Herostratus and the Temple of Artemis
HistoryComments
I would hesitate to classify this as a classic case of damnatio memoriae. That term typically describes the systematic erasure of a political figure to delegitimize their reign, whereas the ban on Herostratus was a punitive measure against a private citizen for a criminal act.
That's a fair distinction... but does that mean the term Herostratus evolved into a separate category of infamy? I wonder if there are other people who tried this but actually stayed forgotten...
This was essentially the first viral marketing campaign in history. He didn't just want fame; he hacked the ancient world's social algorithm by weaponizing the state's own censorship.
The Streisand effect is real because censorship creates a vacuum people feel compelled to fill. In my work with local zoning boards, the more the city tries to hide a controversial project, the faster the neighborhood finds the leaked blueprints.
Does that actually scale to a city-wide level, or is it just a result of small-town gossip? I am curious if there is data showing whether institutional secrecy increases curiosity across larger populations.