South Korean automotive manufacturer, Hyundai, recently unveiled its latest Prophecy concept car and the vehicle is, simply said, chic and stunning. Its smooth lines and clean design make it a head-turner and prompt an emotional response, regardless of whether you are an avid automobile aficionado or not.

An Eye-Catching Design Like No Other

According to Hyundai, the vehicle’s concept focuses on “sensuous sportiness” and serves as a smoother continuation of the 45 concept, which was revealed in 2019 and has a more rectilinear shape. The car’s curvaceous side sections immediately catch the eye and give the automobile an alluring appeal that very few can resist.

The Prophecy’s design takes cues from aerodynamics and includes an extended wheelbase and short overhand, which flawlessly complement the smooth and elegant body surface. The streamlined concept goes from front to the back and ends with a boat-tail line that creates the illusion that the vehicle is in motion even when it is not. The propeller-shaped rims are a perfect fit for the car’s design while the integrated rear spoiler provides stability when traveling at high speed by controlling downforce.

Hyundai Made the Interior as Impressive as the Exterior

The four-seated driverless vehicle has a spacious interior, which rivals the sophistication of the car’s exterior. Since the automobile has an electric powertrain, it doesn’t require a steering wheel to be driven. Instead, it is equipped with two joysticks, one on the center console and one on the door trim. They allow the vehicle to be controlled from a more comfortable seating position by simply having it to pivot left and right.

When the “relax mode” is activated, the dashboard moves to open more space and the seats recline to offer passengers an unparalleled level of comfort. This also offers a better view of the electronic display.

With its latest design. Hyundai surely brought to life a vehicle that can reach iconic status in no time.

While the Greek language may be one of the oldest languages in the world, ancient Greece has some of other oldest inventions to boast of. One such invention is the yo-yo. Believed to be invented in 440 B.C.E, the yo-yo is considered one of the oldest toys of the world.

A yo-yo was part of virtually every household of ancient Greece, and was made using wood, metal, or painted terracotta disks. It was decorated with the images of gods from the Greek pantheon.

Greek has the distinction of being one of the oldest languages of the world. The Greek alphabet was invented at the beginning of the 8th century B.C.E. A lot of important works and seminal texts such as poems of Illiad, works of Aristotle and Plato were originally written in Greek.

The Greek language is said to be a source of Latin, Armenian, Coptic, and Cyrillic systems of writing. The Greek letters were also the first alphabet script in history to have well-defined letters for vowels.

Dionysus (also known as Bacchus) was one of the most popular and worshipped gods in ancient Greek mythology. He along with Demeter was considered to be the supreme deity on Earth.

Said to have taken birth out of the fire, Dionysus was affectionately known as ‘God of Wine.’ He was labeled as the god of grape, harvest, and fertility too. Several tragic and comic plays were organized in his honor.

As per an immensely popular Spartan myth, it is said that the infant boys, who were considered weak, were thrown away in a pit. This finding was brought to light by the ancient Greek historian Plutarch.

However, as per the current scientists, this practice didn’t take place at all. That puts Plutarch’s theory of ignoring cries of the babies and state’s involvement in deciding the fitness of babies to rest.

In Greek mythology, Zeus is believed to be the head god of the Greek Pantheon. This fact though is partially correct. Let us explain. Ancient Greece was divided into different independent states with each polis having its separate cult.

Though the ancient Greeks ardently believed in ‘n’ number of gods, they practiced the concept of henotheism – a practice of worshipping one god from the pantheon of gods while not denying the existence of other gods.

A lot of ancient Greek heroes and figures did pretty messed-up things. Even the nicest of heroes ended up doing some terrible things at times – and that included the pantheon of gods. While Gods such as Uranus, Athena, Zeus, Hades, Jason, and Athena, did some really terrible deeds; the mortals were no behind.

For example, Achilles abandoned his group of friends after having an argument in the middle of the Trojan War. Heracles is believed to have multiple lovers apart from having four wives.

The ancient Greek (Laconian food) was quite unappetizing. One of their regular meals comprised of a black gruel, which was believed to be a mixture of lentils and beef blood.

This dish (if you can call that) was the butt of various jokes among Spartans and often equated with Spartan courage. It was said that only a real Spartan had the courage to eat this on a daily basis. We second that!

The women in ancient Greece were regarded as second-rate citizens in general, and enjoyed a lowly status than the menfolk. But, there were certain women who were independent in their own right. These women were hetaeras.

Basically, hetaeras were high-profile escorts who dabbled in the art of intellectual stimulation as well. As opposed to pornai (another category of escorts in ancient Greece), they had a few but wealthy lovers. In order to become a heatera, a woman had to study at a special school from her childhood.

