Biography of Homer
Homer
Beyond a few fragments of information, historians and classicists can only speculate about the
life of the man who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. The details are few. We do not even know
the century in which he lived, and it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that the same poet
composed both works. The Greeks attributed both of the epics to the same man, and we have little
hard evidence that would make us doubt the ancient authorities, but uncertainty is a constant
feature of scholarly work dealing with Homer's era of Greek history.
The Greeks hailed him as their greatest poet, as well as their first. Although the Greeks recognized
other poets who composed in Greek before Homer, no texts from these earlier poets survived.
Perhaps they were lost, or perhaps they were never written down? Homer himself was probably on
the cusp between the tradition of oral poetry and the new invention of written language. Texts of the
Iliad and the Odyssey existed from at least the sixth century BC, and probably for a considerable span
of time before that. These two great epic poems also had a life in performance: through the
centuries, professional artists made their living by reciting Homer, performing the great epics for
audiences that often know great parts of the poem by heart.
It is impossible to pin down with any certainty when Homer lived. Eratosthenes gives the traditional
date of 1184 BC for the end of the Trojan War, the semi-mythical event which forms the basis for the
Iliad. The great Greek historian Herodotus put the date at 1250 BC. These dates were arrived at in a
very approximate manner; Greek historians usually used genealogy and estimation when trying to
find the dates for events in the distant past. But Greek historians were far less certain about the dates
for Homer's life. Some said he was a contemporary of the events of the Iliad, while others placed him
sixty or a hundred or several hundred years afterward. Herodotus estimated that Homer lived and
wrote in the ninth century BC. He almost certainly lived in one of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor.
All of the traditional sources say that he was blind.
Over the course of millennia of scholarly speculation, prevailing theories about Homer and his
relationship to his work have had time to change and change again. At various times over the
centuries, scholars have suggested that he was only a transmitter, or that he never existed, and the
epics attributed to him were the patchwork effort of generations of bards. Modern scholars,
however, tend to accept that the Iliad and the Odyssey are more than amalgams handed down from
antiquity, and that there was in fact a great poet who had a hand in creating these epics in the forms
we know today. Current scholarship holds that Homer was a great bard who lived between the eighth
and seventh centuries BC. Although there is little doubt that Homer inherited a massive amount of
material from generations of bards before him, most scholars believe now that Homer was an
innovator and an original artist as well as a transmitter. Writing probably played a role in the
composition of his great poems. Current theories depict Homer as a master of oral poetry who used
the new invention of writing to aid him in composing epics on a grander scale than had ever been
done before. There are signs in the Iliad that might suggest unfinished revision; these massive
projects may have been reworked again and again over the course of the poet's whole life. A
performer as well as a poet, Homer may have composed the poems through a mixture of utilizing old
material, writing and revising, and oral improvisation.
Little can be known with certainty. But even though the details of Homer's life remain and
probably will always remain an enigma, his great epics come down to us intact. His works have
formed a foundation for all the Western literature that has followed, and his characters and stories
have had an impact on three thousand years' worth of readers. Facts about the poet's life can do little
to add to that legacy. Legend says that as a child, Alexander the Great slept with a copy of the Iliad
under his pillow and the fact that Alexander was neither the first nor the last boy to do so says more
about Homer's genius than any biography could, no matter how detailed or complete.
The Odyssey Introduction Notes
Homer
The Greeks give credit to Homer for telling Odysseus’ story.
The Iliad
The Odyssey
The Ancient Greek Epics - blend legend with truth.
Gods and goddesses - guide the hero or thwart his actions
Stories were accepted as truth
Stories were passed on through oral tradition
What purpose did these stories serve?
