1. Works
1.1. Homers most famous pieces are The Odyssey and the Illiad
1.2. other works
1.2.1. only other Homeric Hymns
1.3. Originally oral, but were eventually written
1.4. people believe different things about Homer's authorship of The Illiad and the Odyssey
1.4.1. Others, like Martin West, hold that the epics were composed by a number of poets
2. Blind
2.1. Homer is most famously known as a blind bard; but there is no solid proof for that conclusion
2.1.1. The tradition was he was blind is not implausible since the bards who earned a livelihood by singing at Greek courts were often blind.
3. Homeric Question
3.1. questions Homer's identity and his authorship
3.2. is whether one author (knows as homer) created the Iliad, the Odyssey, or both, or if Homer himself is an epic fiction for 2 (or even a series of) authors
3.2.1. most modern historians fall into two general camps about this question
3.3. no right or wrong answer
3.3.1. question cant be proven correct or false because there is not enought written evidence of Homer's life and works
4. Homeric Stories in Artwork
4.1. Stories of Homer's are often depicted on vases
4.1.1. Vases have been found from centuries ago, around 500-800 BCE
4.1.2. Very detailed paintings of the Illiad and the Odyssey
5. Background
5.1. Legendary greek poet; wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey
5.1.1. Both written in poem form
5.2. Was born sometime around 850 BC, but now some believe he was born in the 7th centure: ALL TOgether no one really knows
5.3. Homer is most famously known as a blind bard; but there is no solid proof for that conclusion
5.4. The tradition was he was blind is not implausible since the bards who earned a livelihood by singing at Greek courts were often blind.
5.4.1. Homer is notoriously known to be blind
6. Homeric Style
6.1. Uses hexameter verse:
6.1.1. A line of poetry consisting of six measures, the fifth being a dactyl and the sixth either a spondee or a trochee. The other four may be either dactyls or spondees.
6.2. He focused on one theme or action in the epic cycle
6.2.1. Homer is the only epic who uses this style
6.2.1.1. this writing style is very direct and simple
6.2.2. It is his noble and powerful style that separates Homer from all forms of ballad-poetry and popular and popular epic
6.3. Writing style often reffered to as dramatic
6.3.1. called dramas because the chief interest in his works are that of human feeling and emotion