UNSUNG HEROES

10 Extraordinary Individuals Who Helped Saved Millions

Image: Ben White

In the annals of history, there are hundreds of people whose actions have, in some way or another, shaped the course of humanity for the better. In difficult circumstances, these men and women were presented with the unexpected opportunity to help save others and did it without thinking twice about the consequences.

Here we'll be looking at real heroes of humanity who, throughout history, helped save countless lives.

Image: Burgess Milner

In the tense atmosphere of the Cold War, Stanislav Petrov, a Soviet military officer, found himself facing a critical decision that would shape the course of history. On September 26, 1983, Petrov was serving as a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Forces when the early-warning system erroneously detected incoming missiles from the United States, signaling the start of a potential nuclear attack. Despite overwhelming pressure to retaliate, Petrov trusted his instincts and reported the alarm as false, avoiding almost certain nuclear annihilation.

Image: Thomas Despeyroux

Norman Borlaug, an American agronomist, dedicated his life to combating global hunger and poverty through agricultural innovation. In the mid-20th century, Borlaug spearheaded the Green Revolution, a series of agricultural advancements that dramatically increased crop yields and food production worldwide, saving over a billion lives from starvation.

Image: CDC

Henrietta Lacks, an African American woman, unknowingly revolutionized modern medicine through her immortal cancerous cells, which were taken without her consent during her cancer treatment in 1951. Although she didn’t live to see it, her cells - now known as HeLa cells - were used in invaluable medical research and countless scientific discoveries, including the polio vaccine and in-vitro fertilization.

Image: Mufid Majnun

Although his name is not widely known, Maurice Hilleman - an American microbiologist - is credited with saving millions of lives through his development of over 40 vaccines, including those for measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis B. His pioneering work in vaccine research and development has had a profound impact on public health worldwide, significantly reducing the prevalence of deadly infectious diseases, and helping save as many as eight million lives each year.

Image: LuAnn Hunt

James Harrison, an Australian blood donor known as the "Man with the Golden Arm," has saved an estimated 2.5 million lives through his blood plasma donations. Harrison's blood contains a unique antibody that is used to develop Anti-D immunoglobulin, a lifesaving treatment for Rhesus disease, a condition that can cause severe complications in newborns. An Australian national hero, he made a total of 1,173 donations before reaching age 81 - the oldest you are allowed to donate blood under Australian policies.

Image: Viktor Hesse

Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bespalov, and Boris Baranov, three Soviet engineers, risked their lives to prevent a catastrophic nuclear meltdown during the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Despite the immense danger posed by lethal radiation levels, they volunteered to enter the flooded basement of the damaged reactor and manually open the valves to drain water, preventing a second explosion that could have had catastrophic consequences for Europe and beyond.

Image: Gab Pili

Saving the entire planet from arguably one of the largest environmental catastrophes of history, American geochemist Clair Cameron Patterson, dedicated his life to raising awareness about the dangers of lead pollution and advocating for environmental regulations to protect public health. His research on lead contamination in the environment led to the removal of lead from gasoline and other consumer products, resulting in significant improvements in air and water quality and preventing countless cases of lead poisoning.

Image: Anastasia Nelen

Joseph Lister is widely known as the father of antiseptics, but the extent to which his work helped revolutionize surgical practices and save lives cannot be overstated. Lister is responsible for introducing the first antiseptic surgical techniques in the 19th century. By simply promoting the use of carbolic acid as a disinfectant on surgical tools and hands during surgery, he dramatically reduced the risk of postoperative infections and mortality rates, laying the foundation of modern infection control measures.

Image: J V

During the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a Soviet naval officer called Vasili Arkhipov, found himself facing a pivotal moment that could well determine the fate of the entire world. Arkhipov was aboard the Soviet B-59 submarine discovered by American naval vessels in the waters near Cuba. Pressured by his superiors to use nuclear torpedoes against the US Navy, he refused to comply with the order, single-handedly preventing a nuclear war.

