Homer's epic heroes were everyday names for ordinary Mycenaeans
On the accounting tablets from Mycenaean palaces, Eteocles and Achilles were merely the names of commoners who owed goods to the crown—the "heroic" names from Homer's epics were actually everyday names anyone bore then.
The video won't play here. Listen to the audio instead:
The argument · tap a timestamp to hear it
"Mycenaean" is a modern label, not what they called themselves
The term "Mycenaean" was coined by modern scholars using the name of the Mycenae site. The people themselves are called Achaeans or Danaans in Homer's epics. How they actually referred to themselves remains unknown; Linear B tablets reveal only how certain place names were written then.
— Steve KershawA federation of independent states, not one unified Mycenaean empire
Mycenaean civilization was not a unified empire but a collection of independent kingdoms: Pylos, Mycenae, Argos, Thebes, and others. They shared language and religious beliefs, but remained politically separate. While Mycenae sat strategically between Argos and Tiryns and Egypt's artifacts have been found there, suggesting regional dominance, there is no evidence for a "king of kings" like Agamemnon.
— Steve KershawCrete's shift to Linear B may have been cultural adoption, not conquest
Around 1450 BCE, Linear A on Crete was replaced by Linear B (the Mycenaean script), and burial styles shifted to mainland "warrior graves" with swords and helmets. The standard assumption is military invasion, but Crete's elite may simply have adopted continental customs and weaponry. No written records document an actual conquest.
— Steve KershawTablet records show "heroes" were simply common people's names
Mycenaean palace tablets primarily recorded mundane transactions: how many sheep or goats villagers owed the crown. Yet these mundane records contain the names Eteocles and Achilles—the very heroes of Homer's epics—proving these "heroic" names were ordinary labels anyone could bear. The tablets even mention one real "Smith" who made bronze tools professionally.
— Steve KershawCyclopean walls were oversized by design: built to intimidate, not defend
The "Cyclopean" fortifications at Mycenae and Tiryns were built with massive stones, seven to eight meters thick—far exceeding what actual defense required. Later Greek writers like Pausanias refused to believe mortals could build them, attributing them to mythical giants. The walls were meant to awe and intimidate. The passage before the Lion Gate was enclosed on three sides to create a killing zone where archers could fire down on attackers.
— Steve KershawAgamemnon was likely a composite memory, not a historical person
Asked directly whether Agamemnon was real, Kershaw gave a blunt answer: probably not. He likely represents a vague folk memory of some powerful ruler, projected backward in time—similar to how the mythological Eurystheus may have a historical kernel. Myth preserves not what actually happened, but a version of the past crafted to justify the present.
— Steve KershawWhen Mycenaean palaces fell, the people remained—only the system collapsed
Around 1200 BCE, Mycenaean palaces throughout the region were destroyed in succession. Yet this did not mean the population vanished. People continued to live at Mycenae, Tiryns, and elsewhere; they even contributed soldiers when Persia invaded Greece five centuries later. What truly disappeared was the palace-centered administration and the use of writing. The language itself—early Greek—never broke the chain of transmission.
— Tristan HughesBronze Age collapse was systemic: the whole structure fell when one piece broke
Scholars have proposed many causes for Mycenaean collapse: earthquakes, climate change, plague, invasions by the Sea Peoples. None is definitively proven by archaeology. A more widely accepted explanation is systemic collapse—the civilization was built like a tower of blocks so interdependent that removing any single crucial support brought the entire structure down.
— Steve KershawIn their own words · checked verbatim
And you stand there and you kind of pretend that you are Agamemnon, the lord of men, who can survey that. You are the lord of all you survey from there.
Steve Kershaw2:00
the mythical tradition makes Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, the lord of men, who is the dominant power, who can bring together all of the different Greek states in a mission to go to Troy.
Steve Kershaw13:18
So if you're going to have a boar tusk helmet, you've got to hunt 50 boars, right? Because there's about 50 pairs of boar tusks.
Steve Kershaw21:42
he's got he's that bo peep he's lost a whole flock 50 sheep
Steve Kershaw34:12
people talked about the pyramids but they're just as nothing to this you know
Steve Kershaw43:45
I think not. I think not. Disappointingly not. Disappointingly not.
Steve Kershaw56:58
But the administrative system, the palaces, that's what falls out of use. And that's what kind of people say is the end of Mycenaean culture. It's the palaces. It's not actually the people disappearing. It's the palaces.
Tristan Hughes1:03:23
it's like a jenga stack you just pull it out and and it all comes down and it all comes down
Steve Kershaw1:05:27
Figures
| Peak of Mycenaean civilization | c. 1600–1200 BCE | 4:50 |
| Crete's transition to Mycenaean culture | c. 1450 BCE | 17:28 |
| Boar tusk helmet: tusks required | c. 50 pairs (c. 50 wild boar) | 21:42 |
| Atemo's debt to the palace in tablet records | 50 sheep | 34:12 |
| Cyclopean walls: thickness | c. 7–8 meters | 43:45 |
| Kazarma Mycenaean bridge construction | c. 3,000 years ago | 47:53 |
Glossary
- Linear B
- The syllabic script of early Greek used by Mycenaeans, inscribed on clay tablets and recording mostly administrative transactions.
- Wanax
- The title of the highest Mycenaean ruler, a precursor to the later Greek word for king.
- Tholos tomb
- A large beehive-shaped stone burial chamber used by Mycenaean elites.
- Cyclopean walls
- Massive stone fortifications that later Greeks believed could only have been built by mythical giants.
- Corbelling
- An architectural technique of building arches or vaults by progressively offsetting stones inward, used in Mycenaean construction.
- Sea Peoples
- A mysterious maritime confederation that raided the eastern Mediterranean in the late Bronze Age, their origin uncertain.
How to listen
Anyone curious about the Trojan War and Homer's sources, and how archaeological evidence revises our memory of myth.
The sections on Mycenaean women and children have sparse evidence; the guest himself admits knowing little about them, so you can skip ahead.