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Travelling Heroes: In the Epic Age of Homer
The myths of the ancient Greeks have inspired us for thousands of years. Where did the famous stories of the battles of their gods develop and spread across the world? The celebrated classicist Robin Lane Fox draws on a lifetime’s knowledge of the ancient world, and on his own travels, answering this question by pursuing it through the age of Homer. His acclaimed history explores how the intrepid seafarers of eighth-century Greece sailed around the Mediterranean, encountering strange new sights—volcanic mountains, vaporous springs, huge prehistoric bones—and weaving them into the myths of gods, monsters and heroes that would become the cornerstone of Western civilization.
497 pages, Paperback
First published April 7, 1999
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732 people want to read
About the author
Robin Lane Fox
40 books242 followersRobin Lane Fox is an English historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford and University of Oxford Reader in Ancient History.
Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford.
Since 1977, he has been a tutor in Greek and Roman history, and since 1990 University Reader in Ancient History. He has also taught Greek and Latin literature and early Islamic history, a subject in which he held an Oxford Research Fellowship, and is also New College's Tutor for Oriental Studies.[1] He is a lecturer in Ancient History at Exeter College, Oxford.
He was historical adviser to the film director Oliver Stone for the epic Alexander. His appearance as an extra, in addition to his work as a historical consultant, was publicized at the time of the film's release.
Lane Fox is also a gardening correspondent for the Financial Times.
He is the father of the internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Lastminute.com.
They are not related to, and should not be confused with Robin Fox, anthropologist, and his daughter Kate Fox, social anthropologist.
Lane Fox was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford.
Since 1977, he has been a tutor in Greek and Roman history, and since 1990 University Reader in Ancient History. He has also taught Greek and Latin literature and early Islamic history, a subject in which he held an Oxford Research Fellowship, and is also New College's Tutor for Oriental Studies.[1] He is a lecturer in Ancient History at Exeter College, Oxford.
He was historical adviser to the film director Oliver Stone for the epic Alexander. His appearance as an extra, in addition to his work as a historical consultant, was publicized at the time of the film's release.
Lane Fox is also a gardening correspondent for the Financial Times.
He is the father of the internet entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Lastminute.com.
They are not related to, and should not be confused with Robin Fox, anthropologist, and his daughter Kate Fox, social anthropologist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
November 8, 2016
66. Travelling Heroes : In the Epic Age of Homer by Robin Lane Fox
published: 2008
format: 419 page paperback (plus 80 page bibliography/index)
acquired: July from Half Price Books
read: Oct 20 - Nov 5
rating: 2½
The cover blurb says, "Multilayered and beautifully written..." Don't be fooled by that nonsense, Fox's text is so dense that it's barely readable. As he sees it, he's really trying to do something new and dynamic with this book, combining as much archeological evidence as he can find and with all the obscure Greek mythologies and their variations and influences and histories, and constructing a history and timing of Greek storytelling itself. The book is the building of the argument he constructs, starting with raw archeological evidence. It presents a huge amount of information and in sometimes exhausting detail, mixed with various iffy but interesting inferences. A kind of survey of the archeological and mythological record comes out of this. The bibliography is enormous and there is a lot good stuff collected within - although keep in mind most of the information is not original. Also, and unfortunately, in my opinion the argument he makes is nothing more than interesting but imaginative hand waving.
The odd aspect of the archeological record is that Greeks enter the larger Mediterranean world through the island of Euboea. In the 700's bce, when Homer and Hesiod were supposed writing, Euboeans were sailing from the Levant to Spain and leaving their pottery everywhere - along with their graves and many other bits and pieces. They were clearly deeply involved in the trade runs, filling in gaps in the Phoenician routes, or competing with them, creating their own colonies in many different places, some long lasting and influential. In places they were competing among themselves. This appears to be a dominant source of Greek wealth for a long period time in a fruitful creative period - when east was influencing west and vice versa. And yet, there isn't a lot of Euboea in the Greek mythologies. Hesiod, interestingly enough, claims to have won an award on Euboea, presenting his Theogony in Chalcis. But he doesn't mention any special connection of the gods with Euboea. Homer mentions three locations in this catalogue of ships, and that's it. So, where does this leave us and Fox - apparently with a curious mystery of missing Euboeans.
Fox's story is essentially that the Euboea is in Hesiod. For example he claims that Hesiod pulled mythologies that he learned specifically in Euboea and added them to his story in a decipherable way. But to get to that somewhat anticlimactic contribution he must create a history of mythologies. So, he culls the record (readily available in many surveys, I might add) pulling stories and locating them with landscapes and geology and trade routes. Typhon and the Giants become a big deal, as do Aphrodite and Adonis, who tie in so well with Astart/Ishtar/Inanna and Dumuzi/Tummuz (a well known but really cool tie-in that also has nice links to Hittite mythologies ). He's really proud of what he creates. I'm more skeptical.
