Why was Homer considered blind?
What Was Homer Like? Virtually every biographical aspect ascribed to Homer is derived entirely from his poems. Homer is thought to have been blind, based solely on a character in The Odyssey, a blind poet/minstrel called Demodokos.
What happened to Homer’s eyesight?
When Achilles appeared to him, Homer was blinded by the weapons’ gleam. Because Thetis and the Muses took pity on him, they endowed him with the poetic art. Others say that he suffered this thanks to to the rage of Helen who was angry at him because he claimed that she abandoned her first husband to follow Alexander.
How did Homer write the Iliad?
The orally transmitted Homeric poems were put into written form at some point between the eighth and sixth centuries BC. Some scholars believe that they were dictated to a scribe by the poet and that our inherited versions of the Iliad and Odyssey were in origin orally-dictated texts.
How long did it take to write the Iliad?
The text is Homer’s “Iliad,” and Homer — if there was such a person — probably wrote it in 762 B.C., give or take 50 years, the researchers found. The “Iliad” tells the story of the Trojan War — if there was such a war — with Greeks battling Trojans.
Did Homer write down the Iliad?
Homer is the presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two hugely influential epic poems of ancient Greece. If Homer did in fact compose the works, he is one of the greatest literary artists in the world, and, through these poems, he affected Western standards and ideas.
What was the Iliad written on?
The epics of the Greek poet Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey, have been recited around campfires and scrutinized by students for 2,800 years, if not longer.
Did Homer write down The Iliad?
Why did Homer write Iliad?
Unlike famous Disney movies, which were shared for entertainment purposes, The Iliad was shared for the purpose of maintaining a historical account of the Greeks and Trojans during the Bronze Age.
Who wrote the Iliad and Odyssey?
Homer
Iliad and Odyssey/Authors
Dating to about 750 B.C., this bust is said to be of the Greek poet Homer, author of The Iliad and The Odyssey—epic poems passed down orally by bards long before they were written down.
Where did Homer write the Iliad?
The Greeks, or Achaians, that Homer writes about in the Iliad were not people of a unified nation. Instead, areas of the Balkan Peninsula, now known as Greece, were made up of many small kingdoms, populated by ethnically-related peoples, from 1400-800 B.C., and even later, to the time of Alexander the Great (c.
Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey?
Although the Iliad and the Odyssey are traditionally attributed to a single man named Homer, whom legend claims was a blind bard from the island of Chios, very few classicists today accept this ancient tradition as genuine. The poems themselves mention absolutely nothing about their supposed author and they bear all the hallmarks of oral epics.
Can we accept that Homer was blind?
Because tradition has given us a poet named Homer who is blind, we certainly can accept that possibility.
What is the style of the Odyssey by Homer?
Homer’s style, whoever he was, falls more in the category of minstrel poet or balladeer, as opposed to a cultivated poet who is the product of a fervent literary moment, such as a Virgil or a Shakespeare. The stories have repetitive elements, almost like a chorus or refrain, which suggests a musical element.
What is the mystery of Homer’s life?
The Mystery of Homer. Homer is a mystery. The Greek epic poet credited with the enduring epic tales of The Iliad and The Odyssey is an enigma insofar as actual facts of his life go. Some scholars believe him to be one man; others think these iconic stories were created by a group.