+Zedfinite You know, being out in the open sea for too long can give you some hallucination. Just go out and ask some fisherman nowaday and you got difference kind of crazy stories already :))))
+Sand Shadow Actually after looking it up Jimson Weed is also known as Angles Trumpet which has been used/known to cause someone to forget and cause someone to hallucinate
+Anton K I feel that when they refer to Jimson's Weed, they're referring to the entire genus, not just the single species in North America. All members of the genus have the same hallucinatory effect, and there is a species native to Tunisia, which would have been very accessible to the Greek.
You might like a show that was on the history channel called "Clash of the Gods." In it they go over popular myths and the historical events that may have caused it. They have 2 episodes that go really deep into The Odyssey.
I think all fables and stories hide a truth in them that people often do not attempt to look for or consider. As language, slang and poetic meaning changes throughout the centuries, many of the old stories we have heard and thought of as entirely made up possibly hide very important truths and knowledge within them.
Is it possible that the telling of the Odyssey was a way for people to remember how to take care of themselves, when not every home had manuscripts or every town a healer? If you tell this tale to children, as they go through life they remember how Odysseus overcame his obstacles and therefore can overcome their own.
RustyRC83 Rc some stories could have had that purpose, even if it wasn't intentional. But it is generally thought that the Odyssey came about just as many other Greek stories did - as a way to entertain the crowds. During early Greek history, especially the Greek Dark Age (so somewhat before the Odyssey was written down), travelling poets (rhapsodes, something similar to bards) were really popular in Greece. Many (or all) of the stories they were telling basicall had the same structure and same fillers, which served as an easier way to remember the story, so you can retell it a bunch of times. These fillers and structure are visible in both the Illiad and the Odyssey and some other myths that were written down (but with the latter, mostly fillers are visible because they weren't always written in verse). Anyway, some other details of the stories often changed because the stories were long, and it was hard to remember everything without writing it down (which they didn't do), plus the same basic story was retold by more than one bard. That's why you have more than one version for basically every Greek myth, including the Odyssey (because 'Homer's Odyssey' is only one version, but the most well known one). And among the things that changed sometimes were the descriptions of plants, so I doubt the main purpose of the stories was what you said, but I definitely agree that it had a part. After all, many myths and stories in various folklores were more or less cautionary tales.
It's more than that. The Iliad and the Odyssey are like an enciclopedia: they contained all the knowledge of the ancient Greek civilization of circa 700/600BC, from plants (such as in this case), to society (like in the Odyssey, where almost every class of the society is described) to other more practical tasks as to how to build a raft (again in the Odyssey).
Eh, doubt it's that sophisticated really. But fun fact: Homer probably was only the first guy to write the story down, because these tales were usually memorised and told by bards and passed on verbally only. Which is evidenced by known traditions, and the fact that the tale is a lot more captivating told than read. There is a little bit of science behind it, but the gist is: It's nicer to listen to it, than to read it.
So, Odysseus and his pals went on a drug vacation, and The Odyssey turns out to be an encrypted map with all the addresses of recommended dealers? Wow. Never thought of that. Pretty cool stuff.
Love it! I study archeology, so at University this is considered to be basic knowledge, it's great to see, that so many people watch and like these videos. Hopefully this will make people like me getting less bullied in school, because greek mythology is definitely not boring or useless.
Also, the famous pair of monsters that Odysseus encountered Scylla and Charybdis were propably natural phenomenons. Scylla was a rocky reef by the shore of Sicily, and Charybdis was a neighbouring maelstrom.
Tim Severin attempted to recreate the journey in an authentic boat from the era, and he identified numerous real features along the way which could have led to the legendary features in the story
Very interesting. This shows how myth, legend, stories and reality are conected at a certsin degree. I immediately remembered about the "snowdrop" from Stardust having similar "counter effect" to an ailment as stated here.
I read a book about early medicine in which the herb moly was translated as garlic. Garlic has a black root when subjected to a carmelization process (Google black garlic), it has a white or purple compound flower head (color depends on variety) and it was thought to be proof against magic and evil supernatural creatures. I wish I could remember which book it was. I will cite it if I remember or come across the book again.
