Tuesday 13 September 2016

Rewriting History

SM Stirling, Against The Tide Of Years (New York, 1999), Chapter Six.

Stirling rewrites history in two ways. First, he shows us that the original events were not as recorded, e.g., Agamemnon and Menelaos were not brothers. (p. 100) Secondly, of course, the time travelers change the course of events in any case.

However, some of the recorded details were accurate:

"'...these people don't have much idea of spook-work. Odikweos, he's the exception.'" (p. 101)

In our mythology, Odysseus spied inside Troy during the siege of that city. "Meanwhile," Moses sent spies into the Promised Land. (Here.) The roots of military intelligence and of spy fiction were way back then.

3 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

Now that was interesting! Why didn't I remember how Odikweos spied out Troy in Homer's ILIAD or the spies Moses sent to investigate land of Canaan? Drat!

And the Bible even gives us what may well be the first mysteries! I mean the stories in the Book of Daniel about "Bel and the Dragon" and "Susanna and the Elders."

Sean

Paul Shackley said...

Sean,
Everything is in the Bible and Shakespeare!
Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

I agree, with the caveat that I would include Dante's DIVINE COMEDY as well, alongside Shakespeare.

Sean