A legend is more than
just a good story. It involves a larger than life
hero doing deeds a little too fantastic to be real. But is there any truth
behind these stories? The answer is a
surprising, kind of. Today, we're looking
at some characters from ancient mythology that
may have actually existed. But before we get started, make
sure you subscribe to the Weird History YouTube channel, then
head down to the comments and let us know what other
mythological backstories we should uncover next. OK, time to separate
fact from fiction. [FOLK MUSIC PLAYING] King Arthur is
the legendary King who saved the Britons
from the Anglo-Saxons. He pulled a sword from a stone. He pulled another more
famous sword from a lake, and his tables had zero edges. You've probably heard all these
stories about King Arthur. But was he a real guy? Even though he doesn't appear
in any contemporary historical sources, it turns out there is
a solid amount of evidence that says a super powerful war
leader, possibly named Arthur, lived during the fifth
or sixth centuries. These aren't just shots
in the dark either. Near Arthur's alleged birth
site of Tintagel in Cornwall, a sixth century
engraving by a guy named Artognou was discovered. The engraving, found on a
cliff above an area known as Merlin's Cave, seems
to possibly make reference to the legendary King. In modern day
Colchester, archeologists found what could have been the
real life round table, right in the spot where the Capital
of Camelot was supposed to be. Presumably, they think
it's the real deal because someone
engraved Lancelot into the wood next to a cool S. And what of the name Arthur? While the name may
not be 100% confirmed, there is evidence
of a British leader who went by Riothamus, a title
that translates to High King. This person was likely the
model for who we know as Arthur. You know King Midas
from legends, or maybe from a series of muffler
commercials from the 90s. Midas was the greedy king
who wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. His wish was granted, but in
true monkey's paw fashion, it immediately backfired on him. In some versions, Midas
starves because all of his food and drink turns into
gold the moment he touches it. In other versions, he
accidentally turns his daughter into a hunk of shiny metal. You could probably still
get some money for that. Either way, Midas' wish
turned out to be a curse, and his legend serves
as a cautionary tale. But according to Greek myth,
several real ancient kings in Phrygian Anatolia
bore that epic name. The Lord of the Mushki,
in Assyrian legends, a guy dubbed Mida,
may just be the Midas from the tales of old. The biggest tomb
attributed to Mida, called Tumulus MM
by archeologists, was built in the eighth century,
and is over 160 feet high. We're pretty sure
this massive monument belonged to either Mida
or his grandfather, and contains tables,
beer, and enough food to provide a massive afterlife
banquet for all eternity. That sure does sound like a King
with a proverbial golden touch. Among the spoils
of the afterlife were several cups with
remnants of ancient alcohol, some even identified and
recreated in modern day. Robin Hood is the English folk
hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, and
was also a fox sometimes. The Nottingham outlaw
fought for the little guy by rebelling against King
John's taxes, or so the story goes anyway. Was this tights clad
felon even real? In medieval England,
Robihad or Rabinhad were typically names one
would give to criminals, possibly inspired by a
real life Robin Hood. And medieval
historians generally agree that Robin Hood
probably existed. One modern theory suggests Robin
Hood was actually a real life felon named Roger Godberd. But his less than
reputable actions don't fit the noble
exploits of any Robin Hood we've ever heard about. In other words, he was
the bad kind of thief. His cartoon fox counterpart
would be wearing an eyepatch. Paris, the Prince of Troy
and wife snatching bad boy from the Iliad. He's got a reputation for
starting the Trojan War after he became so hypnotized
by the beauty of Helen that he stole her away from
her husband, the Spartan King, Menelaus. The story of the Trojan War
is one of the most enduring tales in Greek mythology. But did any of that
stuff really happen? Was Paris a real
life troublemaker? Well, Troy was
definitely a real place located on the West Coast of
Anatolia in modern Turkey, though it may have also
been known as Wilusa during the Bronze Age. Somewhere around the
eighth century BC, a treaty was signed between
someone named Alaksandu, which is strikingly similar to Prince
Paris's second name, Alexandre. References to this Alaksandu
living in and ruling Troy can be found throughout
history, lending some credence to the idea that he was
the inspiration for Paris. So Paris probably did rule
Troy, although whether or not he ever met anyone named
Helen is up for debate. Still, it's a pretty good movie. Paris wasn't the only
Trojan who maybe existed. Turns out his
father, King Priam, may have also been
a legitimate ruler. During the Late Bronze
Age, the Hittites were reported to have
run into some trouble with a guy named Piyaramadu. If you say that name
a bunch of times or run it through a
game of telephone, it kind of starts
to sound like Priam. Piyaramadu was a rebel
