Demandt, Alexander Geschönte Geschichte

Fälschung und Fabelei seit der Antike

Is fake news an invention of modern autocrats and erratic US presidents? Not at all! Even in ancient times, history and stories were distorted and falsified to reinforce one's own worldview, defame opponents or legitimise oneself. From the Persian Empire to the Roman emperors, from Homer to late Christian antiquity, Alexander Demandt presents his insightful and entertaining account of numerous cases of historical falsification in antiquity and beyond. The Romans and Greeks came up with all sorts of reasons to justify their cruel wars after the fact. Many kings and rulers, such as Julius Caesar, claimed to be direct descendants of the gods. For Constantine the Great, there was no question that he owed his victory at the Milvian Bridge to the assistance of the Christian God. Even seemingly objective sources from antiquity always paint a very specific picture of people and events. Uncovering the historical truth behind them is often no longer so easy for us today. But anyone who joins Alexander Demandt in this book on a search for clues will soon learn to look more closely and recognise for themselves where, how and why history has been imaginatively embellished and falsified throughout the ages.