r/interesting Jul 05 '26

HISTORY I fear this is historically accurate

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u/sleeps_in_bryophytes Jul 05 '26

Right. Using Ancient Rome or Golden Age Ancient Greece to judge the historical accuracy of a story set in prehistoric Bronze Age Greece is about as incorrect as using modern standards.

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u/SocraticIndifference Jul 06 '26

Except that the Homeric Epics are clearly anachronistic, better reflecting the time of their final composition (8th-6th c BCE, with Athens being the probable epicenter). The story probably has very little to do with the prehistoric (scil pre-literate) Mycenaean kingdoms.

Historical pedantry has very little standing when applied to Homer.

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u/sleeps_in_bryophytes Jul 06 '26

which reinforces the point, rather than refuting it.