Early on I made a note to myself that when Fox says "no doubt", or "surely" it really means "it's possible". He presents what tend to be good ideas, but they don't exactly follow from the data. Often they are really unlikely and no better than numerous other possibilities. He also has an odd characteristic of stating his belief in the sources he cites - stating "I don't believe" or "I think" or "I doubt" or whatnot. I find that all very odd phrasing for a supposedly empirical approach. I'm not an archeologist, but it seems to me he could be cherry picking the evidence that fits his story, and it certainly feels like he's constantly hand waving, and then presenting this as a conclusion(!). All this stuff is possible, but the accumulation of unlikely idea on top of unlikely idea, mixed in with some solid facts, all presented together as a coherent story... I mean maybe there is some truth to this. But the world is a complicated place and the Mediterranean was crazy complex in this era. There are no clean stories and histories, it's all a mixed bag. That's really what the mythology tells us, and what the archeology confirms.
In sum, Fox has a lot of good info, but this is difficult and unpleasant to read and constructs a terribly weak argument - hence a mildly annoyed 2.5 stars.
published: 2008
format: 419 page paperback (plus 80 page bibliography/index)
acquired: July from Half Price Books
read: Oct 20 - Nov 5
rating: 2½
The cover blurb says, "Multilayered and beautifully written..." Don't be fooled by that nonsense, Fox's text is so dense that it's barely readable. As he sees it, he's really trying to do something new and dynamic with this book, combining as much archeological evidence as he can find and with all the obscure Greek mythologies and their variations and influences and histories, and constructing a history and timing of Greek storytelling itself. The book is the building of the argument he constructs, starting with raw archeological evidence. It presents a huge amount of information and in sometimes exhausting detail, mixed with various iffy but interesting inferences. A kind of survey of the archeological and mythological record comes out of this. The bibliography is enormous and there is a lot good stuff collected within - although keep in mind most of the information is not original. Also, and unfortunately, in my opinion the argument he makes is nothing more than interesting but imaginative hand waving.
The odd aspect of the archeological record is that Greeks enter the larger Mediterranean world through the island of Euboea. In the 700's bce, when Homer and Hesiod were supposed writing, Euboeans were sailing from the Levant to Spain and leaving their pottery everywhere - along with their graves and many other bits and pieces. They were clearly deeply involved in the trade runs, filling in gaps in the Phoenician routes, or competing with them, creating their own colonies in many different places, some long lasting and influential. In places they were competing among themselves. This appears to be a dominant source of Greek wealth for a long period time in a fruitful creative period - when east was influencing west and vice versa. And yet, there isn't a lot of Euboea in the Greek mythologies. Hesiod, interestingly enough, claims to have won an award on Euboea, presenting his Theogony in Chalcis. But he doesn't mention any special connection of the gods with Euboea. Homer mentions three locations in this catalogue of ships, and that's it. So, where does this leave us and Fox - apparently with a curious mystery of missing Euboeans.
Fox's story is essentially that the Euboea is in Hesiod. For example he claims that Hesiod pulled mythologies that he learned specifically in Euboea and added them to his story in a decipherable way. But to get to that somewhat anticlimactic contribution he must create a history of mythologies. So, he culls the record (readily available in many surveys, I might add) pulling stories and locating them with landscapes and geology and trade routes. Typhon and the Giants become a big deal, as do Aphrodite and Adonis, who tie in so well with Astart/Ishtar/Inanna and Dumuzi/Tummuz (a well known but really cool tie-in that also has nice links to Hittite mythologies ). He's really proud of what he creates. I'm more skeptical.
Early on I made a note to myself that when Fox says "no doubt", or "surely" it really means "it's possible". He presents what tend to be good ideas, but they don't exactly follow from the data. Often they are really unlikely and no better than numerous other possibilities. He also has an odd characteristic of stating his belief in the sources he cites - stating "I don't believe" or "I think" or "I doubt" or whatnot. I find that all very odd phrasing for a supposedly empirical approach. I'm not an archeologist, but it seems to me he could be cherry picking the evidence that fits his story, and it certainly feels like he's constantly hand waving, and then presenting this as a conclusion(!). All this stuff is possible, but the accumulation of unlikely idea on top of unlikely idea, mixed in with some solid facts, all presented together as a coherent story... I mean maybe there is some truth to this. But the world is a complicated place and the Mediterranean was crazy complex in this era. There are no clean stories and histories, it's all a mixed bag. That's really what the mythology tells us, and what the archeology confirms.
