Homer, biography of the great epic poet

Homer is known for being one of the first poets of Ancient Greece.. Or, at least, one of the first of whom we preserve his work. We must keep in mind that, when we talk about works from Classical Antiquity, the majority have been lost or have arrived in fragments. In ancient times, there was no printing press and the way of transmitting and preserving written texts was expensive. After the fall of the Roman Empire, a large part of the written texts were lost; although, in medieval times, the monasteries were in charge of translating and copying Greco-Latin texts.

For example, It is estimated that there were approximately 800 authors in Rome, of which we only know about 140.. For this reason, the task of tracing and delimiting the works and authors of Antiquity is truly difficult. Likewise, it is difficult to know with certainty the authorship of many of the best-known works. In the case of Homer, the two main Greek epic poems are attributed to him: the Iliad and the Odyssey in the 8th century BC

For many historians and writers, Homer opened the doors to the West for literary creation.. In addition, he made Greek mythology known and, thanks to him, we can get an idea of ​​what Greek society was like at the time in which he lived. Therefore, when we talk about Homer we are referring to the birth of Western literature, a historical and ethnographic source, an example to follow as a great wise man of his time.

Who was Homer?

Although his two great works have been studied to death, Homer’s biography is not known exactly.. As with many authors of his period, we have clues and assumptions, but we cannot say anything with certainty. There are hints of his origin in historical texts after his time, but in some cases, they contradict each other.

Therefore, it is considered that most of the biographies of Homer that circulated in Antiquity do not contain reliable data about the poet. However, Current historians admit that Homer came from the Ionian colonial area of ​​Asia Minor, based on the linguistic features of their works.

Reality and fiction are closely linked in his figure, but also in his work. In ancient times, the Iliad and the Odyssey They were considered historical texts, which narrated real events. Therefore, it is not surprising that contradictions arise around his biography.

Thus, the figure of Homer converges between reality and legend. For this reason, He is usually characterized as a blind poet who toured the Hellenic world sometime in the 8th century BC.. On his travels, he practiced his profession of reciting his epic poems to those who would listen to him. His spectators ranged from the common people who gathered in a square to the nobility gathered at large dinners inside a palace.

We must keep in mind that the literary transmission was, for the most part, oral.. This orality has prevented the conservation of many texts not only from the classical period, but also from the Middle Ages. The epic is a literary genre in which the hero’s exploits are narrated. The purpose of this genre is to praise the values ​​of a people, therefore, it had its peak in Antiquity and was maintained (although with certain changes) in the medieval period.

Some of these poems were never written down or were lost over time. The Iliad and the OdysseyIn addition to having survived, they were imitated and considered great models of Antiquity for centuries.. That is precisely the importance of Homer.

Doubts of its existence

Thanks to the meticulous analyzes that have been made of the Odyssey and the Iliad, It has been suggested that Homer, perhaps, did not exist as a single individual. There are those who suggest that Homer would be a kind of low pseudonym under which various unknown authors would be grouped. These doubts about its existence have been called the Homeric question.

In the debate between researchers of Homeric literature, two big questions arise:

Who or who were the authors of the Iliad and the Odyssey? To answer this question, researchers separate into two groups. On the one hand, we find those who believe that they were written by several authors, due to the length, anachronisms and the uses of different literary techniques and variations of the Greek language, present throughout the two works. On the other hand, we have those who consider that its author was a person who was in charge of creating the work by collecting and synthesizing oral histories.How were they made? In the answer to this question, there is greater consensus among researchers. It is considered that the work, whether of individual or collective authorship, was the product of the compilation of popular oral compositions of the time. Compositions that were transmitted through several generations and that were synthesized in writing in the Iliad and the Odyssey under the name of Homer.

Homer’s legacy to Western culture

Despite these debates, it is undeniable that Homer and his works are the pillars of Western literature.. Anyone who studies literature or art history knows that Homer is the first name to appear in the literary canon. Homer was already imitated in Antiquity, thus, the Aeneidthe great epic of the Roman Empire, is a kind of rewriting of the works of Homer.

Few disciplines within the humanities can escape the work of Homer. From literature to philosophy, through archeology and history, Homer is constantly cited. Whether as a source of inspiration or as a historical source to study Ancient Greece.

Reduce Homer’s work solely to the Iliad and the Odyssey would be oversimplifying its production. Currently, other works are attributed to her. For example, the minor comic epic that is named: Batrachomyomachy (The War of the Frogs and the Mice). He is also considered to have written the Homeric hymns and other fragmented works such as Margites.

It can be said that, in all his work, Homer captured Greek society at the end of the archaic era (8th century BC).. A society based on leadership, where slavery and sacrifices to the gods existed. He also describes courts of justice and a society with certain ethical values ​​based on respect for women, the elderly, beggars and the corpses of enemies.

In short, we are faced with an author who has managed to survive the passage of time. An author whose reading remains essential today, whether in the classroom or outside of them. Homer, whatever his identity, will remain the great epic poet of Antiquity.

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