caleb-howells
Caleb is a published history author with a strong interest in ancient Britain and the Mediterranean world. He enjoys learning about history in general, but he especially loves investigating myths and legends and seeing how they might be explained by historical events and individuals.
30 Articles
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon is one of the most prominent characters in the legend of the Trojan War . In fact, he was the leader of the enormous Gre
In contrast to the common view that Plato was the first person to write about Atlantis, some researchers try to argue that there are earlier Greek wri
Zeus is arguably the most prominent figure in all of Greek mythology. Aside from his role as the king of the gods, one of the most famous things about
The theory that Atlantis can be identified as the island of Malta is not especially popular, but it is better developed than some other theories. For
The legend of Atlantis is one of the most famous stories from the ancient Greek world. It is a classic tale of a mythological world that mysteriously
Elen the sister of King Arthur is a figure who appears in just a single Arthurian source. Nonetheless, she can almost certainly be identified with a v
Eliwlod is a minor character in the Arthurian legends who is known only from a few Welsh sources. Despite this minor role, he was closely related to K
Gwyar was a sister of King Arthur in the Arthurian legends. She plays a vital role in these legends, being the mother of two very important characters
Illtud is a figure who has a fairly minor role in the Arthurian legends, although he was an extremely important figure in the history of sixth century
Amlawdd Wledig is an intriguing figure from the Arthurian legends. There are various references to him within Welsh literature, but almost nothing is
In many of the Arthurian legends, Arthur is succeeded as High King by Constantine, a member of the dynasty that ruled over Cornwall. This figure is a
Cywryd Gwent is an extremely minor figure in the Arthurian legends, although he has the prominent role of being the father-in-law of King Arthur himse
Gogfran Gawr is one of the fathers-in-law of King Arthur in the Arthurian legends. He was the father of one of Arthur’s queens. It would appear that h
In Welsh tradition, King Arthur had three wives, all of whom were called Gwenhwyfar. In this article, we will examine what we know about the earliest
Gwenhwyfar II was the second wife of King Arthur according to Welsh tradition. She was one of three queens who all had that name and were all married
Gwenhwyfar III was the third wife of King Arthur . As such, she is a prominent and important character in the Arthurian legends. But what do we really
Gwythyr is not a very prominent character in the Arthurian legends, but he is important for being the father-in-law of King Arthur . He also appears i
Hoel of Brittany is a character who features with quite some prominence in the legends of King Arthur . He was the nephew of the king and one of his c
In the Arthurian legends, there is sister of Arthur who is often overlooked. In fact, her very existence as a distinct figure in the legends is rarely
There are several figures in the Arthurian legends who can correctly be referred to as King Budic of Brittany. However, one of them had a particularly
David was a very famous and important figure from Wales in the Arthurian period. Not only was he important historically, but he was also supposedly so
Cydfan is a minor character in the Arthurian legends who appears in just a single source. Yet despite this, he was ostensibly an important figure in t
Duran is a very minor figure from the Arthurian legends who appears in just a single source as the son of King Arthur . What is this source and what d
Gwydre is a high status character from the Arthurian legends. He is the son of King Arthur himself. Despite being the son of the central figure of the
In Greek mythology, Hades was the god of the Underworld . He was one of the most prominent gods, being the brother of powerful deities like Zeus and P
Norse mythology is full of all sorts of powerful deities and giants . Like in virtually all mythologies, some of them were nicer than others. Some wer
Lycurgus was one of the most important and influential figures in the history of Greece. He effectively ruled Sparta for a while, but his most signifi
The carnyx was a famous feature of Celtic culture in ancient times. To the Romans, it was so characteristic of the Celts that they sometimes used it t
An expression that is often used today is the ‘sword of Damocles’. This expression comes from ancient Greek history, found in a tale written by the Ro
Homer’s Odyssey tells one of the most famous stories of ancient Greek mythology. It is the story of one commander’s return from Troy after the Trojan