tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26808953.post5568738012172463988..comments2023-11-03T05:48:15.127-07:00Comments on Ancient Musings: Themistocles & OstracismUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26808953.post-19913459123537315382012-11-27T09:04:34.482-08:002012-11-27T09:04:34.482-08:00That's interesting. It does seem curious that...That's interesting. It does seem curious that such an important figure would apparently disappear from events for several years - whereas if he was thrown out more than once, as you suggest, his absence would make perfect sense. <br /><br />If it's not known whether Themistocles was or was not ostracised before 470, then if you have him ostracised once in say 479 (not mentioned in the records that have come down to us) and once in 470 (which is in the surviving records), you're not changing events around as such, you're imagining an event that might have happened to fill in a gap. If there isn't anything against that possibility in the records (I assume that there isn't a comprehensive list of all ostracisims in Athens between 480 and 470?), then I would have no problem with it in historical fiction, especially if it's mentioned in the historical note. Exploring this sort of thing is what historical fiction is for, I think. Carlahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11901028520813891575noreply@blogger.com