If you want to know more about the herbs given by Hermes and similar truths behind myths, I highly suggest you read “Science of the Magical” by Matt Kaplan. It’s very good and quite witty. It feels not like a textbook or a scientific report, but rather a series of stories, told by someone with a joyous fascination.
This makes perfect sense, and today reconstructing myths is all the rage. In India, there is such a diverse mythological background to everything we do, and it's origins are now coming to focus. Look up Devdutt Pattanaik and his books, on the Ramayan and Mahabharat, they are absolutely fascinating.
in the book of "Adventures in Human Being" Gavin Francis mentions about how Homeros describes battles at Iliad in a very specific way. So the book is about body parts and when Gavin is talking about collarbone he quotes from Iliad and mentions how Homeros knew nerves and stuff to be wrote in that specific way.
With time, stories become myths, myths become legends. Most myths have a base in reality, but the older the story, the more "mythical" the telling becomes and the original events are harder to identify. We can still easily see that today in a nutshell with the "broken phone" exercise.
0:16 just like the Bible: Though some parts may be based on real events, the encounters with strange monsters, terrifying giants and powerful magicians ought to be considered as complete fiction.
I really like the idea of ancient cultures using myths to convey information. It would certainly make sense from an evolutionary perspective; our brains are built to recall stories, much more so than facts, and the major advantage humans had that allowed them to build complex societies was our ability to build upon previous knowledge by inter-generational transmission of information. Storytelling could have evolved as a way to easily convey pertinent information, such as which plants could cure which illnesses. Obviously this theory isn't really falsifiable, but it's still a nice thought.
I saw a documentary a while ago about how Scylla and Charybdis probably referred to a dangerous navigation area which Odysseus would have had to take between Troy and Ithaca.
Fascinating! A great example of how important knowledge was recorded and preserved in mythology by our remote - and remarkably smart - ancestors. More ancient science at Homer the Astronomer-1 and Homer-the-Astronomer-2
I'm relating this part of the Odyssey to the scene in the movie "O, brother where art thou?" (Which was actually based off of the Odyssey.) When one of the sirens at the river are feeding Everett poison.
The sirens, an irresistible call... or just a metaphor? ♀ What is your "siren song" in everyday life? That thing that attracts you and scares you at the same time? Let's compare our experiences! #Odyssey #Sirens #Metaphors
Thalia Potato έντομα ταξί λεει πως τους έκανε ζωα αλλα κυριος τους έκανε μονο γουρούνια, τα οποια εχουν παρόμοιο όργανα με τον άνθρωπο και εχουν μεγάλη νοημοσύνη! αρα εχει κι αλλα μυστικά!
I think he merely speaks in a Canadian accent of some lesser-known type...When Canadians pronounce the "ou" and "ow" sounds, you can hear nearly direct echoes of Scotland and England (particularly northern England). British and Scottish ancestry had long dominated many sections of Canada, you see, and Canada took much longer to splinter from Great Britain than the United States did.
I would just like to say that if the Odyssey actually happend, or rather, has SOME basis in truth like how the Trojan War did, then it's likely that it was didn't LITERALLY take Odysseus (or his real life equivalent) 10 years to get home from Troy. In the Bronze Age, and even in Classical Greece, "X number of years" was often used to simply mean "a long time". I find it hard to believe that it would take an experienced seafarer that long, and have that much trouble getting home if he stuck to established trade routes. And further more, rather than actually monsters like the Cyclops, the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis, there are likely rational explanations for these events that were just embellished over time. Also, Homer was a poet, not a historian, so it's possible that he also sliced up the story by adding some of these things. Like the Trojan War, it entirely possible that there was a real Odysseus, or at least a real person who he was based off of, but his actual journey wasn't as fantastical as Homer put it.
Actually, his name was Homerus, but in English, we change all names wich end with -us to not end with -us. Also, we change the pronounciation of certain words, like Circe, wich is pronounced as [kirkuh].
Homer in Greek is Homer (Spelled 'OMHP). Homerus is a Latin version of his name. Also, it is French which cut off all the -us from Latin words, and we just borrowed them from French. English has many words with -us like campus, cactus, focus, calculus, virus, etc.
So Odysseus and his crew were high the whole time? Does this explain how they meet a Cyclops or listen to Sirens?
Whatever they're ingesting makes them waaaaay too creative in their storytelling.
