/u/gruevy's posts in /r/AskHistorians

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TIL that the circulation of blood in the body is a relatively recent discovery. What did ancient peoples think was happening with the heart and bleeding to death and whatnot?

1903 upvotes

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Crito warned Socrates that his even if his children avoided "the usual fate of orphans" they would not remember him kindly. What was the usual fate of orphans in classical Athens?

110 upvotes

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My last name is "English". Family genealogy traces that name back to England in the 1400s before the records are lost. How likely is it that my forebears were Angles?

66 upvotes

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How would an ancient Greek light a candle or lamp? Or Egyptian, or Celt, or other bronze/iron age people?

52 upvotes

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Why did Genghis Khan and his sons slaughter so many towns and cities wholesale instead of subjugating them?

21 upvotes

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Would an oikos in an ancient greek polis have included servants who were not slaves? If so, were they paid? What were their lives like?

19 upvotes

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How would a classical or ancient Greek introduce himself?

18 upvotes

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How would you find a particular note on a scale in pre-modern times? If I needed to tune a lyre (or a harpsichord for that matter) to D, how would I find D?

13 upvotes

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How much of our idea of ancient Greek culture really applied only to Athens?

5 upvotes

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Did anyone ever write down their impressions on seeing how big classical Rome was for the first time?

4 upvotes

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Title	Upvotes	Mark as read	Favorited	Rating	Add to a list
TIL that the circulation of blood in the body is a relatively recent discovery. What did ancient peoples think was happening with the heart and bleeding to death and whatnot?	1903
Crito warned Socrates that his even if his children avoided "the usual fate of orphans" they would not remember him kindly. What was the usual fate of orphans in classical Athens?	110
My last name is "English". Family genealogy traces that name back to England in the 1400s before the records are lost. How likely is it that my forebears were Angles?	66
How would an ancient Greek light a candle or lamp? Or Egyptian, or Celt, or other bronze/iron age people?	52
Why did Genghis Khan and his sons slaughter so many towns and cities wholesale instead of subjugating them?	21
Would an oikos in an ancient greek polis have included servants who were not slaves? If so, were they paid? What were their lives like?	19
How would a classical or ancient Greek introduce himself?	18
How would you find a particular note on a scale in pre-modern times? If I needed to tune a lyre (or a harpsichord for that matter) to D, how would I find D?	13
How much of our idea of ancient Greek culture really applied only to Athens?	5
Did anyone ever write down their impressions on seeing how big classical Rome was for the first time?	4