27,320 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 2: of mice loose. I mean, that's what I hear. Have 282 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 2: no idea whether that's true, it's not true. So I 283 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,640 Speaker 2: haven't even gotten to his real mistake. If you remember 284 00:14:36,640 --> 00:14:39,920 Speaker 2: that amazing tease before the commercial breath, the dead elephant 285 00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,960 Speaker 2: blocking the doorway. Do you remember this? Okay, So, after 286 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:45,680 Speaker 2: a series of skin of his teeth victories in Italy, 287 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 2: Pearis actually started losing battles. So in two seventy five 288 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 2: he retreats back to Greece and begins making a play 289 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 2: for the throne of mast on first, he targeted Sparta, 290 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:59,400 Speaker 2: but when the city state proves resistant to his attacks, 291 00:14:59,440 --> 00:15:02,920 Speaker 2: he turns his focus north to Argos. I've always thought 292 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:05,080 Speaker 2: this was interesting in military history, where they're like, I'm 293 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:06,760 Speaker 2: gonna go beat these people and then I can't, like, 294 00:15:06,800 --> 00:15:09,080 Speaker 2: oh no, no, I'll go over here. But it's interesting 295 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:11,640 Speaker 2: to think about it. But now Pierce had no trouble 296 00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,560 Speaker 2: breaking through the city's defenses, thanks once again to his 297 00:15:14,640 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 2: pack of giant elephants. But once he's inside, he finds 298 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,920 Speaker 2: it really difficult to maneuver through the narrow streets, and 299 00:15:21,960 --> 00:15:26,360 Speaker 2: his forces are quickly overwhelmed. And to make matters worse, 300 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:30,240 Speaker 2: Peers's forces keep pouring into the city even after he 301 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,360 Speaker 2: had ordered a retreat, and in the scuffle that followed, 302 00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 2: one of the elephants, the largest one, falls down right 303 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:39,960 Speaker 2: in front of the main gate, which sends the other 304 00:15:40,080 --> 00:15:44,000 Speaker 2: elephants into a panic, and they start rampaging through the city, 305 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 2: basically crushing everything. 306 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: I mean, can you imagine, like there's no reverse on 307 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,360 Speaker 1: an elephant, Like you're in these narrow streets and like 308 00:15:55,160 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: the turning radius isn't that great? 309 00:15:56,920 --> 00:16:01,640 Speaker 2: Not good? Not good? So does piiskeatry not exactly, but 310 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 2: his death was the direct result of not being able 311 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,040 Speaker 2: to get around the fallen elephant. So in the battle, 312 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:10,240 Speaker 2: Puris takes one look at the chaos unfolding and decides 313 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 2: to take his chances back in the city. Now, as 314 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 2: the story goes, he's fighting his way through the streets 315 00:16:15,960 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 2: and he gets stabbed through the breastplate by this enemy spear. 316 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 2: Pieris turned to face his attacker and landed a killing blow. 317 00:16:23,320 --> 00:16:26,080 Speaker 2: But what he didn't realize was that the soldier's mother 318 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,120 Speaker 2: had been watching the whole scene from a nearby rooftop. So, 319 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 2: according to Plutarch, when the old woman saw that her 320 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,360 Speaker 2: son was in danger, she lifted up a rooftile with 321 00:16:36,480 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 2: both hands and hurled it at Peuris's head, and the 322 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:44,560 Speaker 2: resulting blow didn't kill Pearis, but it left him dazed 323 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,320 Speaker 2: enough that other soldiers were able to swoop in and 324 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 2: finish him off. 325 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: It feels like bringing elephants to battle wasn't a great idea, 326 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: but the king's real mistake was killing someone right in 327 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:57,120 Speaker 1: front of their mind. 328 00:16:57,200 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 2: You don't do that. 329 00:16:57,880 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not the kind of thing you walk away 330 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,360 Speaker 1: from it. But let's leave the battlefield behind for now. 331 00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:06,040 Speaker 1: Because it's time to pay a visit to the ancient 332 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:09,560 Speaker 1: city of Bethlehem. And that's where Saint Jerome, one of 333 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:12,879 Speaker 1: the early scholars of the Catholic Church, accidentally sparked one 334 00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,679 Speaker 1: of the weirdest trends in medieval and Renaissance are the 335 00:17:16,800 --> 00:17:18,200 Speaker 1: horns on Moses. 