Since the stories told by poets and other early writers represented the major evidence for the events for which the Greeks had no written records, historians could not escape considering the role of myth in history. One approach—represented here by Herodotus’ and Thucydides’ analyses of the Trojan, Persian, and Peloponnesian Wars—was to seek to distinguish where myth left off and history began. Other approaches are exemplified by Diodorus’ complete historicizing of myth (including one of the finest examples of euhemerism) and Plutarch’s consideration of Theseus’ role as the historical figure responsible for the unification of Attica. A parallel to the issues faced by ancient historians can be found in the modern debate over the historicity of the Iliad. A central question—and one often raised by students—is whether (or to what degree) Homer reflected events centuries before his time; in Appendix 1, Thomas G. Palaima has collected and commented on samples of Linear B texts that record
sacrifices to many of the gods mentioned by Homer (a complete list of all gods mentioned in Linear B is also included) and individuals who bore names familiar from Greek epic.