+Zedfinite You know, being out in the open sea for too long can give you some hallucination. Just go out and ask some fisherman nowaday and you got difference kind of crazy stories already :))))
+Sand Shadow Actually after looking it up Jimson Weed is also known as Angles Trumpet which has been used/known to cause someone to forget and cause someone to hallucinate
+Anton K but greeks are seafarers and traders. there may be a loose evidence they might have heard of these herbs, by word of mouth from others.
+Anton K I feel that when they refer to Jimson's Weed, they're referring to the entire genus, not just the single species in North America. All members of the genus have the same hallucinatory effect, and there is a species native to Tunisia, which would have been very accessible to the Greek.
Please can you do more episodes like this? Uncovering the truths in myths and legends?
You might like a show that was on the history channel called "Clash of the Gods." In it they go over popular myths and the historical events that may have caused it. They have 2 episodes that go really deep into The Odyssey.
asaavedra0327 Yeah, I saw the show :)
I love it and wish they'd make more!
"Myths are just truths we've forgotten."
I highly recommend you to read 'The hero with a thousand faces' by J. Campbell
Euhemerism - myths are distorted accounts of real historical events, history in disguise
I've always heard the plant Hermes gives Odysseus was "Holy Moly" hence where we get the expression from
Matthew Laing It would be holy if given by the gods so technically it could be called Holy Moly.
I Randomly Post Everything I agree
Ohhhhh.... Now I know .
Thnx
I think that it is from holy guacamole, and holy moly is short for that. Maybe
Nah it comes from "Holy Moses" just a minced up "clean" version. Was a popular saying with old superheros.
I think all fables and stories hide a truth in them that people often do not attempt to look for or consider. As language, slang and poetic meaning changes throughout the centuries, many of the old stories we have heard and thought of as entirely made up possibly hide very important truths and knowledge within them.
I agree. Also, I love your username.
SnowLeopard84 fangirl lol yeah
Vbgbcvtthfhtf
They used to be considered truth, but modern times translate things differently thus turning them into seemingly fiction
qht you just said sounded very deep and meaningful and barely understood any of it lol
I love the art in this! Fantastic.
Odyseeus is usually depicted with a beard
*+CybeargPlays* Reminds me a bit of _Another World_.
Hanrui Huang
It is Art ;)
It is free of interpretation
bricknose tru
bricknose mee tooooooo
Is it possible that the telling of the Odyssey was a way for people to remember how to take care of themselves, when not every home had manuscripts or every town a healer? If you tell this tale to children, as they go through life they remember how Odysseus overcame his obstacles and therefore can overcome their own.
RustyRC83 Rc some stories could have had that purpose, even if it wasn't intentional. But it is generally thought that the Odyssey came about just as many other Greek stories did - as a way to entertain the crowds. During early Greek history, especially the Greek Dark Age (so somewhat before the Odyssey was written down), travelling poets (rhapsodes, something similar to bards) were really popular in Greece. Many (or all) of the stories they were telling basicall had the same structure and same fillers, which served as an easier way to remember the story, so you can retell it a bunch of times. These fillers and structure are visible in both the Illiad and the Odyssey and some other myths that were written down (but with the latter, mostly fillers are visible because they weren't always written in verse). Anyway, some other details of the stories often changed because the stories were long, and it was hard to remember everything without writing it down (which they didn't do), plus the same basic story was retold by more than one bard. That's why you have more than one version for basically every Greek myth, including the Odyssey (because 'Homer's Odyssey' is only one version, but the most well known one). And among the things that changed sometimes were the descriptions of plants, so I doubt the main purpose of the stories was what you said, but I definitely agree that it had a part. After all, many myths and stories in various folklores were more or less cautionary tales.
It's more than that. The Iliad and the Odyssey are like an enciclopedia: they contained all the knowledge of the ancient Greek civilization of circa 700/600BC, from plants (such as in this case), to society (like in the Odyssey, where almost every class of the society is described) to other more practical tasks as to how to build a raft (again in the Odyssey).
I had the same thought!
Eh, doubt it's that sophisticated really. But fun fact: Homer probably was only the first guy to write the story down, because these tales were usually memorised and told by bards and passed on verbally only. Which is evidenced by known traditions, and the fact that the tale is a lot more captivating told than read. There is a little bit of science behind it, but the gist is: It's nicer to listen to it, than to read it.
