"Archaeologists know quite a bit about ancient ship design from the classical world since the Greeks liked to decorate their pottery with images of impressive wooden military vessels and cargo ships that plied the Mediterranean sea for centuries. Except for a few precious remnants of wood, however, the vessels themselves are long gone. But researchers in the Black Sea have uncovered something incredible." Source: Smithsonian (2018)
"Kevin Rawlinson at The Guardian reports that the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (MAP) has discovered an Greek merchant vessel on the floor of the sea dating back to about 400 B.C., the oldest known intact shipwreck ever discovered."
"...The ship is believed to be a trading vessel similar to a merchant ship depicted on the Siren Vase held at the British Museum. The vase, which dates to around the same time as the ship, is an image of the hero Odysseus lashed to the mast in order to resist the song of the Sirens, who mythology says used their hypnotic song to lure sailors into shipwrecking on their rocky island."
Note: "Cnidus or Knidos (pronounced K-nee-dos) lies at the tip of a long finger of land projecting into the sea in the south-west corner of western Turkey. It was founded in around 360 BC on terraces built into ground that rises a 1, 000 feet from the sea to a towering fortified acropolis. The city was inhabited until late antiquity, when it was abandoned, probably as a result of repeated raids by pirates." Source: The British Museum
"Cnidus boasted two fine harbours, four theatres and other fine civic and sacred buildings, the most important of which were situated on the western edge, overlooking the sea and with a fine view of the island of Cos. The Cnidians exported their wine and other produce far and wide, but the city was chiefly famous for its statue of Aphrodite. This naked representation of the goddess of love was carved by the Athenian sculptor Praxiteles, celebrated for his ability to turn white marble into living flesh.
This charming contraption is regularly featured in sensationalistic stories and videos about ancient death machines. According to Wikipedia, "the brazen bull, bronze bull, or Sicilian bull, was a torture and execution device designed in ancient Greece. According to Diodorus Siculus, recounting the story in Bibliotheca historica, Perillos of Athens invented and proposed it to Phalaris, the tyrant of Akragas, Sicily, as a new means of executing criminals." The brazen bull may have had its origins in Carthaginian human sacrifices and ancient bull worship, assuming that it actually existed, of course.
I haven't been able to find much information about the alleged inventor, Perillos of Athens, other than that he was a brass worker who was supposed to have invented and suggested the use of the Bull to the tyrant Phalaris. If true, Perillos must have had a sick mind and he apparently came to a well-deserved end when Phalaris (disgusted by Perillos's sadism) used him as a guinea pig to test his new invention. Perillos was cooked inside the bull for a while, then taken out alive and thrown off a cliff. That's the story, anyway.
The question is: How much of this story is actually true? The history is extremely murky, but as far as I can tell, no archaeologist has ever uncovered hard evidence that the brass bull as described here ever existed. According to NNDB (a kind of Who's Who database that I'd never heard of before), "the story of the bull cannot be dismissed as pure invention. Pindar, who lived less than a century afterwards, expressly associates this instrument of torture with the name of the tyrant [Phalaris]. There was certainly a brazen bull at Agrigentum, which was carried off by the Carthaginians to Carthage, from where it was again taken by Scipio [Africanus?] and restored to Agrigentum."
Pindar was probably just passing on a story he found in the sources. Likewise for Diodorus Siculus, whose reliability as a historian is still a matter of debate. A very scholarly discussion of Diodorus Siculus's historical method in relation to the story of the bull of Phalaris can be found here [PDF]. As for the brass bull at Agrigentum mentioned above, I haven't been able to find any evidence that it was the same bull as the famous Brazen Bull or that the Agrigentum bull was anything more than a statue. The bull was sacred to several ancient cultures.
There's no limit to human cruelty, but I'm guessing that the story of the Brazen Bull is an early example of propaganda designed, in this case, to smear the reputation of Phalaris, a hated tyrant who was eventually overthrown for his viciousness (and supposedly burned inside his own torture device). According to Livius, "Phalaris became the prototype of an evil dictator" and the story of the invention of the brass bull "...was clearly invented to suggest what tyranny was all about, but there may be an element of historical truth."
"In Athens and under the Roman Republic [torture] was normally thought inappropriate for citizens. It might be used on slaves and perhaps on foreigners, for example prisoners of war. Slaves might be tortured in order to extract confessions of their own guilt or evidence against other persons (the unreliability of this second kind of evidence seems to have been recognized in practice at Athens." Source: The Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD, 3rd ed. revised).
The Romans knew that confessions obtained under torture weren't exactly reliable. According to the OCD, "in general we find emperors during the Principate urging that the use of torture be confined to serious cases and arguing that evidence taken under torture was fragile; the general line taken is that torture should not be resorted to unless there is other evidence of guilt."
