The Odyssey Historical Context

The Odyssey Historical Context

The context in which the Homeric poems were created is clouded by the fact that their creation is a process that spans several centuries. In a very real sense, the poems' historical and cultural background is rather like one of the archaeological sites from which we gather our information about the period. it is deep, it has many levels or layers, and over time things can get pushed up or down from their proper context. Consider, for example, that the cremation burial of Elpenor described in XIl.ll-15 would have been common practice in Homer's day, but extremely rare in the Bronze Age when the events he describes would have taken place.

The Bronze Age

The Trojan War and its aftermath took place in the late Bronze Age, which began around 1550 BC, the date of the very wealthy burials found by Heinrich Schliemann in Grave Circle A at Mycenae in 1873....
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