Homer

Born: Ninth century B.C.E. 

Died: Ninth century B.C.E. 

Greek poet
Homer, the major figure in ancient Greek literature, has been considered the greatest poet of classical
antiquity (ancient times). He wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems (long narrative poems)
surviving in a surprisingly large number of manuscripts.

Portrait of Homer
It is not possible to supply a biography for Homer in the accepted sense of a life history. Since he lived
before cultures began recording history, there is no authentic record of who he was, when and where he was
born, how long he lived, or even if he was actually responsible for the two epic poems for which he is
known.
It is arguable that in one incident of the Odyssey the poet may be giving a glimpse of himself in the disguise
of a bard (singing poet), whom he calls Demodokos and whom he introduces to the court of
the Phaeacian king, where the shipwrecked Odysseus is generously entertained. This Demodokos is
described as a "divine singer to whom the god gave delight of singing whatever his soul prompted him." He
is also described as being blind, which also supports the argument that Homer was portraying himself,
because there was a belief that Homer was blind.

Evidence from the epics

This lack of any historical record of Homer's life leaves only what can be taken from the poems themselves.
On this task many scholars have attempted to draw conclusions about Homer, often without acceptable
results.
The setting of the Iliad is the plain of Troy (an ancient Greek city) and its immediate surroundings. Details
of the land are so precise that it is not feasible to suppose that their author created them out of his
imagination. To be sure, there is the objection that not all of the poem's action can be made to fit the present-
day lands.
In the Odyssey the situation is in many respects quite different. The poet demonstrates that he knew the
western Greek island of Ithaca (where the second half of the epic takes place) as well as the poet of
the Iliad knew the plain of Troy. The Odyssey, however, also extends over many strange, distant lands, as
Odysseus's homeward voyage from Troy to his native Ithaca is transformed into a bizarre sea-wandering
adventure.
Perhaps misled by the accuracy with which the Trojan plain is described in the Iliad and the island of Ithaca
is pictured in the Odyssey, various modern commentators have tried to impose the same realism on
Odysseus's astonishing voyage, selecting actual sites in the western Mediterranean Sea for his adventures.
The true situation must be that the Homer of the Odyssey had never visited that part of the ancient world,
but he had instead listened to the stories of returning Ionian sailors who explored the western seas during the
seventh century B.C.E.

Theory of two authors

That the author of the Iliad  was not the same as the author of these fantastic tales in the Odyssey is arguable
on several levels. The two epics belong to different literary types: the Iliad is essentially dramatic in its

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confrontation of opposing warriors who converse like the actors in a tragedy (a play with struggle and
disappointment), while the Odyssey is cast as a novel narrated in more everyday human speech. In their
physical structure, also, the two epics display an equally obvious difference: the Odyssey is composed in six
distinct parts of four chapters ("books") each, whereas the Iliad moves unbrokenly forward in its tightly
woven plot.
Readers who examine psychological qualities see in the two works some distinctly different human
responses and behavioral attitudes. For example, the Iliad voices admiration for the beauty and speed of
horses, while the Odyssey  shows no interest in these animals. The Iliad dismisses dogs as mere

Homer. 

scavengers, while the poet of the Odyssey reveals a modern sympathy for Odysseus's faithful old hound,
Argos.

The strongest argument for separating the two poems is the chronology, or dating, of some of the facts in the
pieces. In the Iliad  the Phoenicians are praised as skilled craftsmen working in metal, and as weavers of
elaborate, much-prized garments. In contrast, Greek feelings toward the Phoenicians have undergone a
drastic change in the Odyssey. Although they are still regarded as clever craftsmen, the Phoenicians are also
described as "tricksters," reflecting the invasion of Phoenecian commerce into Greek markets in the seventh
century B.C.E.

