A series of critical essays examining celebrated anecdotes and disputed episodes from antiquity to the modern era, assessing their credibility by comparing sources, exposing contradictions, and tracing mechanisms of embellishment and error. The author applies documentary and philological scrutiny to popular traditions and biographical legends, discusses methodological approaches for weighing evidence, and highlights how repetitions and misreadings perpetuate falsehoods. Short bibliographical notes and an appendix illustrate the processes used to sift probable fact from invention and to rehabilitate or reject contested claims.