Odysseus did Molly guys...
I didn't know your mother was named Molly. :p
ThisisNOTCONNECTED TOMYUA-cam Oh man. Anyone got some ice?
Does this mean I'm bad, because my name is Molly...
Moly*
It should mean that you were a gift from a gods, and have the power to stop poisonous witches.
When the lesson writer narrates, it always makes me feel better... a change, once in a while, is good
Locals knew of these herbs and was simply common knowledge, that a gifted writer would absolutely use it in a good story, such as this one.
So, Odysseus and his pals went on a drug vacation, and The Odyssey turns out to be an encrypted map with all the addresses of recommended dealers? Wow. Never thought of that. Pretty cool stuff.
A year long vacation! They sure enjoyed themselves for the time, and without even realizing the time they spent. Yeah, totally.
yes
Love it! I study archeology, so at University this is considered to be basic knowledge, it's great to see, that so many people watch and like these videos. Hopefully this will make people like me getting less bullied in school, because greek mythology is definitely not boring or useless.
I just love the way you guys make everything so simple to understand.
"To good to be true". That pretty much sums up most of the Greek mythos
I want more of this. Explain the whole book!
Also, the famous pair of monsters that Odysseus encountered Scylla and Charybdis were propably natural phenomenons. Scylla was a rocky reef by the shore of Sicily, and Charybdis was a neighbouring maelstrom.
They was popping Molly back in Odyssey's time ?!?
Fig Newton AYYYE THEY KNEW HOW TO GET TUUUUUUUUUUURNT THOOOOO
they were feeling like rockstars
That's why it took them so much to get back home, the Bros were chasin the dragon
Doc Fig shook
Moly
Oh My God I've been binge watching all of these and now its the end I NEED MORE GUYS
Tim Severin attempted to recreate the journey in an authentic boat from the era, and he identified numerous real features along the way which could have led to the legendary features in the story
Please do The Illiad!
Odysseus aka Man of Many Devices. Or should I say "Nobody"...
+Dayz 3O6 thats not what πολυμηχανος means...but a man of many tricks.
***** I've read the Iliad and that is one of his title. The other being "King of Ithaka" and "Odysseus the cunning".
no you misunderstood me. i mean "Man of Many Devices" in greek is πολυμηχανος,which really means a man of many tricks and not of many devices.
***** I think the book mistranslated it.
Dayz 3O6 could be
Very interesting. This shows how myth, legend, stories and reality are conected at a certsin degree. I immediately remembered about the "snowdrop" from Stardust having similar "counter effect" to an ailment as stated here.
I read a book about early medicine in which the herb moly was translated as garlic. Garlic has a black root when subjected to a carmelization process (Google black garlic), it has a white or purple compound flower head (color depends on variety) and it was thought to be proof against magic and evil supernatural creatures. I wish I could remember which book it was. I will cite it if I remember or come across the book again.
Did you remember
Waiting for you to remember
this should be a series for other fictional stories it would be awesome
If you want to know more about the herbs given by Hermes and similar truths behind myths, I highly suggest you read “Science of the Magical” by Matt Kaplan. It’s very good and quite witty. It feels not like a textbook or a scientific report, but rather a series of stories, told by someone with a joyous fascination.
Wow it makes those ancient myths 10x more magical.
This makes perfect sense, and today reconstructing myths is all the rage. In India, there is such a diverse mythological background to everything we do, and it's origins are now coming to focus. Look up Devdutt Pattanaik and his books, on the Ramayan and Mahabharat, they are absolutely fascinating.
Too quiet audio, you should make it a bit louder generally
I know this is 3 years in the future but you are so right !
@@malaanandakumar2906 I know this is 2 months in the future but you are also right.
@@jacobwiessner7650 I know this is 4 days in the future, but I don't agree 😂
jacob wiessner I know this is 4 months in the future but you are also right!
@@curiousbench I know this is one day in the future but you are right too!
in the book of "Adventures in Human Being" Gavin Francis mentions about how Homeros describes battles at Iliad in a very specific way. So the book is about body parts and when Gavin is talking about collarbone he quotes from Iliad and mentions how Homeros knew nerves and stuff to be wrote in that specific way.
