Homer
Ancient Greek poet traditionally credited with the Iliad and the Odyssey
The poems are in Homeric Greek, a literary language showing a mixture of Ionic and Aeolic dialect features.[1] After Troy's fall, Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, spends ten years traveling to return home, which is the subject of the Odyssey.[1]
Quick Facts
- Born
- c. 8th century BC
- Birthplace
- possibly Ionia
- Place of death
- Ios
- Language
- Homeric Greek (literary), Ionic Greek
- Genre
- Epic
- Subject
- Epic Cycle
- Notable works
- Iliad, Odyssey
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC.[2] Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread that he was a blind bard from Ionia.[2] In most ancient biographies, Homer is depicted as being blind.[3] Today, only the Iliad and the Odyssey are associated with the name "Homer".[4]
In antiquity, a large number of other works were sometimes attributed to him, including the Homeric Hymns and the Batrachomyomachia.[4] Scholars consider the ancient belief that a single individual wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey to be a fictional construct, as the true identity of "Homer" remains unknown.[5] A majority of scholars think the poems were initially passed down through oral tradition.[1] According to the poet Pindar, Homer came from Chios and Smyrna.[3]
While no single origin story for Homer became dominant, the majority of traditions about his death place it on the island of Ios.[6]
What the cited sources add
That same source states that when Achilles appeared to him, Homer was blinded by the weapons’ gleam.[7] The Greek Anthology epigrams describe Homer as "the marshaller of the heroes" and "the herald of the heroes’ valour".[8] One epigram in the Greek Anthology claims that Homer was born in Thebes of the hundred gates.[8] Another epigram states that Pythagoras believed Homer’s soul lodged again in the poet Stesichorus.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Homer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sturdee, "Odysseus: the First Western Man", Merion West, 16 April 2021; Hose, "A Companion to Greek Literature", John Wiley & Sons, 2015, p. 445; Miller, "Ancient Greek Dialects and Early Authors: Introduction to the Dialect Mixture in Homer, with Notes on Lyric and Herodotus", Walter de Gruyter, 2013, p. 351; Ahl, "The Odyssey Re-formed", Cornell University Press, 1996; Bell, Robert H.; "Homer's humor: laughter in the Iliad", hand 1 (2007), 596. (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Homer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kirk, "Homer", 2025; Croally, "Classical Literature: An Introduction", Routledge, 2011, p. 26; Daisy Dunn, "Who was Homer?", The British Museum, 22 January 2020; Romilly, "A Short History of Greek Literature", University of Chicago Press, 1985, p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Homer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kirk, "Homer", 2025; Lefkowitz 2013, p. 14; "Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica" (Contest of Homer and Hesiod); Parke, "Greek Oracles", 1967, p. 136–137; Lefkowitz 2013, p. 14; Lefkowitz 2013, p. 14; "A Riddle, and How Homer Went Blind", sententiaeantiquae.com, 11 February 2017; Lefkowitz 2013, p. 14 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Homer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Graziosi, "Homer: The Resonance of Epic", A & C Black, 2005, p. 24–26; Graziosi 2002, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Homer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pache 2020, p. xxvii; Lefkowitz 2013, p. 14; Graziosi 2002, p. 13; Lefkowitz, "The Lives of the Greek Poets", A & C Black, 2013, p. 14–30; . (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Homer" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Lefkowitz 2013, p. 14 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "A Riddle, and How Homer Went Blind", sententiaeantiquae.com, 11 February 2017. facts only, no text reused. sententiaeantiquae.com
- "Greek Anthology Book 7, 7.1". facts only, no text reused. topostext.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Homer (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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