Introduction

What reader could fail to be enthralled by the Iliad and the Odyssey, those greatest heroic epics of antiquity? Yet the author of those immortal texts remains, in the end, an enigma. The central paradox of Homer is that—while recognized as producing poetry of incomparable genius— even in the ancient world nobody knew who he was. As a result, the myth-maker became the subject of myth.

Homer's Identity and Traditions

For the satirist Lucian (c.125-180 CE) he was a captive Babylonian. Other traditions have Homer born in Smyrna, or on the island of Chios, or portray him as a blind and wandering minstrel.

Author's Approach

In his new and authoritative introduction, Jonathan S. Burgess addresses fundamental questions of provenance and authorship. Besides conveying why these epics have been cherished down the ages, he discusses their historical sources and the possible impact on the Iliad and Odyssey of Indo-European, Near Eastern, and folktale influences. Tracing their transmission through the ancient, medieval, and modern periods, the author further examines questions of theory and reception.