For millennia, the Parthenon's perfection was attributed to optical corrections, a testament to ancient Greek ingenuity. Oxford professor Alain Goriely debunks this myth, finding illusions unsupported or too minute. He shows the myth stemmed from Roman hearsay, not original architects, highlighting the "supreme knowledge fallacy" – crediting ancients with modern optics. This reveals how easily admiration can foster glib, self-serving explanations. The article encourages critically examining such cherished historical certainties, advocating for rigorous reality checks, especially in our post-truth age.