Where does the "method of loci" come from — the story behind the name?

From the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos (~500 BC), who identified crushed banquet guests by remembering where each had been sitting.

The legend: Simonides stepped out of a banquet hall moments before its roof collapsed, killing everyone inside beyond recognition. He found he could name each victim by recalling their place at the table. He realised that location had organised the memory — and the deliberate technique of placing ideas at remembered spots was born. "Loci" is Latin for "places"; the method is literally the method of places.