ANIMALS THAT MOULDED HUMAN HISTORY
Added on: 8th Oct 2015
BUCEPHALUS:
THE MOST DOMINANT HORSE IN HISTORY
According to legend, Bucephalus was a wild horse than no man
could get close to. A young Alexander the Great became the first
and only man to tame the wild horse not by force as so many
before had tried and failed, but by turning the horse’s head toward
the sun, understanding that Bucephalus was simply afraid of his
own shadow. After that no one but Alexander could mount the
horse and together they would conquer vast territories and
spread Greek culture and civilization all over the then-known world.
ROBERT THE BRUCE’S INSPIRATIONAL SPIDER
We all know Robert the Bruce today (because of Braveheart) as one of
the most famous Scottish warriors ever and the man who led his
country during the heroic Wars of Scottish Independence against
England. However, before he become one of Scotland’s greatest heroes
he had suffered a few humiliating losses which made him hide in a
cave on Rathlin Island during the winter of 1306. There he observed
a spider trying to build a web across the cave walls only to have
the harsh winter weather tear its work down every day. Nonetheless,
the spider never quit, and one day, the web held fast. Robert was
so inspired by the spider’s persistence that he returned to war with
the English, determined to fight for Scotland until his country was free.
SERGEANT STUBBY
Sergeant Stubby is the most decorated war dog of World War I and
the only dog in US history that was promoted to sergeant because
of his time in combat, even though most historians believe that the
dog earned the honorary rank from the Smithsonian Institution and
not the US army. One way or another, Stubby served for eighteen
months and participated in seventeen battles on the Western Front
during the course of which he saved his regiment from many
unexpected mustard gas attacks and found and comforted
several wounded soldiers. According to legend, he once caught
a German spy by the seat of his pants, holding him there until
American soldiers found and captured him.
What more can you ask from a dog?
THE MONKEY THAT KILLED A NATION’S LEADER DURING WAR
After two victorious Balkan Wars against the Ottoman Empire, Greece
was prevailing and conquering one territory after another against
Turkey at the beginning of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922).
After the Greek army had conquered the biggest part of Thrace and
Asia Minor and was about to invade and re-conquer Constantinople
(Istanbul) after five hundred years of Ottoman occupation, the Greek
leader of the military campaign would lose his life because of an
attack from a monkey while walking in his royal gardens.
A macaque bit Alexander, the Greek king, and caused him a wound that
would later become infected and kill him at age twenty-seven.
Only a couple of years after his death and a series of political mistakes
by the Greek side, the initially victorious campaign fast became a
national disaster for Greece and a monkey became the nation’s
most hated living animal.
THE SNAKE THAT KILLED CLEOPATRA
Even though Cleopatra’s death is disputed, it is widely accepted that
she made a poisonous snake bite her as her empire was falling into
Roman hands. If this is what indeed happened, then the snake
shaped history by killing one of the most powerful, dominant
women who ever lived.
THE DOG THAT CAPTURED THE WORLD'S
MOST WANTED MAN
On May 2, 2011, a well-trained Malinois named Cairo accompanied the
US Navy SEALs who killed Osama Bin Laden. Even though we don’t
have many details about this secret but successful operation, every
member of the team guarantees that the outcome might not have been
as successful if Cairo wasn’t present to help.
THE CROCODILES THAT “FOUGHT” IN WWII
ALONGSIDE THE ALLIES
The South Pacific during World War II holds the distinction for being
an especially savage killing ground the likes of which humankind
had never seen before or since. Yet one of the bloodiest, most horrifying
massacres in the history of the war came not at the hands of
humans, but from the jaws of the animal kingdom.
The Battle of Ramree Island, which was fought for six weeks during
January and February 1945, entered The Guinness Book of World Records
for the “Most Fatalities in a Crocodile Attack.” According to various
estimations, anywhere from five hundred to almost a thousand
Japanese soldiers were slaughtered by thousands of saltwater crocodiles
that were lying in wait in the inland swamps, thus shaping military
history as no other animal has.
A RANDOM EAGLE AND A TURTLE
KILLED THE FATHER OF TRAGEDY
Aeschylus is recognized worldwide as the father of tragedy since he was
the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians, along with Sophocles
and Euripides. As the legendary playwright was working on his new play
he became the victim of his own bald head. According to various
historical sources, Aeschylus was killed by a tortoise dropped by an
eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the
turtle’s shell. In this ironic way the life of one of the greatest writers who
ever lived was cut short, thus preventing many more classic plays
from being finished.
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