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Why do the Iliad and the Odyssey contain details from different historical periods?

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Map showing the chief cities of Ancient Greece and surrounding regions, including locations such as Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Delphi, Thebes, Troy, Olympia, Syracuse, and Ephesus, along with notable islands and mountain ranges in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. — Greek literature A map shows the major regions and cities of ancient Greece.

The Iliad and the Odyssey contain details from different historical periods because they are the product of a long-standing oral tradition that evolved over several centuries. Rather than being the work of a single moment, these epics were developed, handed down, and expanded upon by successive generations of poets.12

The poems function as a composite of various cultural and material layers. While the stories are set in a legendary past that evokes the Mycenaean age (c. 1550–1200 BCE), they were composed in their current form during the 8th century BCE, or the Archaic period. Consequently, the epics feature an amalgamation of elements:314

Mycenaean/Bronze Age: The poems preserve historical memories of the Late Bronze Age, such as specific types of armor (e.g., boar-tusk helmets) and the general heroic setting.14
Archaic Period: The language, social structures, and material culture—such as the development of hoplite warfare and iron weapons—reflect the world known to the poets who finalized the epics.314

This blending of archaic traditions with contemporary details is a hallmark of oral poetry, where traditional material is continuously adapted to remain relevant to the audience of the time.12