Archaeologist argues Homer's epics should not be read literally

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Key facts

• Sue Sherrat showed armor and weapons in the Iliad match archaeological periods from 1600 BC, 1200 BC, and 800 BC
• Homer described eight rivers around Troy but got their placement and flow direction wrong
• The epics were oral traditions passed down for centuries before being written down, likely compiled from multiple poems
• The text was modified during Pisistratus's tyranny in the late 6th century BC, with Athens and Athena getting more prominent roles
• In the Iliad, the kings are called basileus, but the Bronze Age term was wanax, which described a different administrative role
• Bronze Age Mycenaean palaces were major administrative complexes with Linear B tablets, unlike the simple big houses described in Homer
• Adrienne Mayor popularized the theory that the Cyclops myth may have been inspired by ancient Greeks finding elephant or hippo skulls
• The Homeric epics were likely written down in the Iron Age, a period when isotope analysis shows people ate very little animal protein, despite Homer's descriptions of constant feasts

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