Homer

A detailed Summary of Homer


"The Odyssey" is one of only a few epics still in existence today. An epic is a long narrative poem which focuses on the lives and struggles of a great hero or heroes. Homer used many literary techniques to make his poetry more fully understood. He was very versed in his Greek gods and uses them as great heroes.

"The Odyssey" was written approximately 2500 years ago. Top scholars have spent much time attempting to confirm who created these epics, "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad", when they were written, and where they were written. These scholars have made their educated guesses, however they are not all in agreement as to exactly where these two masterpieces have come from.

Today scholars are still disputing over who really wrote "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad". There are notable differences between the two as far as the language and the styles. This difference has forced some scholars to the conclusion that maybe the epics were authored by a group of people verses a single authorship. Those who hold to this belief feel this way because the "The Odyssey" is less heroic and more lifelike. The majority, however, favor the opinion that both "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" were in fact authored by a single person and


The people of Greece hold to the belief that a man named Homer wrote both "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". No one is sure of his birthplace. There are seven different Grecian cities who claim to be the birthplace of Homer and his home. The most common belief is that Homer came from the island of Chios, which is just off the western coast of Asia Minor.

Homer is believed to have been a blind man. This is based on his character, Demodocus, the blind singer in the "Homeric Hymns". It is also a fact that in ancient times many rhapsodes, performers such as Homer, were in fact blind and therefore memorized their works.

As to the truth of the two epics no one is sure. There has been a site found by archaeological research that may indeed be the site of this great Homeric city. This city would be the site of the siege of Troy in "The Iliad" and the occasion of the wanderings of Odysseus in "The Odyssey". It is possible that was trouble between two groups of people who inhabited the shores of the Aegean Sea but it is all unknown to history. Whatever the truth be of these two epics, we can rely on the fact that there was a lot of legend in the epics written by Homer.

Homer also used symbolism and imagery as an instrument for describing in his works. Generally a poet will use a word or group of words which carry a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 895
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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