Homer Between History And Fiction In Imperial G... Apr 2026

Conversely, other writers used the ambiguity of the Homeric epics to challenge traditional authority.

: In the Heroicus , Philostratus presented a dialogue with the ghost of Protesilaus, which "corrected" the Homeric account. This work positioned itself as "true history" revealed by an eyewitness, effectively using fiction to critique the supposed historical inaccuracies of the poems. The Blurring of Boundaries: Lucian’s Satire Homer between History and Fiction in Imperial G...

: In his Trojan Oration , Dio famously characterized Homer as a deceiver who intentionally misrepresented the events of the Trojan War. By "proving" that the Trojans actually won the war, Dio used the flexible nature of fiction to dismantle Homeric authority and subvert traditional Greek historical narratives. Conversely, other writers used the ambiguity of the