who took over Troy and made himself warlord,
but refused to pledge fealty to the Hittite King. Despite several
attempts to capture him, it appears that Piyaramdu
ultimately escaped the Hittite King's wrath and
became a legend in the process. King Arthur's magical
advisor Merlin may sound like a
far-fetched fairy tale. It's hard to believe that
the most famous wizard in all of fiction could have
any basis in reality, unless the legends
were referring to his jazz piano skills,
and not to a literal ability to do magic. Well, hold on to
your pointy hat, because it turns out Merlin
was at least partially based on a real life person. Obviously there are
many fictional parts of the Merlin story. We're pretty sure he
didn't have a talking owl and never turned any
teenagers into squirrels. But some aspects
of his life were based on the story of a man
named Myrddin Wyllt, or Merlin the Wild. Merlin was a poet who
served a King who tragically perished on the battlefield. This caused Merlin to go mad and
run off to live in the woods. If you've ever heard
the phrase, that person is as rich as Croesus, that
means they're pretty well off, and you can probably
convince them to invest in your cryptocurrency. In mythology, Croesus was a
wealthy and powerful ruler who led his kingdom to
ruin after misinterpreting a prediction from the Oracle
of Delphi, who told him that his decision
to attack a rival would destroy a great empire. Oops. Should have read
the room, Croesus. But what you may not
realize is that Croesus was a real person who
ruled Lydia in Anatolia during the sixth century BC. And like in the myth,
Croesus wasn't just rich, he was powerful, too. His warlike people were
supposedly the first to issue silver
and gold coinage, and had conquered a
number of Greek towns in what is now Turkey. Croesus started butting
heads with a King named Cyrus, who was the
grandson of his brother-in-law. Cyrus rose to the
throne in Persia, and began gathering
power and influence that threat Croesus' dominance. Croesus gathered up support
to attack Persia, and just like in the story, his decision
led to the utter destruction of his empire. But while he may have
consulted the Oracle to see whether he would win,
which makes total sense-- you want to be sure you're
not doing all that war prep for nothing-- he probably didn't get the
dramatically ironic prediction he receives in mythology. If you're a fan of horror
movies and/or set foot in a movie theater in 1999, odds
are you've heard of Imhotep. Imhotep is the titular mummy
from the classic 1932 Boris Karloff film, and the 1999
Brendan Fraser reboot. In the films, he was a royal
advisor in ancient Egypt who betrayed the pharaoh for
love, and was cursed for all eternity as a result.
Hey, the heart does make us do foolish things, like take
out a high interest mortgage or get turned into a
dusty, walking corpse. But as unlikely as
it may seem, Imhotep was actually a real
person who was believed to have supernatural powers. Imhotep was the Egyptian
pharaoh Djoser's right hand man, serving as the King's
architect, healer, and minister. It is even believed he
assisted in building Djoser's famous step pyramid. Imhotep was a pretty
popular guy who eventually became deified
more than a millennium after he died. It was believed he was a divine
doctor who could magically heal the sick. It's not clear why
he was picked to be the inspiration for the
villain of a horror franchise. Maybe the producers
just liked his name. Gyges of Lydia was a seventh
century BC Anatolian King who founded a dynasty and
ruled over great prosperity in modern day Turkey. The stories about him make him
sound like a folk hero rather than a man who actually lived. For instance, Plato, the famed
philosopher and all around intelligent guy, believed
Gyges possessed a magic ring. Pliny the Elder
thought similarly, and went on to claim
he invented ball games. What, like billiards, tennis? All the ball games? In actuality, the real life
Gyges was just an average, conquering King. Once he took power
in Lydia, he was able to make peace with
the pharaoh of Egypt. However, he was eventually
whacked by an invading rival. Sounds like he could have
used that magic ring. Ancient legends called the
Assyrian Queen, Semiramis, the daughter of a goddess
who seduced a King, which is a hell of a resume. She was responsible for the
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the ancient
wonders of the world, and also became a prominent
ruler in her own right. As it turns out, some
of that story is true. Semiramis is the Greek name
for an actual ninth century BC Assyrian queen
named Sammu-ramat. She was married to King
Shamshi-Adad the V, and eventually became regent to
her son, King Adad-Nirari III. So she didn't rule
directly, yet that doesn't mean she didn't wield a
lot of power in her own right. Records from the time
indicate that she acted as a political
negotiator for her son. And she also made some
pretty hefty donations to religious temples
while she was Queen, which could
have something to do with her
divine reputation. Always helps to grease
the wheels a bit. So what do you think? Do you believe these
people really existed, or are they just
stuff of legend? Let us in the comments below. And while you're at it, check
out some of these other videos from our Weird History.