Please do more scientific interpretations of myths.
With time, stories become myths, myths become legends.
Most myths have a base in reality, but the older the story, the more "mythical" the telling becomes and the original events are harder to identify.
We can still easily see that today in a nutshell with the "broken phone" exercise.
0:16 just like the Bible: Though some parts may be based on real events, the encounters with strange monsters, terrifying giants and powerful magicians ought to be considered as complete fiction.
You know its good content when they pronounce everything right ✅
This story gives an entirely new meaning to "popping molly".
Please ! Please ! Please make more videos like this, on other epic poems or myths.
Need more episodes and examples on the science behind myths, please!
1:00 Some corrections. First, the spell is in the food, and second, it was HOGS and PIGS, not just animals.
Ahhh! Reminded me of my teacher back when I was 13.
MrMac5150 Lol... I'm way passed 15.
I sent a message to my English teacher after watching this video.
Very nice lesson...I learn more from here than in school I was attending..
Nolan Hype Train starts here!!! Woo
when I woke up today I didn't expect to become absolutely shooketh
I really like the idea of ancient cultures using myths to convey information. It would certainly make sense from an evolutionary perspective; our brains are built to recall stories, much more so than facts, and the major advantage humans had that allowed them to build complex societies was our ability to build upon previous knowledge by inter-generational transmission of information. Storytelling could have evolved as a way to easily convey pertinent information, such as which plants could cure which illnesses. Obviously this theory isn't really falsifiable, but it's still a nice thought.
That is true. Ancient cultures knew many things that got lost to us due to the dark middle ages, and we are just researching them now.
Great Explanation
0:23 I absolutely *LOVE* the fact that you say the word considered
it's fascinating how people can dislike Ted videos specially this kind....
an absolutely fantastic video
Great video
hermis: and i call this root (HOLY MOLY)
ody:haah😯😯😯
hermis: HAHAHAHAHA🤣🤣🤣
WOULDNT YOU LIKE A TASTE OF THE POWER
@@MaryamAl-Hakeem-d9qWOULDNT YOU LIKE TO USE MORE THAN WORDS
@@Tanvibee1 DEEP IN THE NIGHT THE FIGHT LASTS FOR HOURS
@@MaryamAl-Hakeem-d9q YOU CAN BE HURT OR YOU CAN BEAT HER
@@Tanvibee1 WOULDNT YOU LIKE TO HAVE SOME OF THE MAGIC ✨
awesome! never even thought of it this way
I saw a documentary a while ago about how Scylla and Charybdis probably referred to a dangerous navigation area which Odysseus would have had to take between Troy and Ithaca.
It helped us very much dude
This is amazingly eye-opening. Thank you.
The animation & art here is amazing!
Fascinating! A great example of how important knowledge was recorded and preserved in mythology by our remote - and remarkably smart - ancestors.
More ancient science at Homer the Astronomer-1 and Homer-the-Astronomer-2
Awesome!!!
I really appreciate your this humble effort!!
Can you guys upload more riddles? I love trying to figure them out and telling them to my friends
Odysseus wasn’t looking for Molly, but I’ll bet he’s glad he found her.
So funny, walking by the beach I found this beautiful plant and decided to bring it home. It was Jimson Wed.
Does anybody know other videos similar to this? With the truth behind myths?
They did one on the Minotaur if you want to look that up.
Madi i know, i already watched it. thx tho.
I'm relating this part of the Odyssey to the scene in the movie "O, brother where art thou?" (Which was actually based off of the Odyssey.) When one of the sirens at the river are feeding Everett poison.
This was great...
Looking forward to see Ondine's curse art
The sirens, an irresistible call... or just a metaphor? ♀ What is your "siren song" in everyday life? That thing that attracts you and scares you at the same time? Let's compare our experiences! #Odyssey #Sirens #Metaphors
I love your vids because I'm leaning so much and its fun to learn because of the little cartoon
The voice volume is much lower than other videos so I tune up mine then the outro music became too loud.
I am Greek I learned this at 3d grade!
Thalia Potato wow they make u learn legends in school or are they like fairy tales to yall
School!
