Did Homer really compose the 24 books of the Iliad and the later work, the Odyssey, himself?
He likely collected stories that had been recited by traveling bards for more than 500 years. He’s actually part of an oral tradition of many poets reciting from memory; however, Homer probably repackaged, condensed and unified the stories of others. Was it really all over a woman? There is no archaeological evidence for this. Any Trojan War of the period may have been due to a rivalry between the Greeks and the Hittite empire in central Turkey for control of this strategically important location. Could the Greeks really have launched more than a thousand ships in an effort to conquer Troy? No. The settlements of Greece during the late Bronze Age could not have mustered that kind of sea power. Would any siege really have lasted 10 years? During the Bronze Age (about 3000 to 1000 B.C.), Troy would have been well fortified, with large towers, heavily protected gates and limestone walls. Because of the sophisticated fortifications that would have been found there including defensive ditch