336 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 2: You know, I've actually always wondered about this, because there's 337 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 2: that famous statue of Moses by Michelangelo, and for no 338 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 2: apparent reason, he's got these weird little baby goat horns 339 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 2: sprouting from his forehead. 340 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,040 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's super weird, especially considering Moses's this prophet and 341 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 1: horns are obviously associated with the devil. But Michelangelo was 342 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: actually far from the only person to make this connection. 343 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: This image of a horn Moses turns up in all 344 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,040 Speaker 1: sorts of Western medieval iconography, and weirdly, it can all 345 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 1: be traced back to this single mistranslation by Saint Jerome. 346 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:54,560 Speaker 1: So it all goes back to the late fourth century. 347 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:57,480 Speaker 1: See when Saint Jerome began working on the first Latin 348 00:17:57,480 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: translation of the Christian Bible, and for whatever reason, he 349 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: decides to ignore the existing Greek translation of the Old 350 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: New Testaments and instead he translates his own version directly 351 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,080 Speaker 1: from Hebrew into Latin, and unfortunately that led him into 352 00:18:12,119 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 1: trouble due to several ambiguities in the ancient Hebrew language. 353 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:18,440 Speaker 1: One example of this is the Hebrew word for a 354 00:18:18,600 --> 00:18:21,199 Speaker 1: ray of light is almost exactly the same as the 355 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: word for horn, and because the Hebrew language doesn't apparently 356 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 1: write out its vowels, I guess Jerome wasn't able to 357 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,679 Speaker 1: pick up on the context clues. And so in the 358 00:18:30,680 --> 00:18:34,159 Speaker 1: Book of Exodus, when Moses returns from Mount Sinai with 359 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,400 Speaker 1: the Ten Commandments, his face is lit up by this 360 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 1: divine light, but in Saint Jerome's translation, he gets horns instead. 361 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 2: Wow, all right, So Moses spends six weeks on a 362 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 2: mountaintop communing with God and comes back down he's suddenly 363 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:51,840 Speaker 2: grown a pair of horns, and nobody manages to comment 364 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:54,040 Speaker 2: on this again. Is that what we're talking about here? Yeah, 365 00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 2: it's super weird. 366 00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:57,120 Speaker 1: And the really well part is that the people who 367 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: translated the Old Testament into ancient Greek ray solved for 368 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,040 Speaker 1: this welcome back to part time genius meaning of the 369 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: Hebrew text and described Moses's face as glorified. But because 370 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 1: Jeromed ignored that Greek translation Moses winds up supporting horns 371 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: in art for the next millennium, even after the error 372 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:16,520 Speaker 1: is widely acknowledged. 373 00:19:16,600 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 2: Huh. I Like the art world was like, no, We're 374 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:21,919 Speaker 2: just we're sticking with the horns, you know. All right, 375 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:23,840 Speaker 2: So if my math is right, that brings us up 376 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 2: to five ancient blunders with two left to go. But 377 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:43,440 Speaker 2: before we get to those, let's take one more quick break, 378 00:19:44,680 --> 00:19:47,640 Speaker 2: all right, Mango surp my final entry on our ancient 379 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:50,520 Speaker 2: blunders list. I want to take us back to the 380 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:54,320 Speaker 2: reign of Shen Sherwang, the first emperor of China. So 381 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,639 Speaker 2: we're talking about the third century BCE, and Sheen puts 382 00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:00,520 Speaker 2: an end to a long period of provincial inflict in 383 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 2: China by unifying the country's various provinces under one central government. 384 00:20:06,119 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 2: He was also responsible for several major advances in Chinese culture, 385 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 2: including the introduction of standardized weights and measures, the creation 386 00:20:14,119 --> 00:20:17,720 Speaker 2: of uniform system of writing, the construction of the earliest 387 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,680 Speaker 2: form of the Great Wall. So a lot of accomplishments here. Yeah, 388 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,320 Speaker 2: it seems so pretty productive, pretty productive. Yeah, But as 389 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,320 Speaker 2: he grew older and more powerful, the emperor also became 390 00:20:27,359 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 2: obsessed with death and began searching for a way to 391 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:33,719 Speaker 2: achieve immortality. It feels like a lot of these leaders 392 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 2: fall into this trap. And we know this because about 393 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,919 Speaker 2: twenty years ago, archaeologists discovered this cache of ancient writings 394 00:20:40,920 --> 00:20:44,720 Speaker 2: at the bottom of an abandoned well in the Hunan Province, 395 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,480 Speaker 2: and one of them contains this executive order issued by 396 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:52,720 Speaker 2: the emperor. The decree ordered a nationwide search for immortality 397 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 2: potions or elixirs of life, and required every village and 398 00:20:56,760 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 2: region to submit a report of their findings. That's kind 399 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 2: of amazing. 