The Homer: Biography

The Iliad and its sequel, the Odyssey, which were composed in Greece in the late-eighth and early-seventh centuries B.C.E., are generally attributed to a blind poet named Homer. Little is known about Homer’s life, and some scholars believe that the two epic poems commonly attributed to him may have also had other authors.

The Iliad is set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by several Greek kingdoms. It focuses on the quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles. The Odyssey focuses on the ten-year-long journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, after the fall of Troy. An important aspect of Odysseus’ decade-long journey involves his encounter with Circe, a Greek scorceress and the daughter of Helios, the sun god, and Perse, the ocean nymph. She falls in love with Odysseus and also turns his men into swine, though she reverses this spell later and sets the men free.

Homer’s epics are regarded as embodiments of Greek folklore. The long, narrative poems are composed in an elevated style, and the central characters are often godlike heroes.

From antiquity until now, the influence of the Homeric epic on Western civilization cannot be overstated. Homeric epics also influenced ancient Greek culture and education.