The Greek Epics of the Iliad and the Odyssey are well known, but what is not so well known is their origin. Where are they from, are the stories Greek? Mycenean? Or from elsewhere in time and place?

This video looks at these Epics and looks at the stories within them, comparing them to other stories from other cultures, before finding one Greek myth that was told long before the proto Indo Europeans. One of the oldest stories in the world that we know to date.

With special thanks to Professor Ken Dowden whose lectures inspired me.

Geneticists Estimate Publication Date of The Iliad, Scientific American, February 27, 2013, Joel Shurkin
The Oldest Extant ParvanList of the Mahābhārata, Dieter Schlingloff, Journal of the American Oriental Society, Apr. Jun., 1969, Vol. 89, No. 2, pp. 334338
The Orpheus Myth in North America, A. H. Gayton, The Journal of American Folklore , Jul. Sep., 1935, Vol. 48, No. 189, pp. 263293
The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology ("Sather Classical Lectures," Vol. VIII). By Martin Nilsson, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1932. Pp. 258
The FolkTale Origins of the Iliad and Odyssey, Malcom Davies, Wiener Studien , 2002, Vol. 115, pp. 543