Homer
Homer
Homer is the ancient Greek poet to whom tradition attributes the Iliad and the Odyssey, the oldest surviving epic poems of European literature, generally dated to the 8th or 7th century BC. Almost nothing certain is known of his life; ancient writers pictured him as a blind bard from Ionia, heir to a long tradition of oral poetry sung at festivals and in noble halls. The Iliad tells of the wrath of Achilles in the final year of the Trojan War and closes in reconciliation, as King Priam recovers the body of his son Hector. The Odyssey follows Odysseus on his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope. Honor, hospitality, loyalty, endurance and reverence for the gods run through both poems, which formed the core of Greek education and inspired Virgil, Dante, Milton and many later writers.
Latest UpdatesLIVE
The Epic Tradition: Homer to Longfellow
Homer's Iliad and Odyssey set the pattern for epic poetry in the West. In the Divine Comedy, Dante honors Homer as the foremost of the ancient poets and journeys toward the vision of God. Milton took up the epic form for a Christian theme in Paradise Lost, telling of the fall and the promise of redemption. Longfellow published an English translation of the Divine Comedy in 1867 and wrote long narrative poems such as Evangeline and The Song of Hiawatha.
7 followers
15 followers
21 followers
21 followers
