Bruxsa: The Portuguese Vampire Witch Who Flew at Night and Drained Children
The Bruxsa is Portugal’s vampire tradition, and it occupies a position in Portuguese folklore that combines the vampire with the […]
Nachzehrer: The German Vampire Who Gnawed Its Own Shroud and Rang the Church Bell
The Nachzehrer is the German-speaking world’s contribution to the vampire tradition, and it is one of the strangest figures in
Vrykolakas: The Greek Undead Who Spread Plague and Could Not Be Stopped by a Stake
The vrykolakas is the Greek vampire, and it is significantly different from the Western European vampire tradition that Bram Stoker
Was Odysseus a Real Person? What the Archaeology Actually Says
The question of whether Odysseus actually existed is one of the most genuinely interesting in classical scholarship, and the honest
King Antiphates: The Cannibal King of the Laestrygonians Who Destroyed Odysseus’s Fleet in Minutes
Odysseus arrived at the land of the Laestrygonians with twelve ships. He left with one. The destruction took minutes. King
Sinon: The Greek Spy Who Talked Troy Into Accepting the Wooden Horse and Why He Is the Most Underrated Figure in the Trojan War
The Trojan Horse is the most famous weapon in ancient history, and almost everyone who knows the story knows the
Charybdis: The Whirlpool That Swallowed the Sea Three Times a Day and the Worst Choice Odysseus Ever Had to Make
Charybdis is the opposite of Scylla in almost every respect, and the two monsters together constitute one of the most
Scylla: The Sea Monster Who Was Made From a Goddess and Cannot Be Killed
Scylla is one of the most precisely described monsters in Greek mythology. She has twelve feet, six necks, each neck
King Midas: The Golden Touch, the Donkey Ears, and What the Tradition Actually Says About Desire
King Midas appears in two separate Greek myths that are not directly connected to each other but that between them
Narcissus and Echo: The Origin of Narcissism and One of the Most Psychologically Precise Myths in the Tradition
Narcissus was the most beautiful young man in Greece and he knew it. He rejected every person who fell in