Homer Essay Examples | Free Samples for Students

Date

c.900 BCE - c.701 BCE

Activity

Homer is the legendary author to whom the authorship of the Iliad and the Odyssey (the two epic poems that are the foundational works of ancient Greek literature) is attributed. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential authors of all time.

Works

“Iliad”, “Odyssey”

Style

The Homeric epics are written in an artificial literary language or 'Kunstsprache' only used in epic hexameter poetry. Homer frequently uses set phrases such as epithets, Homeric formulae, simile, type scenes, ring composition and repetition. These habits aid the extemporizing bard, and are characteristic of oral poetry.

Influence

The Homeric epics were a defining influence on ancient Greek culture and education. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece". From antiquity until the present day, the influence of Homeric epic on Western civilization has been great, inspiring many of its most famous works of literature, music, art and film.

Quotes

“Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man.”
“…There is the heat of Love, the pulsing rush of Longing, the lover’s whisper, irresistible—magic to make the sanest man go mad.”
“A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time”

Essays on Homer

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Essays on Homer

Disguise in The Odyssey

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