Oral composition
One thing, however, is certain: both epics were created without writing sources. Between the decline of
Mycenaean and the emergence of classical Greek civilizations—which is to say, from the late twelfth to the
mid-eighth century B.C.E. —the inhabitants of the Greek lands had not yet acquired from the easternmost
shore of the Mediterranean the familiarity with Phoenician alphabetic writing that would lead to classical
Greek literacy (and in turn, Etruscan, Roman, and modern European literacy). Therefore it could be
concluded that the epics must have been created either before the end of the eighth century B.C.E. or so
shortly afterwards that the use of alphabetic writing had not yet been developed sufficiently to record long
pieces of writing. It is this illiterate (unable to read or write) environment that explains the absence of all
historical record of the author's two great epics.
It is probable that Homer's name was applied to two individuals differing in style and artistic
accomplishment, born perhaps as much as a century apart, but practicing the same traditional craft of oral

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composition and recitation (to read out loud). Although each became known as "Homer," it may be (as one
ancient source says) that "homros" was a word for a blind man and so came to be used generically to refer to
the old and often sightless wandering reciters of heroic legends. Thus there could have been many Homers.
The two epics Homer is generally regarded as writing, however, have been as highly prized in modern as in
ancient times for their vividness of expression, their keenness of personal characterization, and their lasting
interest, whether in narration of action or in animated dramatic dialogue.

Other works
Later Greek times credited Homer with the composition of a group of comparatively short "hymns" (songs
of praise) addressed to various gods, of which twenty-three have survived. With a closer look, however, only
one or two of these, at most, can be the work of the poet of the two great epics. The epic "The Battle of the
Frogs and Mice" has been preserved but adds nothing to Homer's reputation. Several other epic poems of
considerable length— The Cypria, The Little Iliad, The Phocais, The Thebais, and The Capture of
Oichalia  —were also credited to Homer in classical times.
The simple truth seems to be that the name Homer was not so much that of a single individual but an entire
school of poets flourishing on the west coast of Asia Minor (today, the area of Turkey). Unfortunately, we
will probably never know for sure, since during this period the art of writing had not been sufficiently
developed by the Greeks to permit historical records to be compiled or literary compositions to be written
down.

The Background of the Story

The goddess Eris (Discord) was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (a sea nymph) (Achilles’
parents), so in revenge she threw a golden apple inscribed “for the fairest” into the banquet hall, knowing it
would cause trouble. All the goddesses present claimed it for themselves, but the choice came down to three
—Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera. They asked Zeus to make the final decision, but he wisely refused.

Instead, Zeus sent them to Mount Ida, where the handsome youth Paris was tending his father’s flocks.
Priam had sent the prince away from Troy because of a prophecy that Paris would one day bring doom to the
city. Each of the three goddesses offers Paris a bribe if he will name her the fairest: Hera promises to make
him lord of Europe and Asia; Athena promises to make him a great military leader and let him rampage all
over Greece; and Aphrodite promises that he will have the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife.
Paris picks Aphrodite. From then on both Hera and Athena are dead-set against him, and against the Trojans
in general.

The most beautiful woman in the world at the time is Helen, a daughter of Zeus and Leda. Helen is already
married—to Menelaus, the king of Sparta. Helen’s adoptive father Tyndareus had required all the men who
wanted to marry her swear a solemn oath that they would all come to the assistance of Helen’s eventual
husband should he ever need their help.

Paris visits Menelaus in Sparta and abducts Helen, taking her back to Troy with him, seemingly with her
active cooperation. Paris also takes a large part of Menelaus’ fortune. This was a serious breach of the laws
of hospitality, which held that guests and hosts owed very specific obligations to each other. In particular,
the male guest was obligated to respect the property and wife of his host as he would his own.

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Menelaus, his brother Agamemnon, and all the rest of Helen’s original suitors, invite others to join them on
an expedition to Troy to recover Helen. An armada of some 1,200 ships eventually sails to Troy, where the
Achaeans fight for years to take the city, and engage in skirmishes and plundering raids on nearby regions.
The story opens in the tenth year of the war.

Book 1: The Wrath of Achilles

Agamemnon offends Chryses, the priest of Apollo, by refusing to ransom back his daughter. Apollo sends a
plague on the Achaeans in retribution. At a gathering of the whole army, Agamemnon agrees to give the girl
back but demands another woman as compensation, and takes Briseis, Achilles’ concubine.

Achilles is enraged, and pulls his whole army out of the war. In addition, he prays to his mother, the goddess
Thetis, to beg Zeus to avenge his dishonor by supporting the Trojans against the Achaean forces. Zeus
agrees, though not without angering his wife, Hera.