•To entertain
•To teach important lessons about religion and society
Themes
•Loyalty, devotion, and fortitude
•The Greek ideal of a strong body and a strong intellect
•The wandering hero
•The triumph of good over evil
•Obedience to the laws of the gods
Ancient Greek Values
•Loyalty
•Respect
•Hospitality
•Obedience
The Trojan War:
The Judgment of Paris
•The evil goddess of Discord, Eris
Not well liked
Resented being left out of events and celebrations
Threw out a golden apple marked For the Fairest
Aphrodite, Hera and Pallas Athena
•Zeus refused to choose
Turned the choice over to Paris
What men care for most:
Hera promised to make him Lord of Europe and Asia
Athena promised that he would lead the Trojans to victory
Aphrodite promised Paris the fairest woman in all the world
Paris chose Aphrodite
Helen - Daughter of Zeus and Leda
- Wife of Menelaus
Trojans
•Aphrodite
•Ares
•Apollo
•Artemis
•(Zeus)
Greeks
Hera
Athena
Poseidon
Allusions
The face that launched a thousand ships
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
A Trojan Horse
• HELEN: The face that launched a thousand ships
•THE TROJAN HORSE: Beware of Greeks bearing gifts
•A computer virus: A Trojan Horse
The Odyssey:
•
Odysseus’ journey home from the Trojan War
Trojan War:
Legend claims the war began with the abduction of Helen
Odysseus reluctantly joined the Greeks in battle
Odysseus was the last of the Greek heroes to return home
Journey was plagued with obstacles
Odysseus’ personal journey
Search for identity
Overcome temptation
Overcome pride
Telemachus’ personal journey
Search for identity
Let go of youthful nature/immaturity ; Self-control; pride; respect
Terms to Know for Studying the Odyssey
Epic Poem:
- A long narrative poem
- Cannot be told in one sitting
- Tales are complex, involving several main characters, taking place over vast
settings, and spanning over many years
- Homer’s epics tell of the adventures of heroes
- Sometimes contains supernatural forces such as gods, angels, and demons who
interest themselves in the action and even step in from time to time
Epic Hero:
- Able to conquer most problems he/she encounters
- Does not possess any “super” powers
- Is faithful to his/her family, country and god
- Is brave, engaged in courageous actions
- Defeats evil and allows goodness to prevail
- Is intelligent/cunning
- Is sometimes guided by a higher force
Epithet:
compound adjectives describing a person, place or event.
had the right meter or number of syllables to complete a line.
Swift-footed Achilles
Sparkling-eyed Athena
Epic (Homeric) Simile: a simile of great length and detail, going on for several lines
Served to emphasize a character’s thoughts or feelings or a situation
“Just as a lion is beset by doubt and fear when he’s surrounded by a crowd of hunters closing
in-a cunning ring- so was Penelope, while pondering, beset.” (Book IV)
Dactylic hexameter
-lines of 6 ft. each
-each foot contains 3 syllables: one long before two short
In Medias Res
Many epic poems begin “in the middle of the action.”
 The Odyssey begins in the midst of what situation?
Invocation of Muse
The Muses are daughters of Zeus, goddesses of the fine arts who provide creative
inspiration. Most epic poems open by stating the theme and invoking a Muse to
inspire and instruct the poet.
•
What does Homer ask the Muse to do at the beginning of the Odyssey?
Kenning
a metaphorical compound used to rename a person, place or event
•
•
•
The man of twists and turns...
The father of men and gods
Master mariner
Narrative Poem a poem that tells a story and includes all elements of a story
Oral Tradition
Stories passed from one person to another by word of mouth.
Storytellers’ tools for memorization:
- poetic lines
- rhythm
- repetition
- imagery
- similes
- accompaniment of music
Rhythm
the pattern or flow of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed
syllables in a line of poetry
Refrain
the repetition of one or more lines in each stanza of a poem
Speaker
the voice that talks to the reader, similar to the narrator in fiction
Stanza
a grouping of two or more lines in a pattern that is repeated throughout a poem
(comparable to a paragraph in prose writing)
Style
the particular way in which a piece of literature is written. Style is not what is said but HOW
it is said.
Glossary of Names of People and Places
Agamemnon: King of Mycenae; Greek leader at Troy, murdered by his wife Klytaimnestra and her
lover Aigisthos on his return home; brother of Menelaos.
Agelaos: One of the suitors of Penelope.
Aiaia: Kirke's island.
Aias: Greek hero at Troy, drowned on the return trip after defying the gods. Name also spelled Ajax.
Aigisthos: Klytaimnestra's lover; usurper of Agamemnon's throne at Mycenae.
Aiolos: King of the winds; gives Odysseus a bag of winds.
Akhaians: Homer's name for the Greeks (as opposed to the Trojans).
Akhilleus: The greatest Greek warrior at Troy.
Alkinoos: King of the Phaiakians, host to Odysseus; father of Nausikaa, husband of Arete.
Amphinomes: A suitor of Penelope.
