• IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works
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    4 days ago

    You know, I was watching a video theorizing that the Odyssey and the Iliad were assembled from a bunch of older stories, and that a couple of those journeys went across the Atlantic. If someone like the ancient Macedonians made it across, the Old Testament stories could also be incorporating information about North America.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.worldOP
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      4 days ago

      the Odyssey and the Iliad were assembled from a bunch of older stories

      Very possible

      and that a couple of those journeys went across the Atlantic

      Total bullshit

      • IrateAnteater@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        Probably, but not as insane as you might first think. We already know the Vikings managed it, and in the Pacific, many islands were populated by people who didn’t have anywhere near the ships that the Mediterranean civilizations had, and yet covered distances just as far as you would have to cross if you were taking the northern route across the Atlantic.

        • VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          The Norse were in the only area you can really island hop. The Pacific has tons of island chains, but the Atlantic is relatively empty. It has some islands near Africa and the Americas, but nothing like the chains connecting Japan, Hawaii, and Indonesia.

    • SwingingTheLamp@piefed.zip
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      4 days ago

      It was the Minoans. Well, at least there’s an argument to be made. It’s intriguing to note the two mysteries of how haplogroup X ended up in North America (not through Asia), and where all the copper went. As well, the time and place match well for stories of such journeys to make it into the Iliad and the Odyssey.