Why do the Iliad and the Odyssey contain minor inconsistencies?

The Iliad and the Odyssey contain minor inconsistencies because they are products of an oral tradition that spanned generations. As these epics were composed and transmitted orally, they naturally exhibit the fluid characteristics inherent to that medium.12

These inconsistencies often arise when a composer amalgamates traditional material into a large-scale structure, causing the seams of the narrative to show through. Because oral poets relied on a vast store of traditional verbal formulas to construct their verses, the process of weaving these elements together could occasionally result in minor narrative discrepancies. Furthermore, as the poems were passed down by rhapsodes and eventually stabilized into written form, the history of the texts involved periods of potential distortion and later attempts at scholarly refinement. Despite these minor variations, the poems are widely recognized for their powerful and cohesive unity.13