The use of torture, even against citizens, apparently became more widespread in the later empire. In other words, the spread of Christianity also led to an increase in the use of torture as a legal instrument. This completely negates the common assumption that Christianity was a civilizing force which moderated the barbarity of the classical world.
Torture became a more common form of punishment during the medieval period and it would seem that the church didn't object. But why would the church object? After all, it preached the most extreme form of torture imaginable--an eternity of torment in Hell for sinners, heretics, free-thinkers of all types, and anyone who couldn't afford to buy indulgences.
"Alexandros Kochliaridis, the first man to stumble upon the ruins of the Amphipolis [Kasta] tomb, talks about the famed Kasta grave and the ancient treasures hidden in the heart of Alexander the Great’s Macedonia." Source: Greek Reporter (2018).
"The area became famous a few years ago when the Kasta tomb was uncovered leading many to think — wishfully — that it was Alexander the Great’s burial site. Although there are still different unconfirmed theories on who was inside the tomb – Kochliaridis has his own, Amphipolis is full of archaeological treasures described as early as in Thoycydides texts in 4th century BC."
Note: The Kasta Tomb dropped out of the news several years ago around the time of the Greek financial crisis. According to Alexander scholar Andrew Chugg, the Greek government was thwarting all progress on the tomb for political reasons. I'm not sure what happened since then -- I don't know much about Greek politics -- but it looks like things have gotten back on track, more or less. The site has been under restoration and the work is apparently finished:
"...The ministry adds that work carried out on three of the four sites of the monument have already reveled the 'architecture, size, scale, sculptures and inscriptions of the brilliant ancient construction'."
"Τhe Museum of Amphipolis houses the material remains of the ancient city of Amphipolis, covering a time span from the prehistoric times down to the Byzantine period. Findings brought to light during recent archaeological excavations are housed in its storage areas, and studied, classified and restored in its workshops." Source: Greek Travel Pages.
When the Greek philosopher Epicurus died in 270 BC, he left his house and garden in Athens to one of his disciples, Hermarchus of Mytilene. According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD, 3rd ed. revised), "[Hermarchus] and his followers lived together, secluding themselves from the affairs of the city and maintaining a modest and even austere standard of living, in accordance with the Master's teaching. They included slaves and women."
Their community was called the Epicurean School or "The Garden" after the house's garden. According to the OCD, "the school was much libeled in antiquity and later, perhaps because of its determined privacy and because of Epicurus' professed hedonism. The qualifications that brought this hedonism close to asceticism were ignored, and members of rival schools accused the Epicureans of many kinds of profligacy."
"In Christian times, Epicureanism was anathema because it taught that man is mortal, that the cosmos is the result of accident, that there is no providential god, and that the criterion for the good life is pleasure." (OCD)
According to Epicurus.net, "Epicurus's philosophy combines a physics based on an atomistic materialism with a rational hedonistic ethics that emphasizes moderation of desires and cultivation of friendships. His world-view is an optimistic one that stresses that philosophy can liberate one from fears of death and the supernatural, and can teach us how to find happiness in almost any situation."
"The philosophy of Epicurus (341–270 B.C.E.) was a complete and interdependent system, involving a view of the goal of human life (happiness, resulting from absence of physical pain and mental disturbance), an empiricist theory of knowledge (sensations, together with the perception of pleasure and pain, are infallible criteria), a description of nature based on atomistic materialism, and a naturalistic account of evolution, from the formation of the world to the emergence of human societies." Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Comment: Epicureanism sounds reasonable to me. It's not surprising that Christians would have attacked it so vehemently.
"Significant finds were brought to light by excavations on the islet of Vryokastraki, opposite Vryokastron, the ancient city of Kythnos. These included an extensive Early Byzantine settlement with part of the coastal wall and gate, an Early Christian basilica, as well as monumental structures belonging to an important ancient sanctuary." Source: Archaeology News Network.
"...Human activity [on Kythnos] in the Early Byzantine period was intense and the earlier buildings have been greatly disturbed. Numerous walls and ample spaces partially utilized the somewhat ruined ancient structures. Later pottery dates to the end of the 6th and first half of the 7th century AD. After this period the city of Kythnos appears to have been abandoned and its inhabitants moved to the Castle of Oria [?], the island’s medieval capital."
The Book of Revelation is thought to have been written during the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96 AD). Many Christians believe the author was the apostle John, but the consensus among scholars is that the book was written by an unknown author they call John of Patmos, who either lived on the Greek island of Patmos or was exiled there during one of Domitian's alleged persecutions of the early Christians.
Note:According to Christian sources, Domitian carried out several harsh persecutions, especially towards the end of his reign, but "some historians ... have maintained that there was little or no anti-Christian activity during Domitian's time." (Wikipedia) "The lack of consensus by historians about the extent of persecution during the reign of Domitian derives from the fact that while accounts of persecution exist, these accounts are very cursory or their reliability is debated." (That's a polite way of saying that a lot of the Christian stories about how they were persecuted in the ancient world are myths.)