In sum, Fox has a lot of good info, but this is difficult and unpleasant to read and constructs a terribly weak argument - hence a mildly annoyed 2.5 stars.
July 14, 2014
Not only did I find Travelling Heroes incredibly dry and yes, occasionally boring, I also felt a bit misled by the description on the back and even the title. At first I thought that misstep was just me and maybe I got confused, but several other reviewers here mentioned the same thing, meaning it's clearly an issue and making me feel a lot better about slapping a rating on this one. References to Homer's epic works are scattered here and there among the pottery shards, but mostly this is about the pottery shards. So. Many. Pottery. Shards. If that's your thing, by all means go for it.
June 12, 2025
Ah yes, the epic age of Homer, when Argonauts battled giants and sirens lured sailors to their deaths. This non-fiction history looks at the emergence of the ancient Greeks, specifically those from the island of Euboea, and how they dispersed to spread their beliefs throughout the Mediterranean world. It’s a big book full of big thoughts, showing how Greek migrants influenced the myths and religions of themselves and of others.
If you look at the island of Euboea, it is the “waterside” of Greece, facing the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. Therefore, it isn’t hard to formulate a theory that it was the inhabitants of this island who ferried across the water to the various lands already inhabited by Phoenicians, Persians, and Etruscans. Along the way, they learned of the folktales of these lands, which they took and shaped for their own mythical gods. Homer the blind poet re-shaped these and created two epics which used real-world locations to explain the monsters and natural geographic phenomena. For example, there is a chapter on Typhon, who was one of the deadliest creatures of ancient Greek mythology. It makes sense that the Euboeans saw Mount Etna and Stromboli and Vesuvius and assume a massive being was venting steam and lava while chained below. And it isn’t hard to see how these sea-faring Greeks would come across other cultures and spin off variations of the discovered lands.
Greeks steered by the Great Bear whereas Phoenicians more advisedly steered by the Little Bear.
The research in this book is enormous, used to support the author’s thesis about Euboea. It’s quite a read to get through, mainly because I was mostly interested in learning more about Homer or who we think was Homer. When the author finally gets to that chapter, I was completely enthralled, as the previous sections readily prepared me for a better understanding of the ancient Greeks. So, if you love the myths of the greater Mediterranean world, this is quite the book to read. Very useful.
Book Season = Spring (crested helmets)
If you look at the island of Euboea, it is the “waterside” of Greece, facing the Aegean Sea and Asia Minor. Therefore, it isn’t hard to formulate a theory that it was the inhabitants of this island who ferried across the water to the various lands already inhabited by Phoenicians, Persians, and Etruscans. Along the way, they learned of the folktales of these lands, which they took and shaped for their own mythical gods. Homer the blind poet re-shaped these and created two epics which used real-world locations to explain the monsters and natural geographic phenomena. For example, there is a chapter on Typhon, who was one of the deadliest creatures of ancient Greek mythology. It makes sense that the Euboeans saw Mount Etna and Stromboli and Vesuvius and assume a massive being was venting steam and lava while chained below. And it isn’t hard to see how these sea-faring Greeks would come across other cultures and spin off variations of the discovered lands.
Greeks steered by the Great Bear whereas Phoenicians more advisedly steered by the Little Bear.
The research in this book is enormous, used to support the author’s thesis about Euboea. It’s quite a read to get through, mainly because I was mostly interested in learning more about Homer or who we think was Homer. When the author finally gets to that chapter, I was completely enthralled, as the previous sections readily prepared me for a better understanding of the ancient Greeks. So, if you love the myths of the greater Mediterranean world, this is quite the book to read. Very useful.
Book Season = Spring (crested helmets)
November 16, 2009
The author begins with a simile from the Iliad (2.780-85) in which Homer compares the sound of advancing Greek troops to the sound of the earth beneath the "anger of Zeus who delights in thunder, whenever he lashes the ground around Typhoeus in Arima, where they say is Typhoeus' bed . . ." He then takes the reader on a tour of the eighth-century world of Greek "travelling heroes," during which he solves the Homeric reference with which he began by identifying Arima. Along the way, he teaches the reader about the role of Euboean adventurers who extended Greek influence to the east and the west of their island homeland, in the process transporting both ideas and artifacts from one place to another. I learned much from the book about Greek interactions with other cultures in the eighth century, about the trade routes, and the settlement patterns. The author makes a convincing case for the traditional eighth-century dating of Homer and has astute observations about the differences between the works of Homer and those of Hesiod. He is a brilliant scholar of Greek literature with an excellent command of the archaeological literature and a good knowledge of the landscapes and seascapes through which the "travelling heroes" passed in literature and in life. He is somewhat less accomplished in his analysis of myth and folklore, although (I must admit) I delighted in his nineteenth-century exuberance as he engaged in old-fashioned Frazerian speculation. I could almost touch that golden bough as Typhoeus shuddered beneath my feet.
