Biography of homer the blind poet

Little is known about the life of Homer, the author credited with composing The Iliad and The Odyssey who is arguably the greatest poet of the ancient world. Historians place his birth sometime around BC and conjecture that he was born and resided in or near Chios. However, seven cities claimed to have been his birthplace. Due to the lack of information about Homer the person, many scholars hold the poems themselves as the best windows into his life. For instance, it is from the description of the blind bard in The Odyssey that many historians have guessed that Homer was blind. The Odyssey’s depiction of the bard as a minstrel in the service of local kings also gives some insight into the life of the poet practicing his craft. What is undeniable is that the works of Homer proved to be the most influential not merely for the poets of ancient times but also for the later epic poets of Western literature.

There is much evidence to support the theory that The Iliad and The Odyssey were written by different authors, perhaps as much as a century apart. The diction of the two works is markedly different, with The Iliad being reminiscent of a much more formal, theatric style while The Odyssey takes a more novelistic approach and uses language more illustrative of day-to-day speech. Differing historical details concerning trade also lend credence to the idea of separate authors. It is certain that neither text was written down upon creation. By the eighth century BC, written text had been almost entirely forgotten in Greece. Both The Iliad and The Odyssey conform to the diction of a purely oral and unwritten poetic speech that was used before the end of that century. Indeed, some scholars believe the name “Homer” was actually a commonly used term for blind men who wandered the countryside reciting epic poetry.

Although Homer has been credited with writing a number of other works, most notably the Homeric Hymns, the same uncertainty about

Homer was one of the greatest early poets of Ancient Greece. Legend has it that he was blind and recited his poems as he traveled from one place to another. For this reason, people say that he called himself a singer, as opposed to a writer. It is said that after his death on the island of Ios, others kept his work alive by reciting them wherever they traveled and eventually scribes wrote them down.

Life of Homer

Homer created fabulous poetry expressing deep human emotions. The Greeks put him on a very high pedestal proclaiming him their greatest poet and almost worshipping him. His most acclaimed works include the epics Iliad and Odyssey. The Iliad is written in twenty four books and talks of Achilles wrath caused by the Greek commander Agamemnon and its disastrous consequences in the Trojan War. It was considered by many as a symbol of unity and heroism, as an anti-war poem actually, altough it is set in the last 50 days of the Trojan War.

The Odyssey, again written in twenty four books, deals with incidents connected with the return of Odysseus to his homeland. Homer drew inspiration from history and real life blending it with his fascinating imagination to create them. The plot of both epics consist of a series of exploits and adventures that help shape the protagonist and give the message of heroism, wisdom and other desirable qualities that set an example for lay people to follow.

Not a lot is known about this mysterious figure except for bits and pieces of information obtained from here and there. Beyond that one can only speculate about his life. In fact, we do not even know what century he lived in for sure, though on the basis of linguistic, geographical and historical evidence we can say that he lived considerably before B.C.

Herodotus places the age of Homer about years before his own time which would be about B.C and that date has been accepted as the most probable by many scholars. Almost all the legendary evidence point

Author of the Iliad and the Odyssey

Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Homer (disambiguation), Homerus (disambiguation), and Homeric (disambiguation).

Homer (possibly born c.&#;8th century BCE) may have been an Ancient Greek poet who authored the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.

The Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The epics depict man's struggle, the Odyssey especially so, as Odysseus perseveres through punishment of the gods. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language which shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for their tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter.

The Homeric poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν, tēn Helláda pepaídeuken). In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous

Homer was the most important and earliest of the Greek and Roman writers. Greeks and Romans didn't count themselves educated unless they knew his poems. His influence was felt not only on literature but on ethics and morality via lessons from his masterpieces. He is the first source to look for information on Greek myth and religion. Yet, despite his prominence, we have no firm evidence that he ever lived.

" Homer and Hesiod have ascribed to the gods all things that are a shame and a disgrace among mortals, stealing and adulteries and deceiving on one another."
—Xenophanes (a Pre-Socratic philosopher)

The Life of the Blind Bard

Because Homer performed and sang he is called a bard. He is thought to have been blind, and so is known as the blind bard, just as Shakespeare, calling on the same tradition, is known as the bard of Avon.

The name "Homer," which is an unusual one for the time, is thought to mean either "blind" or "captive". If "blind," it may have to do more with the portrayal of the Odyssean blind bard called Phemios than the poem's composer.

Homer's Birthplaces and Date

There are multiple cities in the ancient Greek world that lay the prestigious claim of being the birthplace of Homer. Smyrna is one of the most popular, but Chios, Cyme, Ios, Argos, and Athens are all in the running. The Aeolian cities of Asia Minor are most popular; outliers include Ithaca and Salamis.

Plutarch provides a choice of Salamis, Cyme, Ios, Colophon, Thessaly, Smyrna, Thebes, Chios, Argos, and Athens, according to a table showing ancient authors who provided biographical information on Homer, in "Lives of Homer (Continued)," by T. W. Allen; The Journal of Hellenic Studies, Vol. 33, (), pp. Homer's death is less controversial, Ios being the overwhelming favorite.

Since it's not even clear that Homer lived, and since we don't have a fix on the location, it should come as