Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Legend

Catherine de' Medici was the mother of three kings.

Based on a True Story

The Many Myths of Catherine de’ Medici

A new Starz series, “The Serpent Queen,” dramatizes the life of the much-maligned 16th-century ruler

A fresco depicting the abduction of Europa by Zeus, in the form of a bull

Cool Finds

See the Hidden, 500-Year-Old Frescoes Discovered at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco

Restoration experts spent years preserving the artworks, which are now on view as the royal residence reopens for the summer

Arthur’s Stone is “a monument of an entirely different kind to the one that we’d imagined,” says archaeologist Julian Thomas.

Archaeologists Begin First-Ever Excavation of Tomb Linked to King Arthur

Britons first proposed a connection between Arthur’s Stone and the mythical ruler of Camelot before the 13th century

Excavations in Troy, circa 1890s

The Many Myths of the Man Who ‘Discovered’—and Nearly Destroyed—Troy

In the 1870s, amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann inflicted irreparable damage on the site of the legendary city

Most of the possibly royal graves rest in the center of square or rectangular enclosures like the one pictured here, at Plas Gogerddan in Wales.

Cool Finds

Possible Royal Graves Dated to the Time of King Arthur Found in Great Britain

New research brings the number of potential burial sites of early medieval Celtic rulers from 2 to more than 20

The only reference to 355 appears in an August 15, 1779, letter: “I intend to visit 727 [Culper code for New York] before long and think by the assistance of a 355 [lady in the code] of my acquaintance, shall be able to outwit them all.”

Women Who Shaped History

The Myth of Agent 355, the Woman Spy Who Supposedly Helped Win the Revolutionary War

A single reference in the historical record has spawned an array of adaptations, most of which overstate the anonymous figure’s role in the Culper Spy Ring

Medieval manuscripts featuring stories about King Arthur and Camelot

Art Meets Science

How Much Medieval Literature Has Been Lost Over the Centuries?

A new analysis suggests that just 9 percent of manuscripts produced in Europe during the Middle Ages survive today

In each of the extant nine accounts, the victim is captured in battle and has an eagle of some sort carved into their back.

New Research

Did the Vikings Actually Torture Victims With the Brutal ‘Blood Eagle’?

New research reveals the feasibility of the infamous execution method

During the Middle Ages, dragons more often figured in accounts about the lives of saints and religious figures than stories of heists and adventures.

Why Dragons Dominated the Landscape of Medieval Monsters

The mythical beasts were often cast as agents of the devil or demons in disguise

A plaster cast of a "ghost turnip" carving from Donegal, Ireland

When People Carved Turnips Instead of Pumpkins for Halloween

Revelers in Ireland transformed the root vegetables into lanterns designed to ward off dark spirits

Nestor's Cup, named for its ties to a legendary king referenced in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, bears one of the earliest known Greek inscriptions.

Cool Finds

Researchers Are Unraveling the Mystery of the Ancient Greek Tomb of ‘Nestor’s Cup’

New analysis suggests the 2,800-year-old burial held the remains of at least three adults, not a child as previously believed

The pages were disposed of as scrap and pasted into an unrelated book.  

Cool Finds

Rediscovered Medieval Manuscript Offers New Twist on Arthurian Legend

The 13th-century pages, found by chance at a British library, show a different side of Merlin, the magician who advised Camelot’s king

Excavations revealed two distinct phases in Arthur's Stone's construction.

Neolithic Monument Linked to King Arthur Is Older Than Stonehenge

New research suggests Arthur’s Stone was built around 3700 B.C.E. as part of an intricate ceremonial landscape

The limestone slab's inscription states that Claudius “extended and redefined the pomerium because he had increased the boundaries of the Roman people.”

Cool Finds

Rare Boundary Stone Dated to Emperor Claudius’ Reign Unearthed in Rome

The 2,000-year-old travertine slab marked the sacred outer limits of the ancient city

Some of the details between the film and its source material are, of course, different, but the themes at their respective hearts remain consistent.

‘The Green Knight’ Adopts a Medieval Approach to ‘Modern’ Problems

A new film starring Dev Patel as Gawain feels more like a psychological thriller than a period drama

The 2,200-square-foot venue is located about ten miles inland from Ocean City, in the town of Berlin, Maryland.

New Maryland Museum Dives Into the Mythology of Mermaids

Blending history, pop culture and folklore, the attraction features a Feejee mermaid, original artworks and more

Complicated adventures await Loki, the "god of mischief," played by Tom Hiddleston in the new Disney+ series produced by Marvel Studios.

A Folklorist Explains Loki’s Place in Mythology’s Pantheon of Trickster Heroes

Smithsonian’s James Deutsch says that behind the character in the new Marvel Studios series lies the oft-told story of “guile” outsmarting authority

Explore the true history and myths behind six “terrible” women, from the all-knowing Sphinx to the fire-breathing Chimera and the lesser-known shapeshifter Lamia.

Men Have Feared Women for Millennia. Just Look at the Monsters of Greek Mythology

A new collection of essays considers how the villainous women of classical antiquity, from Medusa to the Sphinx, resonate in contemporary Western society

Illustration of Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, the likely inspiration for Molly Pitcher, stoking a cannon for the U.S. Pennsylvania artillery during the Battle of Monmouth

Women Who Shaped History

Molly Pitcher, the Most Famous American Hero Who Never Existed

Americans don’t need to rely on legends to tell the stories of women in the Revolution

As historian Nancy Marie Brown points out, “[A]sking not ‘Are the sagas true?’ but ‘Are they plausible?’” is a far better barometer for testing the Viking tales’ veracity.

Did a Viking Woman Named Gudrid Really Travel to North America in 1000 A.D.?

The sagas suggest she settled in Newfoundland and eventually made eight crossings of the North Atlantic Sea

Page 2 of 4