July 18, 2013
Stunningly erudite and well researched - including 90 pages of small-type notes and bibliography for 360 pages of text - this is a dense and scholarly work masquerading as a book for the general reader. I do not often feel stupid and overwhelmed when reading history, but I occasionally did with this book. It's written in a casually fluent sort of tone that only an Oxford don could pull off. Because the subject matter is mostly the 8th century BC, and it relies mostly on (by necessity) spotty and incomplete archaeological evidence and few documents besides Homer and Hesiod, it contains an often maddening number of "surely"s, "certainly"s, "undoubtedly"s, and "must have"s as the author tries to knit a coherent story.
I often felt lost trying to piece together the argument that Fox was trying to make and the structure of the book sometimes confused me. The writing is excellent in its best places, but I spent too much of the book trying to put pieces together to really enjoy it. I absolutely recommend reading the final chapter ("Just So Stories") first to help give you an idea of the thesis and narrative structure.
All in all, an outstandingly researched and thorough book that I just didn't follow well enough to take a lot away from. I learned some things, but not as much as I had hoped.
I often felt lost trying to piece together the argument that Fox was trying to make and the structure of the book sometimes confused me. The writing is excellent in its best places, but I spent too much of the book trying to put pieces together to really enjoy it. I absolutely recommend reading the final chapter ("Just So Stories") first to help give you an idea of the thesis and narrative structure.
All in all, an outstandingly researched and thorough book that I just didn't follow well enough to take a lot away from. I learned some things, but not as much as I had hoped.
September 1, 2015
I read this as a commentary to Homer and Hesiod, but it is so much more than that.
Fox has an interesting thesis that he presents in an engaging manner.
This is not a simple read. It is not a book to be skimmed. I found myself having to re-read passages, not from clumsy authorship, but because the threads are tightly knitted and require one to really mull them over.
The mix of anecdote, the consideration of the topic from multiple angles, make this a worthy read.
Among the more valuable points made by the author is that eastern influence on Greek myths, worldview and material culture are not wholesale usurpations or adoptions, but "tools" in the linguistic, stylistic and etiological tool box used by Greeks to explain, decorate and memorialize their world.
Whew!
Fox has an interesting thesis that he presents in an engaging manner.
This is not a simple read. It is not a book to be skimmed. I found myself having to re-read passages, not from clumsy authorship, but because the threads are tightly knitted and require one to really mull them over.
The mix of anecdote, the consideration of the topic from multiple angles, make this a worthy read.
Among the more valuable points made by the author is that eastern influence on Greek myths, worldview and material culture are not wholesale usurpations or adoptions, but "tools" in the linguistic, stylistic and etiological tool box used by Greeks to explain, decorate and memorialize their world.
Whew!
December 21, 2009
This didn't really grab me. The book is basically the author's take on how Greek traders/raiders from the island of Euboea visited lands to both east and west (the modern Syria/Turkey border area and Italy/Sicily) and applied what they learned of the myths of the first to the landscapes of the other. Whilst interesting, there wasn't for me a 'wow' factor or anything in particular that made me change my perceptions of how I view things or greatly expanded my knowledge. My general response to the book was 'so what' - I don't feel my understanding of the world has changed dramatically. That's not to say I haven't learnt from the book, I just don't feel that I've learnt anything of real importance. The author makes much about the poems of Homer throughout, but struggles to make any conclusion about Homer other than he wasn't familiar with the journey's of the Euboeans, whereas Hesiod on the other hand, was. I suppose the real message of the book is the influence of the Euboean 'travelling heroes' of the title on subsequent Greek mythology, but it just didn't (disappointingly) strike any real chord with me. I'm not criticising the author's conclusions or the content of the book as such, I just found a lot less engaging and stimulating than I had hoped.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 28, 2012
Why only four stars out of five? Well, It is a hard read. Robin Lane Fox is really an accomplished scholar and he has a bad time trying to convey all his knowledge to us, laypeople. However, if you keep reading the reward is worth the effort.
It is amazing how far archeology has reached. This book actually manages to track and explain in detail the first migrations out of Greece after the dark centuries, some 2700 years ago, then explore the links between Greek, Anatolian and Middle Eastern myths and place them in actual locations.
An excellent book from an expert in his field.
It is amazing how far archeology has reached. This book actually manages to track and explain in detail the first migrations out of Greece after the dark centuries, some 2700 years ago, then explore the links between Greek, Anatolian and Middle Eastern myths and place them in actual locations.
