It is a traditional practice to divide history in two main categories. First, Great History, that is the important events, such as wars, revolutions, conquests, that shaped our world during the past centuries. Secondly, Minor History, that is events in the lives of important persons, gossips at the Courts, trivial coincidences, that made people wonder and discuss them. The division, although generally accepted, is not clear cut, and there is a huge overlap between the two categories. In this article, we present a particular group of data from the second category, renal problems of illustrious personalities from Ancient Greek and Byzantine eras that, in many cases, influenced the outcome of Great History.