In this vase painting, you can see the Greek warrior Menelaus fighting the Trojan warrior Hector over the body of Euphorbus, a fallen Trojan warrior; you can see his body shown there if you look closely. Euphorbus was one of the great heroes of Troy who was killed by Menelaus in battle. One of Euphorbus' claims to fame in later times was that the philosopher Pythagoras, who believed in reincarnation, claimed that he had been Euphorbus in a previous lifetime! Pythagoras reportedly had this realization when he saw the shield of Euphorbus on display in a sanctuary of Hera outside Argos, where Menelaus himself had supposedly dedicated Euphorbus' armor all those years ago.
Learn more about Euphorbus - more about Pythagoras - and you can also learn about the Pythagorean Theorem (yes, he's that Pythagoras!).
You can also find more myths and legends for the week of December 11-17 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.