An excellent book from an expert in his field.
July 1, 2019
Dense, dull, and not remotely close to what the back cover suggested.
January 22, 2010
Just started this, after reading the author's history of Classical Greece and Rome (The Classical World: From Homer to Hadrian). The premise of the book is that the Greek Mediterranean diaspora in the early years of the first millenium BC created a unique medium for the development of the rich cultural legacy that followed. The problem with this eminently sensible idea is that the only non-archaeological evidence still around is either secondary or extremely fragmented. Still, this is Fox's driving passion, and he appears to argue it with conviction and vast supporting knowledge.
This is a book on a topic I have really wanted to explore in more depth, ever since I found out about the Greek diaspora. A bit of an obscure topic, perhaps, but I suspect that it touches on an area of history that exerted an influence on what followed to a far greater degree than we currently acknowledge.
UPDATE
Waited for the paperback to finish. In summary, quite a dense text, with a great deal of archaeological and mythical analysis to support the dual thesis that a) the Euboian Greek diaspora was much wider in the early 1st millennium BC than previously postulated and b) this diaspora - and the cultural influences it brough - had an influence on the myths and religious beliefs that informed Homer's works, but not in a manner that could point much to a direct relationship.
One for the specialist interest only. Very good, though, and written with Fox's trademark erudition and wit.
This is a book on a topic I have really wanted to explore in more depth, ever since I found out about the Greek diaspora. A bit of an obscure topic, perhaps, but I suspect that it touches on an area of history that exerted an influence on what followed to a far greater degree than we currently acknowledge.
UPDATE
Waited for the paperback to finish. In summary, quite a dense text, with a great deal of archaeological and mythical analysis to support the dual thesis that a) the Euboian Greek diaspora was much wider in the early 1st millennium BC than previously postulated and b) this diaspora - and the cultural influences it brough - had an influence on the myths and religious beliefs that informed Homer's works, but not in a manner that could point much to a direct relationship.
One for the specialist interest only. Very good, though, and written with Fox's trademark erudition and wit.
May 26, 2013
Excellent book where the author meanders around the 8th century BC Mediterranean, linking together the cultures prevalent at the time, using Homer's Iliad and Odyssey as a backdrop.
The author shows that the island of Euboea, roughly 'around the corner' from Athens, played a hugely important role in connecting the eastern with the western Mediterranean, during the 9th and 8th centuries BC, and that, during that period, a lot of the Greek mythology, stories of the gods and their companions, intermingled between the regions frequented by these Greek sailors, resulting in the stories left us by Homer and, later, Hesiod and others.
The author places an important source of the stories in the northern triangle in the far west corner of the Mediterranean, formed by the eastern tip of Cyprus, Cilicia in southern Turkey, and the Syrian coast, this area particularly seeing a lot of mingling as well as being the source for important influences to Greek mythology.
A few lovely tidbits of historical knowledge include the fact that Phoenicians probably called themselves Canaanites and that their current name derives from the Greek phoinix, meaning purple-red, referring to the 'royal purple' die Phoenicians were famous for. Carthage derives from the Phoenician for 'new city', qart hadasht.
The author shows that the island of Euboea, roughly 'around the corner' from Athens, played a hugely important role in connecting the eastern with the western Mediterranean, during the 9th and 8th centuries BC, and that, during that period, a lot of the Greek mythology, stories of the gods and their companions, intermingled between the regions frequented by these Greek sailors, resulting in the stories left us by Homer and, later, Hesiod and others.
The author places an important source of the stories in the northern triangle in the far west corner of the Mediterranean, formed by the eastern tip of Cyprus, Cilicia in southern Turkey, and the Syrian coast, this area particularly seeing a lot of mingling as well as being the source for important influences to Greek mythology.
A few lovely tidbits of historical knowledge include the fact that Phoenicians probably called themselves Canaanites and that their current name derives from the Greek phoinix, meaning purple-red, referring to the 'royal purple' die Phoenicians were famous for. Carthage derives from the Phoenician for 'new city', qart hadasht.
March 1, 2012
Interesting at times but often dull.
I just can't get too interested in pottery sherds...and there's a lot about pottery sherds.
To me he doesn't really prove what he sets out to...and the title of the book seems only partly relevant to the text, I'd hoped for more on Jason and Odysseus and less on Eubean and Phoenician pottery.
He starts with the question, well he eventually gets to it anyway: what was the noise that the Achean army made that sounded like Zeus beating the seven shades out of Typhon?
Now this is a bit of classics trivia like "what song did the sirens sing?"
Then he proceeds to wander round the med. looking for geothermal activity near heaps of early iron age pottery to see if he can hear it himself.
