Homer

Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an ancient Greek poet who is widely credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Although his life and authorship remain obscure, Homer was highly revered in ancient Greek society and is considered one of the most influential authors in history.

ancient Greek poems composed between c. 800 BCE and c. 500 CE

thumb|upright=1.25|Illustration from an 1878 German edition of the Batrachomyomachia.

thumb|right|250px|Aoidos and outer space; [[allegory by Mikhail Kurushin]] The Greek word '''''''' (; plural: , ) referred to a classical Greek singer. In modern Homeric scholarship, it is used by some as the technical term for a skilled oral epic poet in the tradition to which the Iliad and Odyssey'' are believed to belong (compare rhapsode).

lost ancient Greek epic: Achilles’ arms are awarded to “the greatest hero”; prophecies tell Greeks of preconditions to conquer Troy; Odysseus fulfills them; the Trojan Horse is built and brought into Troy

The Margites () is a comic mock-epic ascribed to Homer that is largely lost. From references to the work that survived, it is known that its central character is an exceedingly stupid man named Margites (from ancient Greek , margos, "raving, mad; lustful"), who was so dense he did not know which parent had given birth to him. His name gave rise to the adjective margitomanēs (), "mad as Margites", used by Philodemus.

The Nostoi ( Nóstoi, nostos ), also known as Returns or Returns of the Greeks, is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature. A part of the Epic Cycle, also known as Trojan cycle, it narrated the stories of the Achaean heroes returning to Greece after the end of the Trojan War. The story of the Nostoi comes chronologically after that of the Iliupersis (Sack of Ilium), and is followed by that of the Odyssey. The author of the Nostoi is uncertain; ancient writers attributed the poem variously to Agias (8th century BC), Homer (8th century BC), and Eumelos of Corinth (8th century BC) (see Cyclic

ancient poem of Theban cycle

ancient Greek epic poem

literary work

ancient Greek epic poets

The Homeridae or Homeridai or Homerids () was a term used for those who performed or recited the poems of Homer.

painting by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

The Phocais () was an ancient Greek epic attributed to Homer. In the Life of Homer, a biography of Homer falsely attributed to Herodotus, it was said to have been written while Homer lived at Phocaea with a man named Thestorides; however, whether Thestorides actually existed and where he lived is highly suspect. Like all Homeric works, its true author is unknown; today only a single fragment (three to four sentences of text) claiming its existence survives.

alt=Helen walking along a city walls, alone: two women stand in the background, looking down over the wall |thumb|Helen on the Walls of Troy (1865) by Frederic Leighton