Thalia Potato έντομα ταξί λεει πως τους έκανε ζωα αλλα κυριος τους έκανε μονο γουρούνια, τα οποια εχουν παρόμοιο όργανα με τον άνθρωπο και εχουν μεγάλη νοημοσύνη! αρα εχει κι αλλα μυστικά!
ThaliaFox can Greece even afford schools?
Three dimensional grade?
Interesting video but am I the only one to note that the sound is too quiet in comparison to other videos?
Nope... normally keep my headphones at volume 2-4, I had it at 10 for this.
aswler yes even I think so
"Holy Moly!" Yes, that's where the saying comes from!
Fascinating!
Awesome videos man👍🏻
+Marcos Zarate Awesome epics, Homer.
It's one of those books I probably need to read like "The Divine Comedy" and "Finnegan's Wake".
It is a good story to help my son with his project.
What a wonderful animation 😍
Fake accent? Working on it...
Just sounds kinda like he can’t decide what accent to do.
I think he merely speaks in a Canadian accent of some lesser-known type...When Canadians pronounce the "ou" and "ow" sounds, you can hear nearly direct echoes of Scotland and England (particularly northern England). British and Scottish ancestry had long dominated many sections of Canada, you see, and Canada took much longer to splinter from Great Britain than the United States did.
Haha. I'm a dual national. Born in the USA but moved to England long ago. My accent is a total mess.
@Zakary Yuen So who is he?
Thanks, Zakary Yuen
Do one for Illiad!
I like to think of myths this way: they occupy a space between fact and fiction.
my exact thoughts
Amazing illustrated animaltion
Christopher Nolan taking notes, so that it can be scientifically accurate and to adhere no VFX policy
why is it so quiet ? :(
Why is the volume so low compared to other TED Ed episodes?
Is there anyone besides me who enter in a single video and cant just stop it !
Great lesson woven into this story. Ironic that ecstasy is tag named " molly" as well. LOL
Why is the volume always so low on this channel????
I would just like to say that if the Odyssey actually happend, or rather, has SOME basis in truth like how the Trojan War did, then it's likely that it was didn't LITERALLY take Odysseus (or his real life equivalent) 10 years to get home from Troy. In the Bronze Age, and even in Classical Greece, "X number of years" was often used to simply mean "a long time". I find it hard to believe that it would take an experienced seafarer that long, and have that much trouble getting home if he stuck to established trade routes. And further more, rather than actually monsters like the Cyclops, the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis, there are likely rational explanations for these events that were just embellished over time. Also, Homer was a poet, not a historian, so it's possible that he also sliced up the story by adding some of these things. Like the Trojan War, it entirely possible that there was a real Odysseus, or at least a real person who he was based off of, but his actual journey wasn't as fantastical as Homer put it.
So we're all here after the Christopher Nolan movie announcement right?
Circe is real all right...
She's my bio teacher
She doesn't trick me or such...
But she has great knowledge on plants, their chemicals and effects
This teaches us not to come to conclusions with whatever little knowledge we humans have.
As a Pharmacist i really appreciate the history of Pharmacognosy
Very Cool. And great Artwork.
anyone watching in 2019 7th of apr ? and i find these fun to watch.
More myths! Please
Thank you so much
This is amazing
Good timing
This seems so cool after you have read circe by madeline miller
Why is this video in particular so quiet?
Actually, his name was Homerus, but in English, we change all names wich end with -us to not end with -us.
Also, we change the pronounciation of certain words, like Circe, wich is pronounced as [kirkuh].
Homer in Greek is Homer (Spelled 'OMHP). Homerus is a Latin version of his name. Also, it is French which cut off all the -us from Latin words, and we just borrowed them from French. English has many words with -us like campus, cactus, focus, calculus, virus, etc.
This is not always true. Just take a look at Hephaestus or Daedalus or Icarus or most other Greek names
@@andrewbunnell7576 no. Ὅμηρος was it
HOLY SHIT! A DIFFERENT NARRATOR FOR ONCE?!
IS IT MY BIRTHDAY?!
Is Circe similar to this? which should I read if yes?
0:27 Have you seen the Odysseus mission news?
Not possible. Jimson weed is originally native to North America not the Mediterranean. It didn't spread until the days of exploration.
Fi Handley no it doesn't
An excellent connection of the ancient masterpiece with contemporary science.