Introduction
The active use of Homeric heroes, events, and other depictions as sources for historical facts is problematic and flawed at its core. This summary will focus on Lydia Baumbach’s “Linear B and Homer” to showcase how Homer’s writings were not historically accurate. The Linear B tablets prove that Homer’s epics were different from the reality of the Bronze Age in terms of culture, sociopolitical structures, and even language.
The Role of Linear B in Understanding Homer’s Fallacies
The decipherment of the Linear B script in 1952 led to expectations that the tablets could illuminate Homeric scholarship. Despite similarities in vocabulary and names, closer examination revealed significant differences between the texts (Baumbach 35). The tablets show a complex bureaucratic system of record-keeping and resource management, which contrasts sharply with Homer’s portrayal of an illiterate society. Key political and social terms from the tablets are absent from Homer’s work, which suggests a significant transformation between the Bronze Age and Homer’s time (Baumbach 36).
As indicated by the tablets, the system of land tenure in the Bronze Age does not match Homer’s depiction. In essence, the Linear B tablets provide a largely negative critique of Homer’s historical accuracy. However, they reaffirm that Homeric poems amalgamate elements from different periods inherent to oral traditions. These tablets provide checks on Homeric poems as evidence of late Bronze Age Greek culture (Baumbach 38). Although the tablets question Homer’s reliability as a historical source, they do not undermine his status as a great poet.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Linear B tablets reveal that Homer’s epics notably diverge from the actual circumstances of the Bronze Age. They display discrepancies in language, sociopolitical structures, and cultural norms, which supports the fact that Homer’s works should not be treated as historically accurate documents. As a result, it is critical to rely on factual evidence and archaeological findings first instead of making historical assumptions from literary writings.
Work Cited
Baumbach, Lydia. “Linear B and Homer.” Sabinet African Journals, 1976, Web.