When it comes to fearful dates, Friday the 13th is considered a bad luck day for most of the world. However, Greeks beg to differ and they have branded Tuesday the 13th as the bona-fide fearful day.
Tuesday the 13th is the ominous date for Greek history as Constantinople fell on the specific date.
The fall of Constantinople on Tuesday, April 13, 1204 to the Fourth Crusade was a bleak day for Hellenism. However, Tuesday May 29, 1453, was even worse, as Constantinople fell again, this time to the Ottoman Empire, followed by almost 400 years of Ottoman rule across Greece.
Where does the 13 come from on Tuesday May 29? Just add the numbers of the year 1+4+5+3 for the full sum of 13.
Superstitious Greeks disliked number 13 long before that. It’s a number that follows the perfection of number 12: The gods of Olympus were 12, then there are 12 months in a year, 12 hours of day, 12 hours of night, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 signs of the zodiac. Even Philip II of Macedonia died right after he erected his statue next to the 12 gods.
As for Christian Greeks, the apostles were 12 as well. Also, the 13th chapter of the Revelation speaks of the coming of the Antichrist.
Greeks also dislike Tuesday because, in Greek, Tuesday is Triti (Third). And since bad luck incidents come in threes, there’s not much to like about Tuesdays. Furthermore, according to astrology, Tuesdays are dominated by Mars, the belligerent god of war.
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