CalebMcEwen.com

So the story goes that during the Ionian Revolt against the Persian Empire in 499 BC, Athenian and Eretrian forces sailed to Ephesus and attacked Sardis. While the citadel remained under Persian control, the city was burned to the ground. Ionia lay on the far western cusp of Persia’s influence, and it was the first time Persia’s forces met with resistance from the Peleponessus.

Upon hearing of the destruction of Sardis, Darius the I of Persia (also known as Darius the Great) was enraged. The Greeks had directly interfered in what he viewed as an internal matter within the Persian Empire. This affront would later lead to his invasion and rout at Marathon, and his son Xerxes’ march on Thermopylae (which was horribly misrepresented in an awesome way in the movie 300) and the crushing Persian defeat in the naval battle of Salamis.

Now what makes this cool is not the fact that the Ionian Revolt led to what are perhaps the two most important events in western history. What makes this cool is an act that cannot be substantiated, but is attributed to Darius. The story goes that when Darius heard of the Greek interference in Ionia, he screamed at the top of his lungs, grabbed a bow from a nearby archer, and fired an arrow at the heavens. Darius then grabbed a slave, looked him straight in the eye and said, "For the rest of your days, this is your task. You will sit beside me every day when I take my lunch, and you will whisper in my ear, ’Remember the Greeks.’"

Now that’s cool. It’s not cool because it demonstrates a level of "gangsta" you wouldn’t expect in the ancient world. It’s not cool because it led to history-altering events. It’s cool because whether he knew it or not, Darius had essentially invented the Post-It note.