The maps are a bit hit and miss, with locations mentioned in the text and only shown in a map in another section of the book and strangely absent in the nearest map of the area being discussed. Also, could have done with a few more illustrations as some items/places had to be "google imaged" to see what he was discussing.
But although I'm not convinced by his argument there's some interesting stuff discussed on the journey.
I just can't get too interested in pottery sherds...and there's a lot about pottery sherds.
To me he doesn't really prove what he sets out to...and the title of the book seems only partly relevant to the text, I'd hoped for more on Jason and Odysseus and less on Eubean and Phoenician pottery.
He starts with the question, well he eventually gets to it anyway: what was the noise that the Achean army made that sounded like Zeus beating the seven shades out of Typhon?
Now this is a bit of classics trivia like "what song did the sirens sing?"
Then he proceeds to wander round the med. looking for geothermal activity near heaps of early iron age pottery to see if he can hear it himself.
The maps are a bit hit and miss, with locations mentioned in the text and only shown in a map in another section of the book and strangely absent in the nearest map of the area being discussed. Also, could have done with a few more illustrations as some items/places had to be "google imaged" to see what he was discussing.
But although I'm not convinced by his argument there's some interesting stuff discussed on the journey.
February 16, 2015
Those who want history (me) about the 8th Century from this book get what they want and those who are looking for a book about Homer's heroes' myths don't really get what they want. Most of us will probably agree that the title is deceiving.
The book is about the cultures surrounding Homer. It's mostly a factual examination of lives based on and definitely obscured by our limited ability to interpret limited evidence from Homer's possible time period.
Homer's stories were probably composed during a non-literate time period often called a "dark age" so the evidence is going to be a slog. It's hard to see the rating of this book being decreased by people expecting something different.
This book is an superb and fairly serious history of the period. If you want a good history of the period, read it, and just ignore all the reviews that use the word "dry".
We are, in fact, fortunate that so much of the evidence is dry. If it had been wet, it would have deteriorated within days, right, hahaha!? Isn't that ironic.
The book is about the cultures surrounding Homer. It's mostly a factual examination of lives based on and definitely obscured by our limited ability to interpret limited evidence from Homer's possible time period.
Homer's stories were probably composed during a non-literate time period often called a "dark age" so the evidence is going to be a slog. It's hard to see the rating of this book being decreased by people expecting something different.
This book is an superb and fairly serious history of the period. If you want a good history of the period, read it, and just ignore all the reviews that use the word "dry".
We are, in fact, fortunate that so much of the evidence is dry. If it had been wet, it would have deteriorated within days, right, hahaha!? Isn't that ironic.
September 30, 2016
Contrary to the appended book description this has nothing to do with the late "Homeric Hymns". It does, though, have something to do with the two earlier epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, attributed to "Homer" and to the writings of Hesiod. The focus, however, is more on the Greeks of the eighth century B.C.E., Homer and Hesiod being thought by author Fox to belong to that century, and most particularly on the Euboean Greek adventurers and merchants who, in his opinion based mostly on the archaeological evidences, were most travelled in that era.
Whether Fox is fair to the evidence or is correct in his claims based on such is beyond me. The contestation about the identity--or identities--of Homer is familiar enough, but the priority of Euboea in cultural transmission during this period is a matter new to me which I'm unable to form a judgment on.
While I generally recommend Fox, this book would seem to be most appropriate to specialists. I found it tough going.
Whether Fox is fair to the evidence or is correct in his claims based on such is beyond me. The contestation about the identity--or identities--of Homer is familiar enough, but the priority of Euboea in cultural transmission during this period is a matter new to me which I'm unable to form a judgment on.
While I generally recommend Fox, this book would seem to be most appropriate to specialists. I found it tough going.
August 13, 2016
Based on the description on the back of the book, I expected this to be a look at the historical basis for the Homeric myths. Instead, it's a look at the archeological and textual evidence for the trading routes and colonies of 8th century Greeks, principally Euboeans, and how their travels and interactions with other cultures may have influenced subsequent tellings of Greek myths. As such, it's okay (the prose is pretty dry), but many of the author's arguments seem to be based on speculation, and are certainly as speculative as the conclusions with which he disagrees. Perhaps this is inevitable when confronted with a dearth of documentary evidence, but it comes across as not much more convincing than the "just so" stories the Greeks told themselves. Judging from the end notes, the author did his homework, but the end result is just not compelling.
December 25, 2011
I commenced this book with anticipation and high hopes but was unfortunately disappointed. The author weaves archeological, written and phonetic evidence together to understand the geographical origins of the myths of Homer and his time. The complexity of the archeological puzzle of the ancient times is incredible and the author is obviously very knowledgable on the subject.