It's commonly believed that the Book of Revelation describes Armageddon, the end of the world, but it seems more likely that its author was prophesying the fall of the hated Roman empire:
"Many people look to the Book of Revelations for signs of the apocalypse," according to a now-defunct source I found a while ago. "This event represents the cumulative battle between good and evil, ends the world, ushers in the Age of God. The Book of Revelations was written during a trying time in Christian and Jewish history. The book’s target was not necessarily Satan, but Rome. As a result, the final battle and victory of God over Satan was actually predicting the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity."
According to biblical scholar L. Michael White, "most scholars now think that the issue revolved around the inauguration of the Flavian imperial cult in Ephesus ... Our clearest indication of how this is reflected in Revelation is seen in the description of the two 'beasts' from Rev. 13. The first is called 'the beast from the sea' who is given his power by Satan himself. He is described as having 'seven heads and ten horns,' and people worshiped him (Rev. 13.1-4). Then there is a second, 'the beast from the land' who makes everyone worship the first beast and its 'image' (Rev. 13.11-18). The 'image' (13.14-15) and the mysterious number '666' (13.18) refer to statues and coins or inscriptions with the emperor's image and titles. The 'beast from the land' probably referred to either the provincial governor of Asia or to the high priest of the imperial cult, who jointly would have overseen the temple and its festivals in Ephesus at just this time."
In other words, the apocalypse predicted by the Book of Revelation actually refers to the hoped-for collapse of Rome. If this view is correct, then all the millennial cults and end-times Christians who are waiting for Armageddon based on their reading of Revelation are actually waiting for an event which happened almost 1500 years ago. But the strange truth of all of this is that the Roman empire was already Christian when it collapsed in the west. Gibbon was at least partially right when he blamed the fall of Rome (partly) on "barbarians and Christianity."
Comment: It's strange and revealing that the New Testament, a collection of books about peace, love and redemption, should end with the apocalyptic bloodbath of Revelation. One minute, you have Jesus blessing the little children and talking about forgiving your enemies, then, the next minute, a beast with seven heads is slaughtering millions of sinners in a river of blood. That's quite a story arc, to say the least.
Revelation has always been my favorite book in the Bible because of its hallucinatory weirdness. Considering its surrealistic content, I've always wondered if John--assuming that was his real name--happened to stumble across some funny plants or mushrooms during his exile on Patmos, which, incidentally, was listed by Forbes (in 2014) as "modern Europe's most idyllic place to live." This has probably changed dramatically with the "refugee" invasion of the Greek islands, which has been an absolute disaster. The island probably wasn't that idyllic back in John's day, either, but the views must have been spectacular.
"Priapos was the rustic god of the bounty of the vegetable garden. He was also honoured as the protector of sheep, goats, bees, the vine and of all garden produce." Source: Theoi Greek Mythology.
Notes: Priapus was the John Holmes of ancient Greek deities. "He was represented in a caricature of the human form, grotesquely misshapen, with an enormous phallus," according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. "The ass was sacrificed in his honour, probably because the ass symbolized lecherousness and was associated with the god’s sexual potency. In Greek mythology his father was Dionysus, the wine god; his mother was either a local nymph or Aphrodite, the goddess of love."
The Roman god Mutunus Tuturus was a phallic marriage deity closely associated with Priapus. According to the Oxford Classical Dictionary (OCD, 3rd ed. revised), Priapus was "an ithyphallic god most familiar from the sportively obscene short poems called Priape; in these he typically threatens to punish by penetration any male or female intruder into the garden of which he is guardian."
Though I be wooden Priapus (as thou see'st), With wooden sickle and a prickle of wood, Yet will I seize thee, girl! and hold thee seized And This, however gross, withouten fraud Stiffer than lyre-string or than twisted rope I'll thrust and bury to thy seventh rib.
Offerings were made to statues of Priapus, which were usually set up in gardens. "A minor and disreputable god," he preferred the "lustful ass" as a sacrificial victim, but would also accept "animal sacrifice of the more normal type or, very commonly, offerings of fruit, flowers, vegetables (and fish)." (OCD)
This is the temple of Apollo at the Ionian sanctuary of Didyma in Turkey. The oracular shrine of Apollo "was administered by a priestly clan, the Brnachidae, and rose to great prominence in the 6th cent. BC," according to the Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd ed. revised). The fate of the sanctuary "seems to have been sealed by an oracle given in AD 303, advising Diocletian to initiate his empire-wide persecution of the Christian church. Constantine I closed the oracle, and executed the priests; it appears not to have functioned thereafter."
In other words, the oracle was shut down in retaliation for its advice to Diocletian.