Inverted Histories

Did you know that Akhtenaten was Moses? No? Neither do I. Scholars studying emergent monotheism investigate any possible connection between the monotheist pharaoh and the monotheist prince/prophet. Someone even suggests that maybe they were identical. Therefore, someone else writes another book in which it is simply stated as a fact that Akhtenaten was the Mose, the heir. And the rest of history is treated in the same way.

This would be fine if it were simply labelled as historical fiction. We are bound to think, "Poul Anderson could have done it." In fact, he did fictionalize quite a few mythical, legendary and historical figures:

Theseus
Mithradates
Odin and Thor
Hiram of Tyre
Cyrus the Great
Croesus
Hrolf Kraki
Hadding
Beowulf
Harald Hardrada and his contemporaries
MacBeth
the King of Ys
Sherlock Holmes
Holger Danske
some guests in the Old Phoenix -

- and, of course, I will have missed someone.(Later: I have missed a couple of more obscure ones.)

("Poul Anderson Appreciation" means not only rereading Anderson but also reflecting on his vast output while reading other fiction and non-fiction.)