This earlier period of time is often referred to as the "Bronze Age" because the metal was commonly used by people of the era to fashion their weapons and household tools.
Ancient myths, contemporary conflicts. The Theban "cycle" of myths (about the legendary rulers of Thebes) is one of three that were central to Greek mythology; the other two are the Trojan War cycle and the stories of Jason and the Argonauts. The events in these myths are imagined to have taken place in the thirteenth and twelfth centuries ii.c., although this need not imply the historical existence of these heroes at this time. Even the fifth century ti.c. historian Thucydides, a contemporary of Sophocles, realized that it was unwise to regard tales from the past as being true:
In investigating past history... it must be admitted that one cannot rely on every detail which has cone down to us by way of tradition. People are inclined to accept all stories of ancient times in an uncritical way....
IPloets... exaggerate the importance of their themes,... the prose chroniclers... arc less interested in telling the truth than in catching the attention of their public and Itheirl authorities cannot be checked and Itheirl subject matter, owing to the passage of time, is mostly lost in the unreliable streams of mythology.
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