<HTML>Yes I can think of a lot of wars, etc that weren't oral traditions before being written down. I'm agreeing with the archaeologists who deal with Greece that Homoer's epics presevered some pictures and some details of Mycenaean life and social structure, etc. I am also saying that the epic has been altered down through the ages, including before the time of Homer, most likely by Homoer himself (if he did even exist) and afterwards. They were epic tales. Heck, arguments continue to this day over what were termed the "Pillars of Hercules" in Homer's age. We aren't sure whether the visiti to Egypt by the king is a later addition added for whatever reasons or if it part and parcel of the original compilation; we don't even know if that particular king existed never mind if he went to war with Troy. For that matter, there are debates over which level of Troy may or may not represent "the Trojan War" and it may be that the Iiliad preserves memories of various distant wars combined.</HTML>
