Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
by CTCWeb Editors
Who Was Homer?
These assignments serve many purposes. They are exercises in research, the use of specific Perseus Links, word analyzation and evaluation of information both textual and visual. The topic of each exercise can be changed without having to alter or write a new assignment. Because of the amount of information and its accessibility in Perseus, high school students and undergraduates will be able to do these assignments at a level previously achievable only by graduate students and professors.
Questions
Who was Homer? Why did he compose the Iliad and the Odyssey? Where did these stories come from? Which poem was written first? The answers to these questions can be found in the Encyclopedia entry on Homer and the Historical Overview topic, “4.9 The Recovery of Writing and Homer,” along with other information on the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the importance and influence of these poems on ancient Greek myths and history and a bibliography modern works that discuss the poems.
There are numerous references to Homer in the notes and text of the Perseus Encyclopedia entries. Students should investigate these references making note of the influence Homeric writing had over later Greek writers. They should also note the amount of historical information the Homeric poems provide to modern scholars.
Encyclopedia, Homer
Students should consult this entry for background information on who the author was.
Historical Overview, 4.9 The Recovery of Writing and Homer
This subtopic discusses who Homer might have been if there ever was a man named Homer.
Other Information on the Influences of Homeric writing
Encyclopedia, Apollodorus
This entry mentions how in section seven of his Epitome, Apollodorus follows the writing of Homer closely.
Boston 34.79
The drawings on this vase closely follow the story of Odysseus in the Underworld as told by Homer.
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1.3.3
Thucydides refers to Homer as a man who wrote about the Trojan war.
Herodotus 2.53.2
Herodotus believes that Homer and Hesiod “are the ones who taught the Greeks the descent of the gods, and gave the gods their names, and determined their spheres and functions, and described their outward forms.”
Aeschines, Speech 1, 1,142
Here is a reference to Homer who Aeschines and his others of his time “rank among the oldest and wisest of the poets.”
Aristophanes, Frogs line 1034
Homer is refered to as “divine” as one who found honor and glory in teaching future generations “useful things.”