400 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,800 Speaker 1: I mean, like, China is such a vast territory and 401 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:06,880 Speaker 1: it's not like you can just send out junk mail 402 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: or notification. The fact that like he forced this decree 403 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:13,359 Speaker 1: on everyone is incredible. It's a testament to Chen's efficacy 404 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: as a leader. But it also just shows how seriously 405 00:21:16,119 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 1: he took this quest for his immortality. So did the 406 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:20,360 Speaker 1: villages end up getting back to him. 407 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,119 Speaker 2: I imagine they all did, but only a handful of 408 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,080 Speaker 2: responses were found in that well, and most of the 409 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 2: replies were awkward notes from regional governments saying they hadn't 410 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 2: found the elixir of lives, but like, we're going to 411 00:21:31,840 --> 00:21:33,520 Speaker 2: keep looking for it because they am sure. They didn't 412 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 2: want to get in trouble. But the only semi hopeful 413 00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:40,480 Speaker 2: response came from officials and Langya when they suggested this 414 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 2: herb from a local mountain might have these life extending properties. 415 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,680 Speaker 2: That sounds promising, did it, apparently not considering Emperor Chen 416 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:52,280 Speaker 2: died at the age of forty nine. But that actually 417 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:55,200 Speaker 2: brings us around to his big mistake, because it seems 418 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 2: that in his desperate search for immortality, the emperor may 419 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:02,480 Speaker 2: have actually shortened his own life. Historians believe that his 420 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:07,080 Speaker 2: early death was brought on by mercury poisoning, this extremely 421 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,520 Speaker 2: toxic side effect of many of the lixers that he 422 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,200 Speaker 2: drank in pursuit of his eternal life. Now that said, 423 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 2: don't feel too badly for the emperor, because he did 424 00:22:16,080 --> 00:22:19,800 Speaker 2: have a backup plan. So before his early ish death, 425 00:22:19,840 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 2: he ordered the construction of this enormous burial chamber, which 426 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:27,280 Speaker 2: he famously stocked with a life size army of thousands 427 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,240 Speaker 2: of terra Cotta warriors. To see where we're going here, Yeah, 428 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:34,040 Speaker 2: Jen believed in the afterlife and hope that the clay 429 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 2: soldiers would protect him in the world that was to come. 430 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:37,119 Speaker 2: I like that. 431 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 1: You basically thought he would live forever regardless, but he 432 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: still tried to find a magic pushit, yes, make sure 433 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:42,960 Speaker 1: I was to. 434 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 2: Live on earth. Well. 435 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,679 Speaker 1: Oddly enough, my last mistake also has to do with 436 00:22:48,760 --> 00:22:51,560 Speaker 1: one man's quest for immortality. And maybe it's because I'm 437 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: actually working on a new show on how to Live Forever, 438 00:22:53,680 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 1: because I am obsessed with other people's obsession with the topic. 