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Her novel "Lavinia" is set just a few years after the Trojan War. Neither Latin nor Greek was a *written* language at the time; therefore, the time period for those cultures is pre-history. Yes, Egypt and other civilizations already had a written language, and those cultures had entered the historical period.

I'm so glad you had Ursula LeGuin on the show! This isn't the 1st time she's dealt with material from another language; I was surprised 5 or 10 years ago to find what she calls an "English version" rather than a translation of the Tao Te Ching, which I highly recommend.

I've enjoyed Ms. LeGuin's science fiction for a long time. It was great to hear her discuss "Lavinia" (although I disagree that the time it's set in is prehistory--we have history, & even historians, from that time & earlier!). I'll have to look for this book.

Ms. Le Guin is my favorite author, and I read "Lavinia" last spring when it came out in hardbook. It was a delight to hear her speak on the show today. A note - I want to confirm something she said about the "Aeneid" being more "made-up" than the Greek Epics ("Iliad" and "Odyssey"). She is right. While there were certain myths about Aeneas, Virgil composed the poem to give Rome a national epic. He was not trying to be an historian (like Livy or Sallust) but a poet for the nation.