Biography of Homer (Greek)

Homer is unarguably the greatest poet of ancient times. He is the composer of

Iliad and the Odyssey which hold the privilege of being the greatest poems of
world literature. Although it is not known for sure when Homer was born, the time
of his birth is estimated somewhere between the 8th and 9th century B.C,
however, another school of thought states that Homer lived during the era of the
Trojan war in the early 12th century B.C. Homer belonged to Greece by birth but
the exact location of his birth and living is also doubtful. Some believe that he
was born on Chios Island while others say he lived in Ionia. The dialect and
descriptions in his poems point towards the latter. Not much is known about
Homer the person and therefore, his poems are used to depict his personality
and life. For example, Homer is thought to be blind due to the description
presented of the blind bard in The Odyssey. In fact, it is also supposed that the
word Homer was used to address blind men roaming the streets reciting classical
poetry. Other than being a poet, historians believe that Homer was also a story
teller and a court singer. Although there has been a great deal of controversy
about the question whether Homer alone wrote the two famous poems, much of
the evidence points towards Homer being the author due to the consistent style
of writing. Also some analysts argue that Homer may have written one of the
poems but not the other since both differ greatly in style. In contrast, the reason
other analysts state for this difference is that Iliad was written in his youth while
Odyssey was created during Homer’s years of age. The famous epic, Iliad
narrates the happenings in the city of Ilion during the Trojan War. Ilion was a city
within the state of Troy. The word Iliad is derived from the name of the city and its
literal meaning is ‘something concerned with Ilion’. The Iliad is a poetic
description of the war, its main characters, fighters, incidents and scenes from
the war. It explains how the Greek and Trojan warriors gain strength from their
Gods and make sacrifices in their name. Although the Iliad focuses only on the
last year of the war, it is an exceptionally lengthy account of the warfare.

Odyssey is based on a Greek character Odysseus. This epic poem focuses

on the ten year long journey Odysseus made from Troy to Ithaca after the end of
the Trojan War. The events leading to the start and conclusion of the war are
explained in detail. The poetic story illustrates the dangerous adventures of
Odysseus on his journey back home and also the ordeals his family goes through
in Ithaca in his absence. The poem is written in 12, 110 lines of dactylic
hexameter. It has been translated into numerous modern languages of the world
and continues to be read widely.

Although the Iliad and Odyssey are Homer’s best known poems, more of his
works, for instance, Homeric Hymns have come to surface. Sadly a lot of his
other works are believed to be lost in time.

Source: https://www.famousauthors.org/homer
Difference of Homer and Ovid
Homer and Ovid are two of the oldest, most influential poets that have ever
lived. Although they are both poet, just like any other poets, they have several
difference in their writings. Homer is a Greek poet, most known for his epic
poems Iliad and Odyssey. Ovid, is a Roman poet, known for Metamorphoses, a
fifteen book poem containing over 250 myths. Homer's Iliad is a chronologically
journey which means it was written in order while Ovid's Metamorphoses doesn’t
have a plot and has no progression. Homer's poem provided a fixed model of
heroism, nobility and a good life which Greeks subscribed. Ovid’s common
subjects in writing is love and mythology.

Source: (1) https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Homer-vs-Ovid-FKCSQVNKTJ

(2) https://sites.psu.edu/bqz5061cams045/2015/10/30/ovid-vs-homer/