Homer (9th or 8th century a. C.), considered the greatest and oldest of the Greek poets, was the founder of epic poetry. He is the author of the masterpieces "Iliad" and the "Odyssey", the two oldest poems in Greek literature.
THE "Iliad" describes the events of the Trojan War, which would have occurred in the 13th century a. Ç. and the adventures between Greek and Trojan warriors.
THE "Odyssey" describes the adventure of the hero Ulysses, on his return to the island of Ithaca after the Trojan War.
Homer Biography
Homer was an ancient Greek poet, but nothing is known about him.
The Greeks of the fifth century a. Ç. they recalled that, somewhere, in the distant past, there had lived a man named Homer, who had composed two great epic poems: “Iliad” and “Odyssey”. But the ancient Greeks themselves knew very little about Homer.
Some ancient testimonies allow certain deductions about Homer's life: he must have lived between the 9th and 8th centuries a. C., the call Homeric period, he was Meon's son, and very early became an orphan of father and mother, living in extreme poverty.
He learned history and music and became a master at the school he attended. He traveled the Mediterranean in the company of a merchant.
According to some legends, Homer was on the island of Ithaca, where he gathered data to describe the life of Odysseus – the adventurous king of the island. In that city, he had a serious eye disease, which blinded him for the rest of his life.
Most theories claim that the poems were only written around the 9th century BC. a., that is to say, about 400 years after the Trojan War.
Homer may have been a rhapsode – troubadour – who traveled from city to city, singing epic poems and adventure stories in kings' courts and warrior camps.
In ancient Greece, stories recounting the siege and destruction of Troy were among the favorites of listeners. The poem describes in detail the Greek world of that time.
The Poems: Iliad and Odyssey
Time has hidden the date of the elaboration of the two greatest Greek epics: Iliad and Odyssey. It is known that this occurred between the IX and VIII centuries a. Ç.
The two poems have a certain unity between them, and the difference that exists is attributed to the diversity of the periods to which they refer.
THE Iliad characterized by the warrior adventures of the conquest of Troy. already the Odyssey, describes Odysseus' journey back to Ithaca after the Trojan War.
In the VII century; a., rhapsodes from all over Greece recited excerpts from these works, that became known like Homeric poems.
According to tradition, the Athenian statesman Pisistratus (605-527) was the first to send collect all the epic poems, since the portrayed heroes have come to serve as the standard for behavior.
Later, in Rome, Homer was the most welcomed of the Greek poets: read, admired, translated and imitated by several epic authors, among them Virgil (1st century BC). C.) who wrote to "Aeneid".
Many centuries later, Luís Vaz de Camões (16th century) wrote "The Lusiads" and the Englishman John Milton (13th century) wrote "Lost paradise". Even today, the expression "Homeric feats" is used to refer to great deeds or great adventures.
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- Epic Genre
- Epic