439 00:22:57,960 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: But so this fact, we need to head over to 440 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,320 Speaker 1: the city of Ephesus, which used to be a part 441 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 1: of ancient Greece but is now in modern day Turkey, 442 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:11,040 Speaker 1: and the city is largely remembered as a birthplace of 443 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: the philosopher Heraclitis, but it was also home to many 444 00:23:14,880 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: lesser known female artists. I didn't realize this until we 445 00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: did this episode, but Ephesus was filled with sculptors and 446 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,479 Speaker 1: painters and teachers, including the artist Timer Reid, who painted 447 00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:27,240 Speaker 1: a famous portrait of Artemis in the fifth century BCE. 448 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:31,600 Speaker 1: Now Artemis for anyone who's familiar with Greek myths or 449 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: Percy Jackson was one of the most revered goddesses in 450 00:23:34,880 --> 00:23:38,159 Speaker 1: the ancient Greek pantheon, but the Ephesians laid a special 451 00:23:38,200 --> 00:23:40,440 Speaker 1: claim to her because they actually believed she had been 452 00:23:40,520 --> 00:23:44,080 Speaker 1: born near the city. And while most cities praised Artemis 453 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 1: as the goddess of hunting and wild animals, the people 454 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,679 Speaker 1: here actually worshiped her as this goddess of fertility and 455 00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: the protector of women and young girls, and in fact, 456 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: Ephesian women would often call on Artemis for help during childbirth. 457 00:23:57,240 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: So Artemis was, I don't know, kind of like the 458 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: city mascot patron deity might be a better way to 459 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: describe it. 460 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:03,880 Speaker 2: But I want to go with mass. 461 00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:08,480 Speaker 1: But that's why the city has had a temple dedicated 462 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: to her since as far back as the Bronze Age, 463 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: and the original structure was wiped out by a flood 464 00:24:14,119 --> 00:24:17,160 Speaker 1: in the seventh century, But about two hundred years later, 465 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: the Lydian king Croesus paid to rebuild the temple of Artemis, 466 00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:24,480 Speaker 1: and he made it bigger and sturdier than ever, And 467 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: so this new and improved temple was one of the 468 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: largest ever built in ancient Greece. It stood roughly sixty 469 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:36,920 Speaker 1: feet tall. Inside there was this treasure tove of relief carvings, sculptures, paintings, 470 00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: including this massive statue of Artemis herself. But for nearly 471 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,800 Speaker 1: one hundred years after its completion, the Temple of Artemis 472 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,160 Speaker 1: served as a house of worship, and it was also 473 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,320 Speaker 1: this tourist destination, this art gallery, all in one. And 474 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 1: then this guy named Haristratus comes along, right and late 475 00:24:54,760 --> 00:24:57,800 Speaker 1: one evening in three hundred and fifty six PCE, he 476 00:24:57,880 --> 00:25:00,480 Speaker 1: makes his way up to the temple and so fire 477 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,879 Speaker 1: to the wooden roof. The flame spread so quickly throughout 478 00:25:03,880 --> 00:25:07,240 Speaker 1: this wooden interior. By morning the temple is totally in ruins. 479 00:25:07,320 --> 00:25:10,360 Speaker 1: There's nothing left but a few blackened marble columns. 480 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,640 Speaker 2: So not an Artemis fan, I'm guessing that's the things 481 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 2: we really don't know much about the arsonist. 482 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,439 Speaker 1: He's believed to have been lower class and possibly enslaved, 483 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,760 Speaker 1: and many historians suspect that he wasn't Ephesian by birth, 484 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,240 Speaker 1: And obviously with that kind of background, you can imagine 485 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:28,600 Speaker 1: all sorts of potential motives. It might have been politically motivated. 486 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,080 Speaker 1: It might have been protesting this injustice of his low station. 487 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,400 Speaker 1: Or he also might have been a misogynist lashing out 488 00:25:35,400 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: it this women's protector. 489 00:25:37,720 --> 00:25:39,320 Speaker 2: Or maybe and I'm not trying to be funny here. 490 00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:42,800 Speaker 2: Maybe he was just unwell and not thinking clearly. Yeah. 491 00:25:42,920 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, there are all sorts of plausible options, except that 492 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: none of them are the explanation that he offered, because 493 00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:53,280 Speaker 1: after being arrested, he admitted that he had torched the 494 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:55,440 Speaker 1: temple just to make a name for himself. He wanted 495 00:25:55,440 --> 00:25:57,840 Speaker 1: to leave his mark on history, and he decided the 496 00:25:57,840 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: best way to do it was to destroy the symbol 497 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,760 Speaker 1: of the city, which had been, you know, a wonder 498 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 1: of the ancient world that could have lasted for a very, 499 00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 1: very long time had it not been for him. 500 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:09,760 Speaker 2: It's weird because it makes you wonder why the Ephesians 501 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:13,440 Speaker 2: would play into his hand by recording his confession. Why 502 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 2: not just say the fire was an accident and sweep 503 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:16,160 Speaker 