As per the prevalent beliefs, Greeks preferred to recline while eating. Well, this statement may not be completely true. This habit first began in 7th BC and was later adopted by Romans.

It is said that Greeks ate like that as eating food while lying down signified power and status in society. However, only men were allowed to recline. The women were in general barred from the banquets and on rare occasions, if they were allowed, they were expected to eat while assuming a sitting position.

The ancient Greeks didn’t believe in Marie-kondoing their spaces or in the maxim of cleanliness is next to godliness. They liked to keep their spaces as dirty as possible. The walls of their home were normally darkened by the soot smoke that emerged constantly as they cooked meat for their meals.

Horner’s poem describes the soot ruining the weapons that hung on the walls of an average Greek household. In a nutshell, black walls were a common occurrence in an average house back then.

Spartans were known to be very (very!) strict towards their children. Their parenting style bordered on authoritarian. A Spartan child was sent off to a special military camp once he turned seven years of their age.

Until 12 years, a Spartan boy was not allowed to wear clothes and had to survive naked. They were also expected to arrange food for themselves and be proficient in physical fitness, swordsmanship, and throwing spears.

In ancient Greece, women were not allowed to attend or participate in the Olympics. That means the Olympics was more or less, a male domain. The historians have enlisted a host of possible reasons for such exclusion.

Some of the potential reasons behind the ban include the second rate status of women in the ancient Greek culture, lengthy training ( up to ten months) required in order to prepare for the Olympics among others.

Delicacies were a strict no-no in an ancient Spartan household. Remember, the lentils with beef blood. That was a norm. A Spartan meal, to politely put, was a humble affair without any fanfare.

A normal Spartan meal usually consisted of a lentil soup or gruel of barley with cabbage and turnips. According to Homer, Spartans liked to relish grain-based meals and often used to eat barley with wine and goat’s cheese.

In ancient Greece, symposiums were another male-dominated area characterized by bacchanalian revelry. These all-male banquets were the hallways of gaiety accompanied by music, dance, and other forms of celebration.

A symposium was presided over by a symposiarch – a person who acted as an in charge for the evening. A lot of competition-based games were also organized in this social setting. Symposium as a word, however, has now evolved to denote an academic congregation.

Spartans knew how to dress up for warfare. And, they carried a lot of equipment and protective gear in a war. A Spartan soldier, also known as hoplite wore a breastplate, ankle guard, and a gigantic bronze helmet before going for a kill.

Besides that, they used to carry a round shield primarily made of bronze and wood, a long spear, and a sword. A Spartan soldier often sported long hair and largely dressed in a red cloak, as shown in the movie 300.

At the start of the Olympics, all military wars in ancient Greece were put to an end or rather postponed by three months. The tradition, which is known as Olympic Truce dates back to 776 BC and was started to ensure that the host city is free from attack during the event of the Olympics.

It also enabled the visitors to reach the site of games safely without having to worry about their commuting. That said the wars still took place during that period, just not in the location of the Olympics.

The Spartans are known to have a vast amount of courage, endurance, and self-control. The 300 Spartans, now immortalized in popular culture, with the movie of the same name, was based on the Battle of Thermopylae.

The hard to defeat Spartans were defeated by the Sacred Band of Thebes. The band which comprised of a hundred and fifty men, all of them lovers, put an end to Spartan’s eminence. The band rose to glory with the Battle of Leuctra in 371 B.C.

Rhodopis was a famous hetaera in ancient Greek culture. Her story inspired the cult fairytale Cinderella. As per the folklore, when Rhodopis was having a bath; an eagle stole her slippers and straightway deposited it onto the lap of an Egyptian Pharaoh.

Enamored by the slippers, the Pharaoh decided to launch a search party to discover the owner of the slipper. His search led him to Rhodopis. They eventually married and Rhodopis became the Queen of Egypt.

In ancient Greece, women were treated as a pollutant. They had no mobility, literally no rights, and had to depend heavily on their husband. In Athens, a woman was regarded as an object of a man’s household. So, in ancient Greece, women were often denied of their personhood and entity.

They were encouraged to remain within the four walls of the household and discouraged from venturing out alone. It was also considered a sacrilege to utter a married woman’s name in the public surrounding.

The ancient Greeks drew a handsome salary every month as compared to other civilizations. During its economic development era in the 4th and 5th century B.C.E, ancient Greece became the most developed country in the world.

The economic development was reflected in the salaries of common people. An average citizen of Greece used to earn 12 kg of wheat during that period. This was almost four times higher than an average Roman, who used to earn 3.75 kg of wheat in a month.

