--- In cybalist@..., cas111jd@... wrote:
> Ever since Homer, myths and legends have persisted about
foundations
> of civilizations from Trojan War heroes. Some, like Mopsus in
> Anatolia, may be true. Others such as Trojans settling in norther
> Greece, which was populated by kindred Thracians in those times,
may
> also have some basis in reality. After all, the collapse of the
> Aegean civilization and depopulation of much of the region soon
> followed the Trojan War. The diaspora resulted in the Sea Peoples
> going all the way to Egypt.
>
> However, anything else is too fanciful. A few may have made it to
> Italy, though I suspect that the Romans' grafting Aeaneas to their
> foundation myth is already beyond believability.
> To give themselves credibility and airs of princely legitimacy,
every
> Anatolian city in the Hellenistic period adopted someone from the
> Iliad as their founder. The Romans, IMO, did the same with Aeneas.
> They also flattered the Trinovantes of Britain as being descended
> from Trojans, based on a supposed name similarity.
>
> These theories and tales die hard because they are romantic
> fantasies.
I agree that the legends of a Trojan origin are as you say a method
of romanticizing the history of a culture . But unlikely tales such
as these often contain a kernel of truth. Myth is filled with
legendary half-truths that aren't usually accurate in a historical
snese, but nonetheless have an underlying factual basis of some
Aeneas makes a good case and point. The tradition making Aeneas the
legendary patriarch of Rome etc. is obviously not historical fact.
Connections between the Romans and Trojans are pretty
fanciful.However, the Etruscans, whatever you believe about them, did
have significant cultural influence(maybe more than that) from W
Anatolia. If you notice that the Roman culture borrowed a lot of
their ideas from the Etruscans, it seems not unlikely that this tale
might refer to the good old Rasna, retouched to meet Roman needs.That
there is some truth there, even if it is obscured by its legendary
nature and nationalistic sentiment. Skeptics might look at the part
discussing how some of Aeneas' companions ended up settling at
Sardinia. Connections between Etruscans and Sardinia are pretty
numerous. Of course, theis is not to say that Aeneas was an actual
guy, but is shows how similar traditions can have something to say if
looked at critially.
What if this story is speaking of something similar-Cultural
Influence coming from trade routes, perhaps. The story itself may be
a fiction, but may hold a sliver of truth. I certainly can't accept
Odin as a historical figure, though-Legendary heroes can play a big
part in myth, but the head of a pantheon? Doesn't seem to hold.
-Mr. Caws