Homer
Homer is an author.
Homer is the name attached to the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two epic poems that stand at the head of European literature. Whether he was one poet, several, or a tradition of singers who never wrote anything down is a question scholars have argued over for two centuries and will not settle. What is certain is that the poems were composed for performance, in formulaic verse built to be remembered, and that ancient Greece revered him as its first and greatest author. The Homeric Hymns and various other early works were credited to him as well, mostly wrongly, and his influence on everything written since is difficult to overstate.
Books (3)
Where to start with Homer
The Iliad is the place to begin, though the Odyssey, which is not in the catalogue, is the easier poem to love. Do not start at book one out of duty: read the funeral games, the wall scene with Hector and Andromache, and the last book, and the rest will pull you in. Homeric Hymns are shorter, funnier and much less read, especially the one about Hermes. Prentice Hall Literature, The British Edition. Volume I is a schoolroom anthology.
Homer on CrossBinge
- Cover Story: See It Big or Wait Until You Can