Homer 2 Essay, Research Paper

Homer, The Greek poet. Who was he? Where did

he live? Did he actually exist? Is he really one peorson or

many who are recognised as one? When where the peoms he

wrote composed? These are among the many questions I

will do my best to answer in this report. Keep in mind that

these are only ideas based on research, of which was based

on asumption and hypothesis. So, It may be true but it may

be another of the misunderstandings the world has on

homer and the poems he composed.

Homer, a greek poet (or Greek poets)who wrote two

very famous poems. The Iliad and the Odyssey, were a

major part of Greek history, espeshally for Ancient Greece.

Modern scholars generally agree that they were written for

an aristocratic audience by a single poet in Asia Minor

before 700 B.C. Both epics deal with legendary events that

were believed to have occurred many centuries before they

were written. It is said that these works where used in

Ancientt Greek education. Today we see These great works

put in to the curiculem of almost every school in America!

The Iliad is a story of the trojen war. It begins in the

in media res faion. That accualy trancelates to, in the

middle of things, so that means Homer began his books in

the middle of what was happening. The Iliad is set in the

final year of the Trojan War. Ittells of an episode in the

trojen war, the wrath of Archilles and its tragic

consequences, including the deaths of Patroclus and Hector.

The Odyssey, beginning ten years after the fall of

Troy, tells of Odysseus s wanderings on his way home to

Ithaca, of his wife and son’s plight, and of their reunion.

The atmosphere of adventure and fate contrasts with the

heavier tone and tragic grandeur of the Iliad. There are

many adventures in the book as Odysseys returns home,

such as battleing five headed demons and such.

Traditionally it is said that Homer lived around

the time of the Trojan War, in an Ionic settlemen, such as

Chios or Smyrna. I don t know, once agien, if this is a fact.

While living there it is believed by many that he made his

living as a court singer and storyteller, such as Phemius and

Demodocus in the Odyssey. According to legend, Homer

was blind.

There were many years, long centuries when

Homer’s works completely disappeared, and then were

rediscovered. Thanks to the work of scribes of history, we

still have these great epic works to enjoy, learn from, and

become engrossed in today. Perhaps most importantly is not

the exact details of Homer and his works, but the simple

fact that we have his wonderful and really old works as a

part of our world’s great classical libraries, and we can learn

from it.