The Catalogue of the Ships in Homer's Iliad

The idea that the Catalogue of the Ships reflects conditions in Mycenaean Greece is not a new one, but recent excavation and topographical research justifies a new discussion of the questions. The greater part of this book (Part II) consists of an examination of each place listed in the Catalogue with particular reference to its location. Part I briefly examines the general question of the extent to which the Homeric poems as a whole embody Mycenaean tradition. Part II argues that while the Catalogue certainly reflects the Mycenaean period, it should be regarded as a poetic reconstruction rather than a 'muster-list' of actual forces which destroyed the historical Troy.