Summary & Analysis

Homer begins by asking the Muse to help him sing the story of the rage of Achilles. The outcome of
Achilles’ anger is the will of Zeus, but it also killed a huge number of Achaean soldiers. The story opens in
the ninth year of war between Troy and the Achaeans, when a plague has swept over the Achaean army. A
priest of Apollo named Chryses comes to the Achaeans to ransom back his daughter, whom the Achaeans
had captured and gave to the Achaean chief Agamemnon as a spoil of war. All the Achaeans advise
Agamemnon to give up the girl, but Agamemnon flatly refuses.

Homer’s address to the Muse begins the idea that the Iliad is a poem inspired by the gods, an epic
undertaking that will retrace a myth already well known to Homer’s ancient Greek audience. When
Agamemnon’s refuses to give up Chryses’ daughter, Apollo provides an early example of divine
intervention, setting an example of how the gods can quickly change the fortunes of men.

Chryses departs, but prays to Apollo to send down arrows of plague onto the Achaeans. Apollo hears his
prayer, and the Achaeans begin to die from disease. Ten days later Achilles calls a meeting of the troops. He
declares that unless Apollo is appeased they will have to abandon the war against Troy. The
seer Calchassays that he can explain Apollo’s wrath, but only if Achilles promises to protect him after he
explains. Achilles agrees readily, and Calchas tells them that Chryse's daughter must be returned and that a
sacrifice must be made to Apollo.

Calchas’ interpretation of Apollo’s plague shows one way that the gods interact with mortals in the poem,
giving them signs without making their intentions fully known. Apollo has the power to fate many men to
death. Calchas’ plea for Achilles to protect him foreshadows the conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles.

Agamemnon protests, saying he prefers the girl to his wife, but gives in for the good of all. However, he
insists that he must be repaid for his loss, or else he will be dishonored. Achilles tells him that all the
treasure has already been divided, and that they will repay him later. Agamemnon refuses, saying that he
will take the prize of any captain he pleases, including Achilles. Achilles is outraged, criticizes
Agamemnon’s leadership, and threatens to sail home.

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The dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles is primarily a question of honor. Because Agamemnon is the
most powerful king, he believes that he is entitled to the largest share of the war’s spoils. Though Achilles’s
kingdom is less powerful, he is known to be the strongest fighter, giving his words in meeting extra weight.

Agamemnon tells him that he doesn’t care if Achilles leaves, and that he will take Achilles’ own spoil of
war, the girl Briseis, by force. Achilles captured Briseis himself and cares deeply for the girl. Achilles is
seized by rage and thinks of killing Agamemnon on the spot, but the goddess Athena appears at his side and
checks his anger, promising him a reward for his restraint. Instead, Achilles insults Agamemnon and
declares that he will no longer fight for him. The elder captain Nestor tries to mediate the dispute, asking
Agamemnon and Achilles to back down, but neither listens to him. Achilles storms off to his camp and
Agamemnon organizes the sacrifice to Apollo.

Achilles considers Agamemnon’s threat to be deeply dishonorable, as Briseis was captured through
Achilles’ skill in battle. In addition, Achilles seems to have a strong emotional attachment to Briseis.
Athena’s appearance is the first time we see a god speak directly to a mortal. Her action curbs Achilles’
rage, calling into question Achilles’ free will in the moment.

Agamemnon calls two heralds and tells them to go to Achilles’ camp and take away Briseis. When they
arrive, Achilles welcomes them and lets the heralds take Briseis away without a fight. He criticizes
Agamemnon again and tells the heralds that the day will come when they will need his help. The heralds
escort Briseis back to Agamemnon’s camp.

Although Achilles is capable of resisting Agamemnon’s heralds, he takes the moral high ground, telling the
heralds that they themselves are not to blame. We know Achilles’ prediction will come to pass, emphasizing
the fixed nature of his fate.

Weeping, Achilles prays to his mother Thetis, a sea goddess, to help him get revenge on Agamemnon. He
says that because he knows his life will be short, he should at least have his honor. Thetis appears at his side,
sensing his grief. Achilles explains the situation and asks his mother to plead with Zeus to take action. He
notes that Zeus owes Thetis a favor, as Thetis once helped him escape a revolt of the other
gods. Thetis laments Achilles’ fate, doomed to both heartbreak and a short life. She agrees to go
see Zeuswhen he returns to Olympus in twelve days, and instructs Achilles to keep clear of the fighting.

