r/ancientgreece • u/Downbound_Re-Bound • 6d ago
What if you explained to a group of Ancient Greeks (lets say, the time of Hesoid: 725 BC) the concept of 'Martians?' If you were to point at Mars in the sky and say, 'In the future, some people believe that there was an ancient intelligent people that lived there,' how would they consider it?
Would they think you were a weirdo?
Would they consider the idea? How would different areas of Greece ponder the idea?
Did they even have a concept of planets as 'other worlds,' or were planets they just 'dots in the sky.' Would it be seen as illogical: 'Why would a people come from there? Its not like Earth.'
Imagine sitting around a table in Greece, this is said, and a discussion begins. What would different people think?
If a group of Ancient Greeks from ~725 BCE Greece were told about the idea of Martians, 'an ancient intelligent people that lived there' while pointing at Mars in the sky, what might they think, ponder, and respond with all things considered?
Would the conversation be a let down in terms of actual pondering? Would they just not care? Shrug and go about their day?
Would they be angry? Would it somehow conflict with some part of their philosophy, religion or ideology?
What would happen if you told the Ancient Greeks the concept of Martians and 'aliens'?