Homer

Paper Summary:

This paper contends that not much is known about the background of the legendary Greek poet, Homer. The paper discusses two of Homer's most famous epics, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey". The paper explains that the Greeks regard these two epic poems as the highest cultural achievement of the Greek people, the defining moment that set the core of Greek character in stone. The paper contends that "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" remain the first and greatest epics of Western civilization, testaments of history and the foundation for Greek religion and morals.

From the Paper:

"Homer was a legendary Greek poet who is traditionally credited as the author of the major Greek epics the "Iliad and the Odyssey," as well as the comic mini-epic "Batracholmyomachia" (The Frog-Mouse War), the corpus of Homeric Hymns, and various other lost or fragmentary workd such as "Margites" (Homer pp). Some ancient authors credited him with the entire Epic Cycle, which included other poems about the Trojan War as well as the Theban poems concerning Oedipus and his sons (Homer pp). According to legend, Homer was blind, and aside from several Ionian cities claiming to be his birthplace, there is nothing else known about him (Homer pp). Aristotle and Pindar believed that Homer was born in Smyrna, on the coast of modern-day Turkey, and enjoyed years of fame on the Aegean island of Chios (Tolson pp)."

More papers on Homer:

• Analytical Essay # 86631 : "Homer's "The Odyssey" "
• Analytical Essay # 131082 : "Homer as One of the First Great Storytellers"
• Analytical Essay # 5022 : "The Language of Homer in the Character Odysseus"
• Comparison Essay # 71204 : "The Iliad": Homer and Weil"

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