Though the condition of women of ancient Greece was terrible; the women of Sparta were a little liberated than their Greecian counterparts. They enjoyed a certain share of privileges and freedom, otherwise denied to the rest of the woman folk.

A woman in Sparta could own her land and play sports. They also received an education. Though they had to perform domestic chores, they had their spheres of freedom unlike their Greek counterparts.

In Sparta, arranged matrimony was the norm. Love marriages were a few and far between. Again, most of the marriages were sham in the sense that a man often used to have multiple partners.

Cheating on a spouse was a common practice. Ironically, Spartans were heavily punished if they decided to remain single. There was legal machinery in place to indoctrinate youngsters into marriage upon attaining a set age. Those choosing to marry late were not spared either.

Though women, in general, were not allowed in Olympics – neither as a participant nor as a spectator; there was a minor loophole that granted women’s entry on horses in equestrian games.

Cynisca, the Spartan Princess, leveraged this rule to create a historical moment in the women’s history when she won the event without even participating in it. Cynisca’s horses finished first in the games twice in 396 and 392 B.C.E making her a clear-cut winner.

Greeks just like their Roman counterparts used salt for trading purposes. They used to buy slaves in exchange for salt. They also believed in the saying: no one should trust a man without first eating a peck of salt with him.

The word ‘alas’ is a Greek word for salt. Greeks are also known to invent the phrase ‘not worth his salt.’ They also used salt to make soaps and detergents with animal fats and ashes.

Olympiad was a big-ticket event in ancient Greek culture. It was highly anticipated and attended by droves of people. The ancient Greeks loved the Olympics so much that they designed their social calendars around it.

The event was held once every four years in the month of July or August. As mentioned earlier, Olympiad was followed by an Olympic truce – a peace declaration that postponed war in the host nation to three months.

Greeks in a way revolutionized the manner in which people all around the world greet. They gave the world – handshakes. Yes, Greeks invented handshakes and this can be seen in various ancient Greek paintings, sculptures, and artworks.

The practice of shaking hands was, however, known as dexiosis in ancient Greek. Numerous artworks show Hera shaking hands with Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom. However, in ancient Greece, the hand-shakes were done between equals.

In retrospect, Greek women were quite fashion savvy. Let us elaborate. The statement brows and unibrows may be trending today (Thanks, Cara Delevingne); but the women of Greece were at the forefront of this now prevalent trend.

The unibrow in ancient Greece culture was a mark of intellect and considered a beauty ideal. The women who didn’t have unibrows used to draw them using makeup. They often used soot, black powder, or stuck goat hair in the middle of their eyebrows to give an illusion of unibrow.

The ancient Greeks were also a leisurely bunch of people who believed in the therapeutic benefits of an afternoon siesta. In ancient Greece, it was customary to take an afternoon power nap especially during the months of summer.

The Greeks believed that a nap during the afternoon can prevent the body from drying out. After their naps, the Greeks used to eat something and carry on with their work till dusk. We too think that the afternoon naps should be made mandatory – by law.

The word idiot is etymologically derived from the Greek word idiōtēs; which meant a private person. Initially, the word was used in an altogether different context and setting. The word in its original form was used to refer to anyone who distanced themselves from politics.

Ah, how the ancient Greeks loved politics. Anyway, the world evolved to denote someone possessing a low level of intelligence. If you’re smart enough; you will connect the dots between its former and current meaning, and get the message it is trying to convey.

The Greeks can also be credited for giving the world the gift of music. At least, in the word form! The word music is derived from the Muses, the goddess of arts as per the Greek mythos.

The music of ancient Greece laid the base for western music both in theory and composition. It was also studied by prominent philosophers such as Pythagoras to gain insights into other spheres of life.

Ancient Greece had a cute and subliminally violent way (depending on how you look at it) of proposing to someone. That someone being their loved one! The Grecians used to throw apples to ask for someone’s hand.

In some cases, these apples became a reason for discord. The apples were thrown on married couples too to wish them a lifetime of prosperity. On an unrelated note, Newton was hit by apple before he gave us the laws of relativity. Just, saying!

Forget those washboard abs; iron pumped body, and that musculature. In ancient Greece, dad bod was in; pot belly was a legit body type and shape and not dismissed as an excess fat reserve. Nor was a person with a potbelly regarded as a sloth or glutton.

In fact, it was quite the opposite. Those with potbellies were thought to be exemplary leaders. This is a body standard we don’t mind borrowing from the past. Bring on those cheeseburgers, ASAP!

The ancient Greeks were the inventors of spiked dog collars. However, they were initially used for a different purpose. Though the Egyptians gave the first prototype of dog collars; it was Greeks who perfected it for practical purposes.

