Homer's Tragedies

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the theory that the two famous Greek tragedies, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", were not actually written by a real person named Homer, but rather that Homer was the collective pen name of all the bards who told these renditions of "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." The paper also summarizes both tragedies and concludes that, no matter who the author, these stories are wonderfully entertaining and greatly influenced the course of the literature, drama, and philosophy that followed.

From the Paper:

"The Odyssey is a sequel to the Trojan War. Odysseus, a Greek war hero, has been lost at sea. For ten long years the gods play with his fate as he encounters powerful creatures and manages to survive many disasters at sea. He faces man-eating giants, seductive murderous sirens, Circe who turns his men into pork, and even the goddess Calypso who keeps him as a love slave for many years. When Odysseus returns home from his journey, he finds that his wife is still waiting for him. His house, however, is overrun with suitors trying to woo his wife and eat his food. Even his dog (who is now a homeless stray living on garbage and must be of a remarkably old age for a canine) dies as soon as Odysseus returns home. Together with his now adult son, Odysseus kills hundreds of his wife's suitors and all of his corrupted servants. He is finally reunited with his loving wife and evil blind father. (Homer, The Odyssey)"

More papers on Homer's Tragedies:

• Comparison Essay # 71204 : "The Iliad": Homer and Weil"
• Book Review # 74929 : "Aeschylus' "Agamemnon" and Homer's "Odyssey"
• Analytical Essay # 53936 : "Homer's "The Iliad"

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