Despite some interesting moments the reading was generally rather dry and heavy making the book a struggle to complete.
Despite some interesting moments the reading was generally rather dry and heavy making the book a struggle to complete.
August 10, 2016
I liked this but I felt at times it became a little tedious.Robin Lane Fox explores questions ranging from the origins of Greek gods to the spread of the classical culture in the Mediterranean world.He uses archaeology,places,objects,language,local stories and Homer to explain how these ancient peoples interpreted and saw their environment.Some of his conclusions I found myself disagreeing with however for the most part I found this a very interesting and revealing account of how this ancient society formed their beliefs,how they spread and why they became so vitally important.
October 12, 2011
The concept is interesting, but the book is a little dull. There really isn't anything too new in the book. It provides good background and some interesting theories, but it :shrugs:. It's not the thriller the cover advertises.
July 31, 2017
I can imagine that this will be a bit of a marmite book. Robin Lane Fox has written some books previously with more of a popular feel but this feels much closer to his academic interests as a classicist and therefore this comes across as a PhD thesis, with a dense and detailed style. So be warned. This may not be your cup of tea.
There is a careful marshalling of his evidence - there is a great deal of discussion of pottery and dates, for example, for the first half of the book - to lay the groundwork of his ideas on what he thinks was happening culturally to the Greeks in the Mediterranean during the early Iron age. However pottery is one of the key pieces of evidence from ancient civilisations - whether analysis of it's use, it's date or what was painted on it, hence the focus from classicists and archaeologists on such material in trying to build their theories. Note though, that for those reviews that tell you it's just about pottery...they clearly didn't read past halfway!
I suspect some will find themselves a little lost in this sea of detail, but as I have a background in science, I loved seeing the focus and the slow build-up in his argument.
With the basics out of the way he then layers in further evidence and discussion from a wide variety of sources, leading us to where Robin Lane Fox sees the origins of the myths sung by Hesiod and Homer.
So overall I thoroughly enjoyed this journey seeing the connections between cultures and peoples that took place almost three thousand years ago. I had to rate it five stars.
There is a careful marshalling of his evidence - there is a great deal of discussion of pottery and dates, for example, for the first half of the book - to lay the groundwork of his ideas on what he thinks was happening culturally to the Greeks in the Mediterranean during the early Iron age. However pottery is one of the key pieces of evidence from ancient civilisations - whether analysis of it's use, it's date or what was painted on it, hence the focus from classicists and archaeologists on such material in trying to build their theories. Note though, that for those reviews that tell you it's just about pottery...they clearly didn't read past halfway!
I suspect some will find themselves a little lost in this sea of detail, but as I have a background in science, I loved seeing the focus and the slow build-up in his argument.
With the basics out of the way he then layers in further evidence and discussion from a wide variety of sources, leading us to where Robin Lane Fox sees the origins of the myths sung by Hesiod and Homer.
So overall I thoroughly enjoyed this journey seeing the connections between cultures and peoples that took place almost three thousand years ago. I had to rate it five stars.
November 9, 2022
O livro ganha duas estrelas porque contém alguns pontos de interesse para mim, quando menciona alguns mitos cujas histórias sempre me atraíram. Não é que seja ruim: não tenho erudição suficiente para julgar. O autor defende uma tese que foca no protagonismo de um grupo de gregos, da ilha de Euboea, que circularam ou teriam circulado do Oriente ao Ocidente, e fazendo circular também os mitos de diversas culturas. Não somente a grega, mas a fenícia, a egípcia, etc. Sinceramente, não tenho a menor ideia de porque comprei esse livro. Pela data de publicação (2009) e pelo título ("Greeks and their myths in the epic age of Homer), é possível que tenha sido levada pela vontade de aprofundar uma antiga paixão por mitos gregos. Só que o nível de aprofundamento vai muito mais além do que eu pretendia, e acabou se tornando um sacrifício lê-lo. E eu insisti, por orgulho. Foram poucos os livros que larguei no meio do caminho. Pura vaidade. Podia estar lendo algo que me interessasse mais. Mas reitero que não se trata de defeito do autor ou do tema, mas falta de interesse da leitora. Gostaria também de acrescentar que de lá pra cá pode ter havido novas descobertas arqueológicas, que podem ou não confirmar a tese do autor. Outra coisa: livros que abordam temas históricos ou arqueológicos podem, efetivamente, ser atraentes para o leitor, como um dos mais recentes que li, de Mary Beard (que, aliás, elogia o presente livro na contracapa).
