Homer's Obituary

Little is known about the legendary Greek poet Homer, who is attributed to writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. These heroic tales still influence lives today. His world, Ancient Greece, provides the foundation of western civilization.

Many have deemed Homer and Hesiod the “founding fathers” of Greek epic poetry and philosophical writings. Both writers’ careers flourished around 8th century B.C, and were immense influences in the world of Greek philosophy. Hesiod focuses on more traditional origins of life for his stories and ensures that the creation of the world and its rulers are embodied in his works. Homer has been considered one of the most influential philosophical writers for centuries by recognized philosophers. He wrote about principles in battle, governance, counsel, sports, the home and life in general that the Greeks looked to in praise. While both of the authors were similar in writing style, they differ vastly in the messages of their poems.

Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey” reveals many aspects of ancient Greek life and culture through character and plot. Through each of the tales circling the life of Odysseus and the Greek people, Homer depicts the history, legends, values, and merits of the ancient Greeks. Greek culture is known to be one of the most flavored and thorough in history, and each facet of it—from religion to ideology to mentalities and beliefs.

Homer had a way of illustrating the natural world in exquisite detail. To him, the irregular shapes and bold colors that surrounded him told stories only he could fathom. No one could have guessed that Homer was blind. Every reader makes a choice to either read the top layer of his work and visualize what their brain desires, or absorb the creativity and stand in the middle of his flamboyant visions, not realizing that they have been changed forever. John Keats expresses how Homer’s writing had a way of healing his own ignorance, and changing his life from the moment he read it. Keats writes about how he was most definitely not the same person he was before his exposure to Homer. The poem, “To Homer” by John Keats explicates the idea that although Homer was physically blind, he enabled a man blind with ignorance (Keats), to see the world through his literature.

Homer, a poet from ancient Greece, wrote The Odyssey which illustrates the values of the Greeks. As the hero, Odysseus embarks on a journey home from Troy and, through this journey, the reader sees the traits that Odysseus is praised and rebuked for. Odysseus’s incredible strength and courage as well as his confidence both positively and negatively affect the outcomes of his decisions. More often than not, these two characteristics are what keep him alive; although, he relies on these qualities more than he should and it ultimately gets him into trouble. Odysseus is able to use these traits to his advantage from time to time; however, they could be considered his fatal flaw.

The Odyssey, written by Homer, is an ancient tale filled with adventure, some sadness and much hope. These emotions are driven by the interaction between the characters in the story. Analyzing the many different relationships throughout this book will allow a deeper understanding of the love and sacrifice that prevailed.

For many years, Greek culture based their social status on prominence and rank in their colony. This prepotency over the culture is shown in the epic poem, The Iliad of Homer. Great vitality is exhibited by the characters in the poem. The need for glory, honor, and eternal remembrance is mentioned numerous times from beginning to end in this composition. Glory and honor comes with great responsibility and wisdom. Homer presents this idea in various ways. This fortitude is passed throughout The Iliad showing the foundation of dignified heroes and self-glorification.

Homer essentially became one of the first Greek poets. He wrote down and perfected a story he had probably told and heard a hundred times and made it in to a poetry by writing an epic. This epic was something the Greeks idolized and proceeded to teach in schools because it was a masterpiece. All the children in the schools got the constant reinforcement of how they were supposed to act by not only the people around them, but also the books they read and the books that were read to them.

of Homer’s literary skill and of the impressions he intends to leave with us. This is clear even in the

The Odyssey of Homer takes place in Ancient Greece; the protagonist in this epic poem is Odysseus, with whom I can relate with on a personal level. Odysseus has many long and tiring trials in his journey; although I have just started my life journey, we share some similar struggles. Much like Odysseus, I have my own goals, temptations, obstacles, and distractions in my life.

Homer’s work is relevant today because “we live in a world torn by violence, sexual passion, and revenge” just as Homer’s the Iliad does. Current events that have been taking place around the world and in our country, show these topics. For example, violence is shown through the crime rates and the number of stories that we hear about brutality and unnecessary shootings.

Homer and Ovid are two of the oldest, most influential poets that have ever lived. Although they are both poets, they have several differences in their writings. Homer, a Greek poet, is most famous for his epic poems Iliad and Odyssey. Ovid, a Roman poet, is most famous for Metamorphoses a 15 book poem containing over 250 myths. To compare and contrast these two poets and their writing styles, I will use Achilles’ battle with Hector in Homer’s Iliad book 22 and compare it with Achilles’ battle with Cycnus in Ovid’s Metamorphoses book 12. The comparison of these battles will give us a better understanding of these poets different views on the Trojan War.

      The Iliad is a story of rages of Achilles and the War of Troy. Thanks to the techniques of the author, Homer, The Iliad is very colorful, romantic, and it makes the readers imagine the ancient Greeks and their times of war. Homer is believed to be the author of epics other than the Iliad, although their authorship remains uncertain. Historian believes that Homer probably lived in the eighth century, B.C.1 (Discovering World History). However, there are very few things that we know about him. Some historians think Homer's birthplace may have been on an island on the eastern edge of the Aegean Sea, or perhaps in a city on the nearby coast, but they don't have evidence to

In Greek literature a prominent author is Homer, whom we don’t know if actually existed or if ‘Homer’ is a pseudonym for a collective group of writers. Homer is popular for writing epic poetry, which follows the heroic journey of the protagonist through a lengthy narrative. In epics, the poet focuses on the main character’s search for kleos, the only thing a proper hero requires. In the Iliad, while the search for kleos is a major theme, love is also portrayed in many different respects.

The ancient Greeks and Romans contributed to western civilization in many different forms of literature and architecture. Both of these cultures produced a variety of literary works which are still studied today. One of the biggest contributions to literature was from the author known as Homer. Homer was known for two of ancient Greece’s most epic poems, The lliad and The Odyssey. Both of these poems have had a profound impact on western literature and continue to influence teachers and authors today. “The lliad and The Odyssey have provided not only seeds but fertilizer for almost all the other arts and sciences in