Image: Vincent van Zalinge

Rachel Carson, an American marine biologist and conservationist, was the first to sound the alarm about the dangers of pesticide use and its impact on the environment and human health. In her 1962 book "Silent Spring," Carson meticulously documented the harmful effects of pesticides, particularly DDT, on wildlife populations and ecosystems. Her groundbreaking research sparked a global environmental movement that helped save hundreds of species from almost certain extinction, including bald eagles.

ANCIENT SIMILARITIES

Meet 10 of the Most Powerful Greek Gods and their Roman Counterparts

Image: Francisco Ghisletti

Greek and Roman mythologies have many points of contact. The reason why there are so many equivalences is due to a sociocultural phenomenon called syncretism. Syncretism, in the studies of religion and cultural anthropology, combines two different doctrines or schools of thought.

The Roman civilization was very open to external influences and usually embraced foreign ideas, concepts, and customs. By far, it was Greek culture that most influenced Rome. Therefore, each Greek god has a Roman counterpart with practically the same powers and responsibilities. The differences are mainly in the names, certain duties, and some of the events and myths in which they appear.

Can you guess the corresponding Greek and Roman names of the most influential gods in the Pantheon? Continue reading to find out!

Image: GAIMARD

Zeus is the greatest of the gods of the Hellenic Pantheon. He is essentially the god of light and the serene sky, although he is not identified with Heaven. Zeus presides not only over the celestial manifestations, causes the rain, and throws thunderbolts and lightning, but also maintains order and justice in the world.

Jupiter is the Roman god assimilated to Zeus. With the development and consolidation of the political structure of Rome, Jupiter acquired an increasingly important status in Roman religion. He is the divinity of the sky, daylight, weather, lightning, and thunder. In Rome he reigns in the Capitol, specially consecrated to him. He appears as the supreme power, the "president" of the council of the gods, the one from whom all authority emanates. While Zeus constantly meddled in earthly affairs, fathering children with mortal women and getting involved in mortal wars, Jupiter preferred to deal with divine affairs.

Image: Serge Taeymans

Poseidon, the god who reigns over the sea, is one of the Olympians, the son of Kronos and Rhea. Since the time of the Iliad, Poseidon has been assigned dominion over the sea. Not only does he have power over the waves, but he can also unbind storms, and unhinge the rocks of the coasts with a blow of his trumpet.

Neptune is the Roman god identified with Poseidon. His name, of obscure etymology, has a very ancient origin. God of the humid element, it does not possess, before its assimilation with Poseidon, a legend that is proper to him. The main difference between the two gods is that Neptune’s original realm was only freshwater bodies. Over time Neptune came to dominate oceans and took control of storms and other weather phenomena.

Image: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Hera is the greatest of all the Olympian goddesses. She is the eldest daughter of Kronos and Rhea and, therefore, sister of Zeus, whom she later also marries. As the legitimate wife of the first among the gods, Hera is the protector of married women. She is depicted as a jealous, violent, and vengeful woman.

Juno is the Roman goddess related to Hera. In her origins and the Roman tradition, she personifies the lunar cycle. In a very general way, Juno was the protector of women, and more particularly of those who had a recognized legal status in the city, that is, women who were legitimately married. Although Juno was also Jupiter's wife, she was much less jealous and vindictive about her husband's affairs.

Image: Hert Niks

In Greek mythology, Athena is a warrior goddess, armed with a spear and an aegis, a kind of goatskin breastplate. Athena is generally considered the goddess of Reason and presides over the arts and literature. Tall, with serene features, more majestic than beautiful, Athena is traditionally described as the "goddess with blue eyes".

Minerva's attributes are similar to those of the Greek Pallas Athena. Although she is not involved in any proper Roman legend, she is known to preside over all intellectual activity, mainly scholastic. Because the Romans assigned all war-related aspects to Mars, Minerva doesn’t have martial attributes like her Greek counterpart.

