Though people consider Homer one of the greatest writers of all time, for centuries many believed that he never existed. Rather than a single figure named “Homer,” some suggested, the name had been given to a group of poets who together composed the works attributed to him. But just as Schliemann proved the existence of Troy, scholars came to believe that there really was a poet named Homer. They can say only that he lived some time between 900 and 700 b. c.
Most likely Homer was a wandering poet who earned his living by going to towns and presenting his tales—the “movies” of his day. Often he is depicted as blind; certainly he did not rely on reading and writing for his art, but rather memorized his long stories, which he sang over many nights while strumming upon a harp-like instrument called a lyre (pronounced just like “liar”). These stories were the Iliad and the Odyssey, fictional accounts of gods, heroes, and their actions during the Trojan War and afterward. They were the central works of Greek literature, and particularly Greek literature as it concerned the conflict with Troy.
More is known about Hesiod, who flourished in about 800 B. C. His most important works were the Theogony (thee-AH-juhn-ee) and Works and Days. The Theogony tells about the creation of the universe and the origination of the gods. Works and Days includes the story of Prometheus. In writing these epic poems, Hesiod, like Homer, was setting down traditions already established, rather than making up new stories.
These traditions were the Greeks' mythology, a collection of tales about gods and heroes. Usually mythology is
Herod Atticus Ancient Theatre, Athens, Greece.
AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.
Passed down orally. Most Greek myths became a part of literature, either in the works of Homer or Hesiod or in the writings of later Greek poets and dramatists. Eventually they formed the cornerstone of Western literature, along with the Bible. As with the Bible, expressions and stories from the Greek myths are a part of daily life in America and other Western nations. In ancient times, they helped give the Greeks a common culture.
World History