By invoking his mother Thetis, Achilles sets his destiny into motion. Thetis loves her son, and knows that if
she honors Achilles’ request, it will lead to his early death. However, by the same token, the fact that
Achilles’ life is fated to be short means that his mother is more determined to give him glory. She knows
Zeus, the highest god, will be able to help her.

Meanwhile, the captain Odysseus sails to the island of Chryses, returns the priest’s daughter, and
conducts Agamemnon’s sacrifice to Apollo. The men feast and then sail back to the Achaean camp.

Odysseus’ sacrifice is necessary to appease Apollo and save the Achaean armies. The feast gives a sense of
daily life and the routines used for sacrifices.

After twelve days, Zeus returns to Olympus. Thetis goes to see him and kneels before him, asking him to
honor her son by granting the Trojans victory while Achilles remains out of the battle. Zeus is angered, and
says that helping the Trojans would force him into a fight with his wife Hera, who supports the Achaeans.

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However, he agrees, and bows his head as a sign of promise. Thetis departs, and Zeus rejoins the other gods
in assembly.

Zeus’ promise is described as something powerful that cannot be taken back: Achilles’ honor will be upheld.
However, Zeus also indicates that Hera will fight against his promise, a sign of both the unsure nature of fate
and the humanlike passions of the gods.

Although Zeus attempted to make his promise to Thetis in secret, Hera has seen everything. She taunts Zeus
for trying to make secret plans, and tells him that she has seen him making a promise to Thetis. Zeus tells
her not to meddle in his plans, and that there is nothing she can do to stop him from doing as he pleases.
Hera is silenced by his fierce words.

For the first time, the gods are seen together and seem to resemble a family where husband wife bicker.
While Hera is able to needle or hinder Zeus, it is clear that he is much stronger than she is, and that his
promise will come to pass.

Hephaestus stands up in front of all of the gods, attempting to defuse the quarrel between his
parents Zeus and Hera. He tells Hera that Zeus is far too strong, and gives a comic speech about his own fall
from Olympus. The last time he tried to defend Hera, Zeus threw him off Olympus; badly injured, mortals
nursed him back to health. The gods laugh and feast. As night falls, Zeus sleeps beside his wife Hera.

Book 1
Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless
losses
Summary
The poet invokes a muse to aid him in telling the story of the rage of Achilles, the greatest Greek hero to
fight in the Trojan War. The narrative begins nine years after the start of the war, as the Achaeans sack a
Trojan-allied town and capture two beautiful maidens, Chryseis and Briseis. Agamemnon, commander-in-
chief of the Achaean army, takes Chryseis as his prize. Achilles, one of the Achaeans’ most valuable
warriors, claims Briseis. Chryseis’s father, a man named Chryses who serves as a priest of the god Apollo,
begs Agamemnon to return his daughter and offers to pay an enormous ransom. When Agamemnon refuses,
Chryses prays to Apollo for help.
Apollo sends a plague upon the Greek camp, causing the death of many soldiers. After ten days of suffering,
Achilles calls an assembly of the Achaean army and asks for a soothsayer to reveal the cause of the plague.
Calchas, a powerful seer, stands up and offers his services. Though he fears retribution from Agamemnon,
Calchas reveals the plague as a vengeful and strategic move by Chryses and Apollo. Agamemnon flies into a
rage and says that he will return Chryseis only if Achilles gives him Briseis as compensation.
Agamemnon’s demand humiliates and infuriates the proud Achilles. The men argue, and Achilles threatens
to withdraw from battle and take his people, the Myrmidons, back home to Phthia. Agamemnon threatens to
go to Achilles’ tent in the army’s camp and take Briseis himself. Achilles stands poised to draw his sword
and kill the Achaean commander when the goddess Athena, sent by Hera, the queen of the gods, appears to
him and checks his anger. Athena’s guidance, along with a speech by the wise advisor Nestor, finally
succeeds in preventing the duel.
That night, Agamemnon puts Chryseis on a ship back to her father and sends heralds to have Briseis
escorted from Achilles’ tent. Achilles prays to his mother, the sea-nymph Thetis, to ask Zeus, king of the
gods, to punish the Achaeans. He relates to her the tale of his quarrel with Agamemnon, and she promises to

