[andy_card]

Would you expect the writing style of the author of Beowulf to much resemble those of modern authors?

Absolutely not. And I love your comparison between Beowulf and the Bible. I think they are eminently comperable.

Moreover, ancient literature describes a number of things which we do not see in our present world

Correct. Beowulf, for example, describes horrifying Grendel. Greek myths describe the transformation of humans into spiders. The Bible describes a flood covering the whole earth. The power of imagination was as strong then as it is now. All are works of fiction.

[balrog666]

The power of imagination was as strong then as it is now.

A good line with the ring of truth.

[dubyagee]

Greek myths describe the transformation of humans into spiders. The Bible describes a flood covering the whole earth.

Are you implying that a flood covering the whole earth is as difficult to believe as humans turning into spiders? If we're to believe the world was at one time covered in ice, why is it so difficult to believe it was at one time covered in water?

Maybe those Greeks happened to catch some of that macro-evolution at work. ; * )

[Publius6961]

The power of imagination was as strong then as it is now. All are works of fiction.

At various points in history, an eminently convenient and exploitable assumption.

History is not over yet.
Nor will it be after you and I are gone.