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Anthony Adolph's avatar

Thank you for such a positive response. The short answer is yes, the original Homeric Aeneas is probably based on oral tradition of a real king living in bronze Age Anatolia, who probably did claim to be the son of a goddess (as so many kings in that region did), and all the rest, his 'Odyssean' journey to Italy, can be shown to have been worked up out of nothing by first the Greeks and then the Romans themselves. The long answer is, as you anticipate, in my book, and it really is a fascinating story..... and I'd be delighted if you'd buy a copy.

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LudwigF's avatar

Thank you for sharing this interesting and informative article.

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Joce's avatar

A thoroughly interesting article. Which makes me wonder if there is some historical truth to the legend and myth pertaining to Aeneas? You probably address this question in your book (which I have not read yet). At any rate I will certainly buy your book and look into Bernice Rubens and Oliver Taplin’s book. Thank you!

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Anthony Adolph's avatar

Thank you for such a positive response. The short answer is yes, the original Homeric Aeneas is probably based on oral tradition of a real king living in bronze Age Anatolia, who probably did claim to be the son of a goddess (as so many kings in that region did), and all the rest, his 'Odyssean' journey to Italy, can be shown to have been worked up out of nothing by first the Greeks and then the Romans themselves. The long answer is, as you anticipate, in my book, and it really is a fascinating story..... and I'd be delighted if you'd buy a copy.

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Petros Koutoupis's avatar

Anthony's book on Aeneas is in my top 5 of favorite books. He did an extremely well job in researching and writing it.

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Anthony Adolph's avatar

Thank you very much indeed, Petros!

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