In article , Larry   
   Caldwell  wrote:   
      
   > We know exactly how old our version of Homer is.  It was commissioned by   
   > Pisistratus (Peisistratus) after he became Tyrant of Athens in 560 bce.   
   > Pisistratus was afraid that the epic would be lost, so he made a law   
   > that any singer or bard who came to Athens had to recite all he knew of   
   > Homer to the scribes, who wrote it down.  The verses were then collated   
   > into our current versions of the Iliad and Odyssey.  It was   
   > substantially complete by 500 bce.   
      
      
   isn't this story yet another received tradition? what proof is there   
   that this event actually took place? is there a preserved contemporary   
   text about it, found in ruins that have been carbon dated to the   
   correct age?   
      
   if we do accept this traditional history as valid, then why not accept   
   traditions that are a little bit older, such as troy?   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)