The blind poet credited with writing both the Iliad
and the Odyssey .
Homer's importance lies in the fact that he is the first known
author to commit a rich oral heritage to writing. The subject
material of the Iliad and the Odyssey
was probably a series of
stories that had existed in Greek culture for years before Homer's
birth. Homer, however, is generally credited with combining those
stories into a single narrative. In doing so, he created two poems
that
are still considered the greatest epics of Western literature.
Historians know between little and nothing about Homer. We do not
know when or where he lived or wrote. There are many speculations
about Homer. Some have actually credited his poems to King Solomon,
others to the daughter of a Greek king. And some historians do not
believe Homer existed -- they believe the poems were compiled by a
group of people.
It is uncertain when or if anyone will ever discover the truth about Homer.
In the meantime, we are left with his poems, and their imagination.