Image: Vlad Kutepov

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, identified in Rome with the ancient divinity Venus. There are two different myths about the birth of Aphrodite: either she is considered the daughter of Zeus and Dione, or the daughter of Uranus, whose sexual organs, cut off by Cronus, fell into the sea and gave birth to the goddess, the "woman born of the waves", or "born of the semen of the god".

Venus is a very ancient Roman goddess who, in her origins, seems to have been the protector of orchards. Before the foundation of Rome, she had a sanctuary near Ardea. Only since the first century B.C. was she likened to the Greek Aphrodite, whose persona and legends she took on. The main difference between the Roman and Greek goddesses is that Venus was also in charge of fertility, a role that the Greeks first associated with Demeter.

Image: Evan Lee

Although certain traditions make Artemis the daughter of Demeter, she is usually considered the twin sister of Apollo. Artemis remained a virgin, eternally young, and is the prototype of the aristocratic goddess, who indulged only in hunting. Like her brother, she is armed with a bow, which she uses against the deer and also against humans. She is vengeful, and numerous were the victims of her anger.

Diana is the Roman goddess identified with Artemis. This connection seems to have been made very early, perhaps in the sixth century B.C. through the mediation of the Greek colonies in southern Italy. Although both goddesses were associated with hunting, the difference between them is that Diana also presided over witchcraft and femininity.

Image: Guillaume Coustou the Elder, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ares was the son of Zeus and Hera and belonged to the second generation of the Olympians. Since Homeric times, Ares appears as the god of war. He is the spirit of Battle, who rejoices in slaughter and blood. He is represented with a breastplate and helmet, and armed with a shield, spear, and sword. His stature is superhuman and he utters terrible screams. He usually fights on foot but is also seen on a chariot drawn by four steeds, accompanied by demons who serve as his squires.

Mars is the Roman god identified with the Hellenic Ares, although he is very ancient in the Latin religions and existed before the introduction of Ares. In classical times, Mars appears in Rome as the god of war. But he had other attributes, he is also the god of spring because the war season begins at the end of winter, and the god of youth because war is an activity proper to young people.

Image: Giorgio Ghisi, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the race of the Titans, Cronus is the youngest of the children of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth). Therefore, he belongs to the first divine generation, the one that preceded Zeus and the Olympians. Based on the word’s etymology, Cronus has sometimes been regarded as Time personified.

Saturn is a very ancient Roman god that is said to have come to Italy from Greece in very remote times when Jupiter (Zeus) dethroned him and precipitated him from the top of Olympus. He settled on the Capitol, on the site of the future Rome, and there he founded a fortified town which, in the tradition, bore the name of Saturnia. Saturn was represented armed with a sickle or a pruning shear. This is why his name was associated with the invention of vine cultivation and pruning.

Image: Jon Butterworth

Hermes is the son of Zeus and Maya, the youngest of the Pleiades. Hermes came into the world on the fourth day of the month, and this day was consecrated to him. In legends, he mostly intervenes as a secondary figure, as an agent of divinity, protector of the heroes. Apart from this, Hermes was considered to be the god of commerce and also of theft. He guided travelers on the roads, watched over the shepherds, and was often represented carrying a lamb on his shoulders.

Mercury is identified with the Greek Hermes and as with most Roman divinities, he has no myth of his own. Like Hermes, he protects travelers and merchants —in his name we find, in fact, the root of the word merx, which means "merchandise."

Image: Sara Darcaj

Eros, as its Roman counterpart Cupid, is the god of Love. His personality, though, has evolved greatly from the archaic era to the Alexandrian and Roman times. In the most ancient theogonies, Eros is considered a god born along with the Earth and who comes directly from the primitive Chaos. Eros was considered a "genius", an intermediary between gods and men.

Gradually, under the influence of the poets, Eros acquired his traditional physiognomy. He is later represented as a child, often winged, who amuses himself by bringing unrest to hearts. He either inflames them with his torch or wounds them with his arrows. For the Greeks, Eros was the god of love and passion in all its sense and scope. For the Romans, Cupid was the god of romantic love and desire.