Almost everywhere on earth, there have been many regional collapses in different times. This is enough for a corpus of stories about mythical, great past to be created, survive through the highwater mark of the next cycle of civilization (which was usually higher than the previous great past), and provide context during the next collapse and it's aftermath.
When Roman power in the West collapsed, and, for example, the remaining population of Arles retreated into the amphitheater of their previously much greater and more prosperous city, building a fortification in the middle and from the ruins of what used to be before, there were almost certainly people among them who could recite Hesiod. I just for some reason find this so trippy.
When Roman power in the West collapsed, and, for example, the remaining population of Arles retreated into the amphitheater of their previously much greater and more prosperous city, building a fortification in the middle and from the ruins of what used to be before, there were almost certainly people among them who could recite Hesiod. I just for some reason find this so trippy.