HOMER
If you said yes, that's no wonder. The Iliad and the Odyssey are two of the most well known epics of all time. Then it’s no surprise, of course, that they were written by Homer (no, not Homer Simpson).
Homer is so old that the question still remains whether he was real or not. If he existed, however, he would have lived around the 9th century BC, and he would’ve been blind. Being blind in ancient Greece basically meant that you were destined to be a songwriter or poet, and your job would essentially be— well, to sing songs.
The Iliad and the Odyssey are such great works of poetry that it’s easy to not believe that they were not written by just one songwriter, also leading to the possibility that Homer could have been a group of songwriters and poets.
However, the caveat is that if Homer was a blind songwriter, he wouldn’t have been able to write down his poems. So clearly other people would have had to transcribe his songs. Additionally, we can be sure that Homer simply came up with the Iliad and Odyssey as merely songs. Take the name of the Iliad as proof. Ilion or Ilium means Troy, and the Iliad translates to ‘The Song of Troy.’
So we can be sure of a few things about Homer: he was blind, lived around the 9th century BC, and was a songwriter… if he existed at all. Regardless, Homer will remain as one of the most significant poets of all time.
From the top of your head, if you were asked to name a few of the most well-known and impactful classical epics, what would you answer? Would the Iliad and the Odyssey be among those that come to mind?
Was he real?
By Lillian Jaho
Thales Academy, NCJCL