2: it under the rug. 504 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,680 Speaker 1: Apparently they tried so. Not only did Efesian authorities sentence 505 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: Haristratus to death for the arson, they also institute this 506 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:28,800 Speaker 1: special kind of punishment known as damnatio memory or condemnation 507 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: of memory, and under this order, the public was forbidden 508 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,960 Speaker 1: to speak or write the culprit's name. This was obviously 509 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: done to discourage others from committing similar copycat crimes, but 510 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: also to ensure that he didn't get his wish. You 511 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,439 Speaker 1: know that people would forget the name Herostratus, so instead 512 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,600 Speaker 1: of being remembered, he would be condemned to obscurity. 513 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 2: It's like the people that streak across like at the 514 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,440 Speaker 2: super Bowl and stuff like that on the field. No, 515 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,480 Speaker 2: it don't show them. We do not want them to 516 00:26:55,520 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 2: be known. But that's clearly not what happened, since we're 517 00:26:58,240 --> 00:26:59,240 Speaker 2: talking about him right now. 518 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:03,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, I completely Apparently some historians refused to go along 519 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,800 Speaker 1: with this punishment, so they write down his story, his 520 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: name before it could be forgotten by history, and as 521 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: a result, Arsenist's name was not only remembered, it became 522 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:14,560 Speaker 1: the basis for a new expression, which is herostratic fame. 523 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:18,800 Speaker 1: It basically means fame at any cost. All right, So 524 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 1: what are we calling the mistake in this one? Because 525 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,200 Speaker 1: it seemed like the Arsenists got exactly what. 526 00:27:23,119 --> 00:27:24,120 Speaker 2: He wanted in this case. 527 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: I think it's the Ephesian authorities who made the mistake 528 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: because they tried to suppress the truth about this fire, 529 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:32,680 Speaker 1: and they went about it in the worst possible way, 530 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:35,160 Speaker 1: right They told everyone not to talk about it, which 531 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: just makes everyone want to talk about it. 532 00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:39,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, all right. Well, I'm glad we put this 533 00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:40,680 Speaker 2: list together. It's nice to know that the people of 534 00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,600 Speaker 2: the past were just as accident prone as the rest 535 00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,160 Speaker 2: of us, and as susceptible to mercury poison. It is true. 536 00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: It seems to close out the show. Why don't we 537 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:52,199 Speaker 1: try to keep the fact off mercury poisoning free? 538 00:27:52,240 --> 00:28:00,600 Speaker 2: I'll try, no promises. Well, let's see what happens. Okay. 539 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:03,440 Speaker 1: So here is a messy medieval blunder from the city 540 00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:07,120 Speaker 1: for Germany. This is back in eleven eighty four. Dozens 541 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:09,840 Speaker 1: of noblemen gathered at Saint Peter's Church at the request 542 00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:13,680 Speaker 1: of the King Henrik the sixth, and he had called 543 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:16,600 Speaker 1: a meeting to settle a land dispute between two prominent citizens. 544 00:28:16,600 --> 00:28:19,640 Speaker 1: But unfortunately they actually never got a chance to discuss 545 00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: it because shortly after the meeting started, the floor of 546 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:26,800 Speaker 1: the church collapses, right, and apparently the upper room where 547 00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,000 Speaker 1: the group met wasn't intended to hold such a large gathering. 548 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: Everyone's in chainmail and all this heavy armor, and the 549 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,960 Speaker 1: floor just wasn't strong enough. So the weight of the 550 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,520 Speaker 1: falling people and the debris was so heavy that they 551 00:28:38,560 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: broke through the ground floor too, and wound up plunging right. 