Author

Homer

reputed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, -900–-800

Their life

Homer was an ancient Greek poet traditionally credited with composing the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational to ancient Greek literature. The reference says he was possibly born around the eighth century BC, but it gives no birthplace. Ancient writers widely described him as a blind bard from Ionia, a region on the central western coast of present-day Turkey and nearby Greek islands such as Chios and Samos, but modern scholars regard these accounts as legendary rather than historically reliable. The reference does not mention where or when he died.

Ancient Greeks held Homer in great esteem. Plato regarded him as the poet who had educated Greece, and the poems helped shape ideals of heroism, glory, and honor in Greek culture and education. The Iliad focuses on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the final year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey follows Odysseus, king of Ithaca, on his ten-year journey home after Troy falls, and it depicts his perseverance against the punishments of the gods. Although the poems are known for their serious and tragic themes, they also include moments of comedy and laughter.

The poems are written in Homeric Greek, a literary language that blends features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different periods, with Eastern Ionic as the strongest influence. Most researchers believe the poems were first transmitted orally. Scholars continue to debate who composed them, when, where, and under what circumstances, and they generally hold that the two poems were the work of different authors. The poems are thought to have been composed around the late eighth or early seventh century BC. Their influence has lasted from antiquity to the present, inspiring many later works of

AI Written by a house AI from Wikipedia and Wikidata, and kept. Check anything important.