There is no certainty that attests to the historical existence of Homer. Many still dispute it today. His name is surrounded by the craziest legends. He is said to be a bard (singer/poet) declaiming his verses throughout the world although blind. He would have been born in the VIII e century BC in the vicinity of Smyrna (current Turkey), would have lived part of his life in Chios (Greek island) and would have died, in the Cyclades, in Ios. He is considered the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey (although his attribution remains controversial) and the father of epic poetry. Indeed, these two works, composed in hexameters (verses at 6 feet), are considered the first epics of the Western world. These mythological tales stretch over many years and are composed of many flashbacks and digressions. References for the Western world, the writings of Homer were one of the foundations of the common culture that unified the Greeks (panhellenism). Plato considered Homer "the teacher of Greece".
8th century BC - ?
Status
Writer