Homer, principal figure of ancient Greek literature; the first European
poet. No one really knows if he exists or not. He is said to have been
born around 800 BC in Smyrna or Chios. He is said to have lived on the
island of Chios. Chios is near the west coast of Asia Minor. He was said
to have died on the small island of Ios. It is said that Homer's parents
were Gods but no one knows that for sure. His mother, Klitemnistra, was
said to have been from Ios.
He is a Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the
Odyssey. They
are composed in a literary form of Greek, Ionic in basis with Aeolic. The
Iliad
and the Odyssey are composed in dactylic hexameter.
They are ranked among the great works of Western literature. Homer
was said to be blind. So there is the question, "how could he possibly
write the two greatest epic poems in western literature?" It is said that
Homer was illiterate. So he had his students to help him write his epics.
by: I. Barnes and M. Dodrill