In ancient Greece, the sheepdogs on the farm wore these spiked dog collars also called mellium in order to protect their necks from a wolf attack as they defended the herd of sheep. Apparently, it was a need-based invention in order to combat the regular wolf attacks on the farm’s animals including vigilant dogs.

A lot of ancient Greeks completed a full century of their life. They had a large lifespan, all thanks to a healthy Mediterranean diet, rigorous daily physical activity, and a superlative sanitation mechanism.

The Mediterranean diet as per its Greek version involves a generous consumption of olive oil (also called the elixir of life), vegetables and fruits. It is said to have countless benefits on the system including reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s, increased longevity, and a reduced risk of Parkinson.

In ancient Greece, red lipstick (made out of red pigments and crocodile excreta) was reserved for certain kinds of women. Only the escorts were allowed to wear this shade legally. Soon this shade came to be identified by the flesh trade.

As per the Greek law, any other woman apart from them could be penalized for wearing red shade in public as it was considered indecent. Similarly, the hookers could be arrested for not wearing their designated shade of the profession.

It was a common practice in ancient Greece to write manuscripts in a bi-directional fashion. This means that while a line of the manuscript was written from left to right; the next line would be written from right to left.

As if this was not hard and confusing for both the reader and the author, it involved mirroring letters from one line to other. Sample this: I love all things about Greece. Greece about things all love I.

Coming to another invention, ancient Greeks invented the world’s first vending machine. But, this vending machine didn’t dispense sodas or chips. It was a coin-based vending system to dispense a spiritual product i.e. the holy water.

As per the researchers, since Greek civilization was one of the foremost civilizations to adopt coinage, this vending machine was a progression to that. However, it became the blueprint for all the modern vending machines.

In ancient Greece, melons were used to describe the fruit – as well as used as a code word to refer to a certain part of women’s anatomy. Besides that, it was also used as a generic term to describe all the fruits that were or looked foreign.

The Greek mēlopepon (gourd-apple) is a name for various gourd bearing fruit. So basically, this word had entirely different meanings depending on the context it was used in.

The citizens of ancient Greece were quite empowered in a civic sense. They had a system that allowed them to rally together to form a cohort and exile a politician for a decade. The practice was called ostrakismos and was designed to safeguard the fabric of democracy.

Ostrakismos was a punitive measure against all the politicians who were thought to be a real and potential danger against the Greecian democracy at that time. So cool, we say!

Ancient Greeks invented many things. When they were not inventing things or physical objects; they invented words and phrases that are popular today. For example, the kettlebell. In 5th century Greece, a prototype of Kettlebell, known as Greek Haltere was found to be used to propel the athletes in the long jump.

As per several research studies, these kettlebells weighed between two to nine kilograms and were used in Olympics games. However, a kettlebell at The Archaeological Museum of Olympia in Athens, Greece weighs around 144 kg.

While it is a faux pas to drink a glassful of wine today along with holding the glass by its main body among other things, it was considered as a social gaffe to drink concentrated wine in ancient Greece.

One was expected to add water to their glass in the ratio of 3:1. Those who didn’t mix water to their wine were labeled as alcoholic and devoid of any morals. The strong mixes, however, were used on limited occasions demanding celebration.

In ancient Greece, slaves formed half to eighty percent of the overall population. As we told you earlier, slaves were brought rampantly with salt as the currency. The slaves of ancient Greece didn’t have free will and were completely owned by their master.

Aristotle considered them as a property that breathes. The reason behind such a large population was the frequent wars that used to take place. As per a research estimate, one of the four-person in Athens was a slave during 320 BC.

Perilaus of Athens, the inventor of the Brazen Bull was tricked into being a scapegoat. Brazen Bull, basically was a hollow statue. Once a man entered inside the bull, the hangman would start a fire beneath it charring that man to death.

Perilaus was punished for his invention by Phalaris, the ruler of ancient Greece. He was asked to prove if his invention worked. He conceded by entering the womb of the bull. Before he was burnt to death, he was saved. But later, he was thrown off a cliff.

The gymnasiums of ancient Greece were a clothing-free zone – and largely an adult male-dominated area. The gymnasiums which translate to a school for naked exercise lived up to its meaning and served as a training zone for the athletes.

The ancient Greeks believed in competing nude as a sign of respect for the Gods of the Greek Pantheon. The gymnasium also served as a place to indulge in social and intellectual chatter.

The concept of the red carpet originated in ancient Greece. It was earlier known as Crimson (a shade of red) Path. Considered to be a luxury fit only for the divine, red carpets were for the gods, and not mortals.

The Crimson Path finds description in the ancient play Agamemnon, the first play in the trilogy of Oresteia. Red in ancient Greece was considered holy and difficult to produce. It was made by extracting colors from the kermes insect.