February 23, 2018
Another scholarly yet entertaining work from Fox. He expertly tracks the well-traveled 8th c. BC Euboeans to show how they interpreted what they saw to the east and west of their home and used what they learned from their seafaring and observed in the physical landscape, cult practices, written language, human interaction often sexual congress with women to enhance and support their own mythical stories. He provides evidence for Homer living during this period and writing the Iliad prior to the Odyssey. He rejects the belief of some other scholars that it was simply a matter of eastern influence being adopted in a straight forward manner but rather there were quite good reasons in different eastern and western settings for these travellers to be alert to and seeing aspects of these new environments, mountains and their relationship to caves and the sea, local cult practices, large bones, artifacts, words in other languages that sounded similar to Greek terms with a different meaning, that all seemed to corroborate and elucidate earlier Greek stories. An interesting detective story exploring the Homerian landscape.
September 27, 2018
Lane Fox is an incredible knowledgeable archaeologist whose knowledge is iup to date, and detailed. I was enthralled by this book explaining, not only Homer, whose part in the story eventually gets addressed, but by the thrilling revelations of the Euboeans and their interactions with the Greeks and the Phoenicians. Accounts of the role in history of Mount Huzzi and the Orontes River tantalizingly touched the toes of myths from further east, including the Genesis myths, and I would have liked to have seen these further explored, though, fair enough, it would be drifting off of the Homer topic, even if Lane Fox himself is fond of exploring tangents. Yes, the book is lengthy, the prose is dry, and takes effort to read, but the expert knowledge of Lane Fox makes the effort worthwhile.
August 14, 2024
Reconociendo la gran labor del autor, que demuestra muchos conocimientos y pone en relación diversos puntos del Mediterráneo de una forma muy interesante, no se sabe muy bien dónde va este libro. La línea narrativa resulta confusa, centrándose especialmente en los griegos eubeos, pero sin terminar de concretar cuál es su premisa central, qué quiere contarnos y, lo más importante, dónde vamos en este viaje de exploración. Al final tenemos un texto denso, demasiado quizá, y falta de dirección, como en una película bien ambientada pero falta de guión. El único libro que, interesándome, jamás he conseguido terminar de leer. Y no es que no lo haya intentado.
November 25, 2025
This book brings a fresh perspective to the "dark ages" of ancient Greece, arguing, with ample evidence, that contrary to the old view of it as a time of cultural and economic retreat, in fact Greeks were still busily involved in trade and cultural exchange with other societies throughout the eastern Mediterranean. In particular, intrepid explorers from Euboea established communities in the Levant and Italy. However, I would have liked it much more if it were shorter. There is too much repetition, even within paragraphs. Also, place names are presented in multiple languages, rather than just one, somewhat randomly. But I enjoyed the author's obvious passion for his subject.
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April 15, 2025somewhat turgid prose, advancing a position that sometimes lost me, I confess. Lane Fox shows many connections between the Greek world, specifically the Euboeans, and the cultures of Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and other Eastern civilizations and argues the Greeks absorbed aspects of those cultures' myths and poetry, giving these things a Greek "spin." In his view, Homer does not enfold these borrowings into the Odyssey.
June 24, 2018
I feel a bit bad about not liking this book, but only a bit. I had a grand view in my head of what it would be, and visions of lounging by the Mediterranean reading of Odysseus and his chums zipping hither and thither, and it all being rendered on the very real Mediterranean beside which I was lounging so contentedly.
It’s not that.
It’s not that.
July 19, 2019
Aunque muy arduo de leer y, en ocasiones áspero para el lector, Héroes Viajeros es un increíble acercamiento al mundo de los griegos y de sus mitos. Personalmente, me ha encantado pero debo decir que no es una lectura fácil. Se lo recomiendo solo a aquellos que estén muy interesados en la Historia y acostumbrados a los ensayos históricos.
August 31, 2023
A superbly inspirational book showing how ancient history can best be studied on the ground, by poking about in the places where the events took place. Professor Lane Fox's work inspired me to do the same for my book "In Search of Aeneas", travelling the Mediterranean to leave, almost literally, no stone unturned. Learn here about the origins of Rome and of our alphabet - fascinating.
December 6, 2024
Di Robin Lane Fox anni fa avevo molto apprezzato la biografia di Alessandro Magno: rigorosissima e dettagliata, ma allo stesso tempo molto appassionante. In questo altro suo libro rimangono la rigorosità e il dettaglio, ma fini a se stessi: è un testo che, seppur scritto bene, non prende mai, che non ho capito bene cosa voglia dire e raccontare.
February 11, 2018
I wanted to like this and it started well. But - much like Odysseus - it wandered all over the Mediterranean, only without the excuse of a vengeful god in pursuit. It sorely needed an editor and a clearer path through the verbiage. And less repetition.
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