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take the matter up with Zeus—who owes her a favor—as soon as he returns from a thirteen-day period of
feasting with the Aethiopians. Meanwhile, the Achaean commander Odysseus is navigating the ship that
Chryseis has boarded. When he lands, he returns the maiden and makes sacrifices to Apollo. Chryses,
overjoyed to see his daughter, prays to the god to lift the plague from the Achaean camp. Apollo
acknowledges his prayer, and Odysseus returns to his comrades.
But the end of the plague on the Achaeans only marks the beginning of worse suffering. Ever since his
quarrel with Agamemnon, Achilles has refused to participate in battle, and, after twelve days, Thetis makes
her appeal to Zeus, as promised. Zeus is reluctant to help the Trojans, for his wife, Hera, favors the Greeks,
but he finally agrees. Hera becomes livid when she discovers that Zeus is helping the Trojans, but her son
Hephaestus persuades her not to plunge the gods into conflict over the mortals.
Analysis
Like other ancient epic poems, The Iliad presents its subject clearly from the outset. Indeed, the poem names
its focus in its opening word: menin, or “rage.” Specifically, The Iliad concerns itself with the rage of
Achilles—how it begins, how it cripples the Achaean army, and how it finally becomes redirected toward
the Trojans. Although the Trojan War as a whole figures prominently in the work, this larger conflict
ultimately provides the text with background rather than subject matter. By the time Achilles and
Agamemnon enter their quarrel, the Trojan War has been going on for nearly ten years. Achilles’ absence
from battle, on the other hand, lasts only a matter of days, and the epic ends soon after his return. The poem
describes neither the origins nor the end of the war that frames Achilles’ wrath. Instead, it scrutinizes the
origins and the end of this wrath, thus narrowing the scope of the poem from a larger conflict between
warring peoples to a smaller one between warring individuals.
But while the poem focuses most centrally on the rage of a mortal, it also concerns itself greatly with the
motivations and actions of the gods. Even before Homer describes the quarrel between Achilles and
Agamemnon, he explains that Apollo was responsible for the conflict. In general, the gods in the poem
participate in mortal affairs in two ways. First, they act as external forces upon the course of events, as when
Apollo sends the plague upon the Achaean army. Second, they represent internal forces acting on
individuals, as when Athena, the goddess of wisdom, prevents Achilles from abandoning all reason and
persuades him to cut Agamemnon with words and insults rather than his sword. But while the gods serve a
serious function in partially determining grave matters of peace and violence, life and death, they also serve
one final function—that of comic relief. Their intrigues, double-dealings, and inane squabbles often appear
humorously petty in comparison with the wholesale slaughter that pervades the mortal realm. The bickering
between Zeus and Hera, for example, provides a much lighter parallel to the heated exchange between
Agamemnon and Achilles.
Indeed, in their submission to base appetites and shallow grudges, the gods of The Iliadoften seem more
prone to human folly than the human characters themselves. Zeus promises to help the Trojans not out of
any profound moral consideration but rather because he owes Thetis a favor. Similarly, his hesitation in
making this promise stems not from some worthy desire to let fate play itself out but from his fear of
annoying his wife. When Hera does indeed become annoyed, Zeus is able to silence her only by threatening
to strangle her. Such instances of partisanship, hurt feelings, and domestic strife, common among the gods
of The Iliad,  portray the gods and goddesses as less invincible and imperturbable than we might imagine
them to be. We expect these sorts of excessive sensitivities and occasionally dysfunctional relationships of
the human characters but not the divine ones.
The clash between Achilles and Agamemnon highlights one of the most dominant aspects of the ancient
Greek value system: the vital importance of personal honor. Both Agamemnon and Achilles prioritize their
respective individual glories over the well-being of the Achaean forces. Agamemnon believes that, as chief

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of the Achaean forces, he deserves the highest available prize—Briseis—and is thus willing to antagonize
Achilles, the most crucial Achaean warrior, to secure what he believes is properly owed to him. Achilles
would rather defend his claim to Briseis, his personal spoil of victory and thus what he believes is properly
owed to him, than defuse the situation. Each man considers deferring to the other a humiliation rather than
an act of honor or duty; each thus puts his own interest ahead of that of his people, jeopardizing the war
effort.

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