552 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:44,040 Speaker 2: Into the church's. 553 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: Communal sessca post. I know, it's like the money pit 554 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: or something. It's believed that almost everyone for the meeting 555 00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:55,480 Speaker 1: fell into the latrine pits. Supposedly, the king and the 556 00:28:55,600 --> 00:28:58,880 Speaker 1: archbishop avoided this embarrassment by clinging on to some iron 557 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: rails on the church's windows. I don't know if that's 558 00:29:01,240 --> 00:29:04,800 Speaker 1: just sort of like polishing the story, but the majority 559 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,959 Speaker 1: weren't so lucky, and altogether more than sixty people fell 560 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 1: into this latrine and never made it out. 561 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 2: Goh, that might be the saddest story about people falling 562 00:29:13,040 --> 00:29:15,760 Speaker 2: into a giant toilet that I've ever heard, So can't 563 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,400 Speaker 2: use that in our future list of sad stories of 564 00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 2: people falling into giant toilets. But yeah, that's really sad. 565 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:22,840 Speaker 1: All right. 566 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:25,640 Speaker 2: I've got a tragic, low brow blunder of my own 567 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 2: for you, Mango, and it's about the first known mooning 568 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,120 Speaker 2: on record, and it took place in Jerusalem. This was 569 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:34,040 Speaker 2: back in the first century CE, and according to a 570 00:29:34,080 --> 00:29:38,040 Speaker 2: contemporary historian of the era, Flavius Josephus, the first mooning 571 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:41,000 Speaker 2: took place just outside of the city when a Roman 572 00:29:41,040 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 2: soldier exposed his backside to a group of Jewish pilgrims 573 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 2: on their way to celebrate Passover. As Josephus puts it, quote, 574 00:29:48,600 --> 00:29:51,800 Speaker 2: the soldier pulled back his garment and, cowering down after 575 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 2: an indecent manner, turned his breach to the Jews and 576 00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 2: spake such words as you might expect upon such a posture. 577 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 2: To put it another way, he farted than for that. 578 00:30:05,680 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 1: Okay, so I'm going to skip to another one. I 579 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,560 Speaker 1: know we've talked about the Wicked Bible before aka the 580 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:13,680 Speaker 1: Sinner's Bible, and it's just a normal English printing of 581 00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:16,760 Speaker 1: the Christian Bible. This is from sixteen thirty one, except, 582 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,200 Speaker 1: of course, it leaves out the word not from the 583 00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: seventh Commandment, so instead of saying thou shalt not commit adultery, 584 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: it orders the readers to go out and have an affair. 585 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,040 Speaker 2: Was this a typo situation or did the printers leave 586 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,360 Speaker 2: out the non on purpose, like as a prank or 587 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 2: what was the origin of this? So there's this long. 588 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,400 Speaker 1: Running rumor that the misprint was actually an act of 589 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:40,800 Speaker 1: sabotage by a rival publisher, but today most experts think 590 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,160 Speaker 1: it was just an honest mistake, not that it made 591 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:46,200 Speaker 1: much difference to the two printers responsible for this. Once 592 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:50,120 Speaker 1: King Charles found out about the wicked Bible, he ordered 593 00:30:50,120 --> 00:30:53,080 Speaker 1: the printers to stand trial for sloppiness, and ultimately he 594 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:56,880 Speaker 1: stripped them of their printing license. Now, one thousand copies 595 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: of the Bible were printed before the error was discovered, 596 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:02,520 Speaker 1: but ns most of them were destroyed by all these 597 00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: scandalized readers, priests, or whatever who wanted to get rid 598 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 1: of them. Only about twenty copies are known. 599 00:31:07,280 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 2: To exist today. Okay, all right, well here's a quick 600 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:13,440 Speaker 2: one I found. So back in thirteen twenty five, a strange, 601 00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 2: short lived conflict broke out between the Italian city states 602 00:31:17,080 --> 00:31:19,880 Speaker 2: of Bologna and Modena, and it was called the War 603 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,000 Speaker 2: of the Bucket. Now, trouble had been brewing between the 604 00:31:23,040 --> 00:31:26,520 Speaker 2: two cities for centuries, but the thing that supposedly tipped 605 00:31:26,560 --> 00:31:29,680 Speaker 2: them over into this all out war was the theft 606 00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 2: of an old wooden bucket. I mean, buckets are very handy, 607 00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,120 Speaker 2: so you could see the other night frustrate someone. But 608 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 2: apparently a group of Modanese soldiers sneaked into Bologna one 609 00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:42,880 Speaker 2: night they noticed this random bucket at a public well, 610 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 2: and they decided to take it with them, so you know, 611 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:48,959 Speaker 2: the spoils of victory, I guess. And of course someone 612 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:51,360 Speaker 2: noticed the missing bucket the next morning and was able 613 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,800 Speaker 2: to quickly suss out who had stolen it. So Bolanese 614 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:59,239 Speaker 2: officials demanded this bucket be returned, and even when the 615 00:31:59,240 --> 00:32:03,240 Speaker 2: Modenese were fused to oblige, Bologna declared war on its 616 00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:04,160 Speaker 2: longtime rival. 