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Homer
The ancient Greeks considered the Iliad and the
Odyssey great ancient literature in the sixth century before
the Common Era. The epics’ dialect suggests that Homer came from
the western coast of the modern nation of Turkey. Greek legends suggest
that Homer was blind, but the vivid imagery of the Iliad and the Odyssey
suggest that the author of the poems must have had sight at some point
in his life. Modern scholars believe that the epics were based on oral
legends, but it would be difficult for many people to memorize the long
epics. This suggests that the Greeks had some form of writing long before
their civilization flourished. |
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To cite this page: |
Greek
literature includes the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epics
written about 1200 years before the Common Era (or before the birth of
Jesus). The Greeks believed a storyteller named Homer wrote the poems.
We don’t know much about Homer, we don’t even know he existed,
but the Iliad and the Odyssey give us an insight into
early Greek civilization.