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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Homer Biography HOMER, the earliest and most celebrated of Greek poets, and to whom the authorship of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" is assigned. There are several histories entitled "Lives of Homer," whose authorship is attributed to Herodotus and Plutarch, but it is quite certain that they are not genuine and possess value only because from them we learn the traditions commonly held in early times regarding the poet. His birthplace is claimed by many localities, among them Smyrna and Chios, but whether he was born there or at some other place claiming the honor is uncertain. It is generally agreed that Homer was a Greek of Asiatic birth, and that he belonged to the 9th century, being born probably about 850 B. C., or about 400 years after the Trojan War. Scholars have generally agreed that Homer was blind and that he did not write the productions attributed to him, but instead went from place to place and recited them before the people from memory. In this way they appear to have been handed down through successive generations until written and given to the world in substantially the present form. Reference made to several local incidents and the dialect in which they appeared make it certain that both the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" originated on the Aegean islands and the Ionian coast of Asia. They were introduced at Sparta by Lycurgus in 776 B. C. At Athens the manner of their recitation was regulated by the laws of Solon. The frequency with which the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are quoted by Grecian writers shows the high esteem in which they were, held, and, while not strictly historical, they possess much value in their characteristic exhibit of the life, customs, and opinions of the people. The "Iliad" contains an account of an episode which covered about forty days of the siege laid by the Greeks for ten years to the city of Troy. This entire work consists of 15,681 lines. It begins with the rape of Helen by Paris, recounts incidents of the voyage to besiege the Trojan city, and ends with the death of Hector and the fall of Troy. In the "Odyssey" are 12,205 lines. This highly interesting work describes the return of Odysseus, or Ulysses, a hero of the Greeks, from the war against Troy. It recites the beginning of his voyage; his adventures with Polyphemus, a one-eyed monster; his numerous shipwrecks, and his final return to Ithaca. A famous edition of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" was prepared for Alexander the Great by Aristotle. Both these productions have been translated into all the leading languages. The translations of Homeric poems made by Bryant and Pope are among the best in English. The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. II (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 833. |