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AEGEAN SEA  was separated by the high mountains of the Peloponnesus, thus forcing a reliance on ships. Mycenaeans were expert mariners and warriors. Archeological evidence shows them trading and making pirate raids throughout the Aegean, and as far away as Egypt. Th e debate about the reality of the Trojan War, its date, location, and what archeological materials are contemporary to it continues. Th e current best estimate is – b.c.e. Explanations for the demise of the Mycenaeans around  b.c.e. range from inter- nal disintegration, to invasion on land by the Dorians, to the Sea Peoples who are also sometimes credited with wrecking havoc on Ugarit and destabilizing the end of New Kingdom–era Egypt. Between the Greek and Roman periods, the role of the Aegean Sea changed dra- matically. Homer’s epic poems, Iliad and Odyssey, which are generally accepted to have been written down around  b.c.e. after circulating for centuries as oral poetry, speak Map of the Aegean Sea