Homer
AUTHOR

Homer

Classics Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Ancient History
Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
Homer was probably born around 725BC on the Coast of Asia Minor, now the coast of Turkey, but then really a part of Greece. Homer was the first Greek writer whose work survives. He was one of a long line of bards, or poets, who worked in the oral tradition. Homer and other bards of the time could recite, or chant, long epic poems. Both works attributed to Homer - The Iliad and The Odyssey - are over ten thousand lines long in the original. Homer must have had an amazing memory but was helped by the formulaic poetry style of the time. In The Iliad Homer sang of death and glory, of a few days in the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. Mortal men played out their fate under the gaze of the gods. The Odyssey is the original collection of tall traveller's tales. Odysseus, on his way home from the Trojan War, encounters all kinds of marvels from one-eyed giants to witches and beautiful temptresses. His adventures are many and memorable before he gets back to Ithaca and his faithful wife Penelope. We can never be certain that both these stories belonged to Homer. In fact 'Homer' may not be a real name but a kind of nickname meaning perhaps 'the hostage' or 'the blind one'. Whatever the truth of their origin, the two stories, developed around three thousand years ago, may well still be read in three thousand years' time.
Read more Read less
You're getting a free audiobook


You're getting a free audiobook.

$14.95 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Iliad

The Iliad

Most popular
View Details

Featured Article: The top 100 classics of all time


Before we whipped out our old high school syllabi and dug deep into our libraries to start selecting contenders for this list, we first had to answer the question, "How do we define a classic?" The answer isn’t as straightforward as you might guess, though there’s a lot to be said for the old adage, "You know it when you see it" (or, in this case, hear it). Of course, most critically, each of our picks had to be fabulous in audio. So dust off your aspirational listening list—we have some amazing additions you don’t want to miss.

Best Sellers

Product List
  • Regular price: $21.03 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $21.03 or 1 credit

  • Sale price: $7.99 (82% off) or 1 credit

    Regular price: $44.95

    Sale ends in

  • Regular price: $33.90 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $33.90 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $20.25 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $20.25 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $27.30 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $27.30 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $21.06 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $21.06 or 1 credit

    Included in Plus membership
  • Regular price: $21.49 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $21.49 or 1 credit

    Included in Plus membership
  • Regular price: $29.21 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $29.21 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $19.22 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $19.22 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $13.99 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $13.99 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $10.17 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $10.17 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $20.24 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $20.24 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $20.24 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $20.24 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $8.84 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $8.84 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $39.95 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $39.95 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $18.88 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $18.88 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $28.95 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $28.95 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $33.38 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $33.38 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $22.71 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $22.71 or 1 credit

  • Regular price: $31.49 or 1 credit

    Sale price: $31.49 or 1 credit

Are you an author?

Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.