Antinoos: Hotheaded ringleader of Penelope's suitors.
Arete: Queen of the Phaiakians.
Athena: Goddess of wisdom, battle, and the womanly arts; patron of Odysseus.
Elpenor: One of Odysseus' crew, falls off Kirke's roof and dies.
Erebos: The dark land of the dead.
Eumaios: Faithful swineherd of Odysseus.
Eupeithes: Father of Antinoos; killed by Laertes.
Eurykleia: Old and faithful nurse to Odysseus.
Eurylokhos: Second-in-command to Odysseus during his travels.
Eurymakhos: Rational suitor to Penelope.
Eurynome: Housekeeper to Penelope.
Hades: God of the underworld.
Halitherses: Old friend of Odysseus in Ithaka.
Helen: Wife of Menelaos; carried off to Troy by Paris, causing the Trojan War.
Helios: Sun god whose sacred cattle are eaten by Odysseus' crew.
Hera: Queen of the gods, wife of Zeus.
Hermes: Messenger of the gods.
Ilium: Another name for Troy.
Iros: Beggar to Penelope's suitors, stirs up a fight with Odysseus.
Ithaka: Island home of Odysseus.
Kalypso: Beautiful nymph who detains Odysseus eight years at island of Ogygia.
Kharybdis: A dangerous whirlpool Odysseus must sail by.
Kikones: People at Ismaros, raided by Odysseus after the Trojan War.
Kirke: Enchantress who turns men into swine; Odysseus and his men stay on her island for a year.
Klytaimnestra: Murderous wife of Agamemnon, lover of Aigisthos.
Ktesippos: One of Penelope's suitors; killed by the cowherd.
Kyklopes: One-eyed race of giants; Odysseus encounters the Kyklops Poseidon.
Laertes: Father of Odysseus.
Laistrygonians: Hostile giants who attack Odysseus and eat his men.
Medon: The crier, spared during the slaughter.
Melanthios: Disloyal goatherd to Odysseus.
Melantho: Disloyal maidservant to Odysseus.
Menelaos: Brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen, host to Telemakhos.
Mentes: Old friend of Odysseus; one of Athena's disguises.
Mentor: Old friend of Odysseus; adviser to Telemakhos; frequent disguise of Athena.
Muses: The nine goddesses who inspire the arts.
Mycenae: Principal city of the Akhaians, home of Agamemnon.
Nausikaa: Phaiakian princess, daughter of Alkinoos; she rescues Odysseus and has a crush on him.
Neleus: Father of Nestor.
Nestor: Elderly king of Pylos, chief adviser of the Greeks at Troy.
Odysseus: Brilliant Greek warrior and hero of The Odyssey.
Ogygia: Island home of Kalypso.
Oidipous: King of Thebes who killed his father and married his mother.
Olympos: Mountain home of the gods.
Orestes: Killed Klytaimnestra and Aigisthos to avenge the murder of his father, Agamemnon; foil
character to Telemakhos.
Patroklos: Akhilleus' best friend at Troy; his death inspired Akhilleus to fight.
Peiraios: Telemakhos' trusted crewman.
Peisistratos: Nestor's youngest son; he accompanies Telemakhos on part of his journey.
Penelope: Faithful wife of Odysseus, mother of Telemakhos.
Phaiakians: Inhabitants of the island of Skheria.
Phemios: Bard at the palace of Odysseus; spared in the slaughter.
Philoitios: Faithful cowherd to Odysseus.
Polyphemos: Kyklops son of Poseidon; blinded by Odysseus.
Poseidon: God of the sea; the immortal antagonist in The Odyssey, he is hostile toward Odysseus
because Odysseus blinded his son, Polyphemos.
Proteus: "The Ancient of the Sea," he has the gift of prophecy and can change his shape.
Seirenes: Enchantresses who lure sailors to their deaths with their beautiful voices.
Skheria: Island home of Alkinoos, Arete, and Nausikaa.
Styx: River boundary between the land of the living and the land of the dead.
Teiresias: Blind prophet met by Odysseus in the land of the dead; he foretells Odysseus' future.
Telemakhos: Son of Odysseus and Penelope; secondary hero of The Odyssey.
Theoklymenos: Fugitive who accompanies Telemakhos home and interprets omens.
Zeus: King of the gods, brother of Poseidon, father of Athena; ruler on Mount Olympos.