617 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:08,120 Speaker 1: I feel like that has got to be some bucket 618 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:09,560 Speaker 1: rightly special. 619 00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,560 Speaker 2: I definitely hope so, because although the war only lasted 620 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,960 Speaker 2: a few months, it's estimated that roughly two thousand people 621 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:17,400 Speaker 2: died between the two sides. 622 00:32:17,440 --> 00:32:19,920 Speaker 1: Oh my god, a few months. So how did Bologna 623 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:21,120 Speaker 1: get this bucket back? 624 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:24,400 Speaker 2: They did not. They wound up surrendering, and just to 625 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,480 Speaker 2: add insult to injury, the Modinese were said to have 626 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:30,480 Speaker 2: stolen a second bucket on their way back home. 627 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:36,120 Speaker 1: So we've talked about some pretty silly fluffs today, but 628 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: I think this fact might be the most embarrassing yet. 629 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:41,840 Speaker 1: According to a biography of Greek philosophers, there was a 630 00:32:41,840 --> 00:32:45,959 Speaker 1: Stoic philosopher named Crispus, and this is in the second 631 00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:50,719 Speaker 1: century BCE. He apparently laughed himself to death while watching 632 00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:57,960 Speaker 1: a donkey eat figs. Okay, so apparently this happened during 633 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:01,200 Speaker 1: the one hundred and forty third Olympia. Chrysippus was just 634 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:04,000 Speaker 1: hanging out watching the games when he noticed that his 635 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,000 Speaker 1: donkey had started helping himself to some figs, and he 636 00:33:07,080 --> 00:33:09,560 Speaker 1: thinks it's the funniest thing he's ever seen, so he 637 00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:11,960 Speaker 1: cries out, now, give the ass some pure wine to 638 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,080 Speaker 1: wash down his figs. And then, according to Diogenes, he 639 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,600 Speaker 1: laughed so violently that he died. 640 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 2: Wait, so this guy got presumably very drunk at the 641 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 2: Olympics and then die laughing at his own dad joke. 642 00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,280 Speaker 2: It sounds like, are we sure this guy was a stoic? 643 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:32,520 Speaker 2: Because that does not sound very stoic to me. 644 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:35,200 Speaker 1: I think his real mistake was not giving a close 645 00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:38,360 Speaker 1: enough watch on his fig supply, because the easiest way 646 00:33:38,440 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: to prevent death by laughing at watching a fig eating 647 00:33:41,880 --> 00:33:44,120 Speaker 1: donkey is to never give your donkey figs in the 648 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 1: first place. 649 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,160 Speaker 2: A truer words were never said, Mango, I think you 650 00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 2: deserve the trophy this week for imparting that bit of wisdom. 651 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:52,320 Speaker 2: You built it up like it was going to be 652 00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,840 Speaker 2: a great fact and it delivered. So congratulations you win 653 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:56,800 Speaker 2: the trophy this week. 654 00:33:57,440 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 1: Well that's going to do it for a part Time 655 00:33:59,400 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 1: Genius from myself, Will, Mary, Gabe, and Dylan. 656 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 2: Thank you so much for listening. 657 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,800 Speaker 1: We'll be back next week with and other brand new episodes, 658 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 1: so please tune back in. Part Time Genius is a 659 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:27,960 Speaker 1: production of Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio. This show is hosted by 660 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:32,520 Speaker 1: Will Pearson and me Mongashtikler and research by our good 661 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:36,840 Speaker 1: pal Mary Philip Sandy. Today's episode was engineered and produced 662 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:39,480 Speaker 1: by the wonderful Dylan Fagan with support. 663 00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:40,160 Speaker 2: From Tyler Klang. 664 00:34:40,640 --> 00:34:44,000 Speaker 1: The show is executive produced for iHeart by Katrina Norbel 665 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,200 Speaker 1: and Ali Perry, with social media support from Sasha Gay, 666 00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:51,839 Speaker 1: trustee Dara Potts and Viney Shorey. For more podcasts from 667 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: Kaleidoscope and iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or. 668 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:11,320 Speaker 3: Wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 669 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:02,000 Speaker 2: A