While everything said about Homer is subject to debate, the popular opinion about Homer is that he was a blind bard who composed and recited The Iliad and The Odyssey a few hundred years after the events described.
Laertes is the father of Odysseus in the Odyssey.
Calypso is one of the tempting immortal women Odysseus faces in the Odyssey.
The Muse is a character addressed in epic poetry.
An epithet is a literary nickname.
The Greek poet Homer is the blind bard of the Archaic Age of Greece whose name is associated with the great Greek epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Homer is the most important figure in the literature of the Greeks and Romans, and one of the most important writers in the history of the world.
The Greek poet Homer was the most important writer for the ancient Greeks and has had tremendous impact on literature ever since. Here are English translations of the Iliad and Odyssey as well as other works attributed to Homer. Most are in the public domain.
These are terms you should know when reading Homer's epics.
An Homeric Epithet is a mnemonic device used in the Iliad and the Odyssey that helped the poet (Homer) make his words suit his meter.
From your Guide and the Archaeology Guide, a series of features on Homer,
The Iliad,
The Odyssey, Schliemann, Troy, the excavations and the scholarship.
An oral tradition is a method of keeping a culture alive without relying on writing or recording media.
Review of
The Trojan War: A New History, by Barry Strauss, which is like a companion guide to the Iliad of Homer.
Find out about Homer, Helen, the apple of discord, the heroes of the Trojan War, and the role of the gods and goddesses in this ancient legendary battle. You will receive one lesson a week.
"Trojan War: A New History," by Barry Strauss, re-examines the Iliad of Homer and other works of the epic cycle, as well as archaeological evidence and written material about the Bronze Age in the Near East, to present evidence that the Trojan War actually did take place much as Homer describes it.
Who wrote the Homeric Hymns, what the Homeric Hymns are, and when it is thought they were written.
A vital, classic work on Homer and the Odyssey that should be required reading for anyone studying Homer, plus it's short and easy to read.
Steady influx of newly available Homeric papyri with variant readings makes this Internet catalogue useful for students of the Iliad and the Odyssey. A downloadable Greek font (Athenian) is included.
Conversation between David Gergen and the authors of the book leaves you wondering which ten books suffice for classical culture.
