HOMER
Homer is best known as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. He was believed by the ancient Greeks to have been the first and greatest of the epic poets. Author of the first known literature of Europe, he is central to the Western canon.
ILIAD
The Iliad is an epic poem by the ancient Greek poet Homer, which recounts some of the significant events of the final weeks of the Trojan War and the Greek siege of the city of Troy . Written in the mid-8th Century BCE,“The Iliad” is usually considered to be the earliest work in the whole Western literary tradition, and one of the best known and loved stories of all time. Through its portayal of the epic subject matter of the Trojan War, the stirring scenes of bloody battle, the wrath of Achilles and the constant interventions of the gods, it explores themes of glory, wrath, homecoming and fate, and has provided subjects and stories for many other later Greek, Roman and Renaissance writings.
ODYSSEY
The Odyssey is the second of the two epic poems attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer, and usually considered the second extant work of Western literature. It was probably composed near the end of the 8th Century BCE and is, in part, a sequel to“The Iliad”. It is widely recognized as one of the great stories of all time, and has been a strong influence on later European, especially Renaissance, literature. The poem focuses on the Greek hero Odysseus and his long journey home to Ithaca following the fall of Troy. His adventure-filled ten year journey took him through the Ionian Islands and the Peloponnese and as far away as Egypt and North Africa and the western Mediteranean, as the displeased sea-god Poseidon prevented him from reaching his home.