Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''
Iliad'' and the ''
Odyssey'', two
epic poems that are foundational works of
ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Homer's ''Iliad'' centers on a quarrel between King
Agamemnon and the warrior
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
during the last year of the
Trojan War. The ''Odyssey'' chronicles the ten-year journey of
Odysseus
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
, king of
Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The poems are in
Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a
literary language which shows a mixture of features of the
Ionic and
Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally
transmitted orally.
Homer's epic poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To
Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" (τὴν Ἑλλάδα πεπαίδευκεν, ''tēn Helláda pepaídeuken'').
In
Dante Alighieri's ''
Divine Comedy'',
Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the ''Iliad'',
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...
acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, an