This week's claims about the ancient world culled from the 'popular' press:

I hae me doots in great measure in this quote from Jennifer Egan in the SP Times:

"I always keep in mind the advice of Herodotus, who wrote, 'No man should speak for any longer than he is able to make love.' So thank you very much."

From the Vail Daily:

Ancient Romans used false flies to coax fish from flowing water since at least the second century, so fathers everywhere have the opportunity to join an age-old tradition with modern techniques.

From the Barrie Examiner:

Greek mythology tells of the winged horse, Pegasus, that helped the hero Bellerophen, and carried the lightning bolts for Zeus.

A talking horse named Xanthos was said to have foretold the fate of his master, Achilles, and his famously vulnerable heel.

I think we've had this one from New Kerala before:

A thought for the day: "The only certainty is that nothing is certain." Pliny the Elder said that.

One I've often wondered about myself, but am less-than-trustworthy about claims in the News:

Romaine or Cos (lactuca sativa longifolia) is about 10 inches tall with a tight head and tapering bright green leaves. The firm center rib is white and crunchy. It has been cultivated for more than 2,500 years and is named for the early Romans who made great use of it.

The Star on the name of a race horse:

Leonnatus Anteas is named for one of Alexander The Great's bodyguards – or at least that's what the People magazine of its day identified as his job description. There are suggestions he was more than a very good friend of Ol' Alex, who was one of Stavro's personal heroes. (It's Alex on his horse, or at least a statue of them, that rears above Steve's grave in Mount Pleasant.)

Turkish Daily News brings us our latest beauty secret from Cleopatra:

Getting its name from the famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, Sedir Island lies in the Gulf of Gökova and boasts legendary golden sands and an enchanting beach. The sand covering the island's beaches is said to have been brought by sea from Egypt to the island by the Roman general Mark Antony for his lover Cleopatra. According to the legend, Cleopatra owed her beauty to the island's sand.

And from the hey-we-didn't-know-he-spoke-Latin department and/or the Sacramento Bee:

Many of the problems with medicine today, in fact many of the problems with society, could be avoided if we listened to Socrates' words: Primum non tacere -- first, do not be silent.