Welcome to Bad Ancient. We fact-check claims that are made about the ancient world. If you want to know if hoplites were named after their shields or if people in ancient times believed the world was flat, you’ve come to the right place.
Did Julius Caesar Burn Down the Library of Alexandria?
Julius Caesar’s destruction of the Library of Alexandria is widely depicted in film and literature, but is there any evidence that it actually happened?
Was the Krypteia Sparta’s Secret Police?
The Krypteia is often presented as a secret police force in Sparta, which went around hunting enslaved helots to maintain order. But how reliable is the evidence to back this up?
Did Crassus have Gold Poured Down his Throat?
It is often claimed that Crassus was killed by the Parthians in a gruesome manner: by having molten gold poured down his throat. But do our sources support this?
Was Alexander the Great’s body preserved in honey?
According to legend, Alexander the Great’s body was preserved in honey after he died. But is there any evidence that this really happened?
Did the Romans flood the Colosseum to stage naval battles?
The film Gladiator II shows the Colosseum being filled with water and hosting a mock naval battle. Is this just historical fiction, or did the Romans actually do this?
Was the Olympic Flame Invented by the Nazis?
The first Olympic torch relay was in 1936, for the Games in Berlin. But did the Nazis invent the Olympic flame to make their Games more authentic?
Did Alexander the Great conquer (most of) the known world?
It is often claimed that Alexander III of Macedon conquered the known world, but is this true or simply hyperbole?
Were Greek boxers ripped?
Were the physiques of ancient combat sports athletes ultra-ripped? They certainly had very active professions that required them to be incredibly strong, but did they look the same as modern bodybuilders?
Did the Carthaginians sacrifice human babies?
Many of our Roman sources claim that the Carthaginians sacrificed babies to their gods, but how true is this?
Are there tunnels under Nan Madol?
Countless storytellers tell of a network of underground tunnels beneath the ancient city of Nan Madol (Pohnpei, Micronesia). Is there any merit to these tales?