作者简介
HomerAncientGreekpoetHomerestablishedthegoldstandardforheroicquestsandsweepingjourneyswithhispairofclassicepicpoems,TheIliadandTheOdyssey.BiographyWeknowverylittleabouttheauthorofTheOdysseyanditscompaniontale,TheIliad.MostscholarsagreethatHomerwasGreek;thosewhotrytoidentifyhisoriginonthebasisofdialectformsinthepoemstendtochooseashishomelandeitherSmyrna,nowtheTurkishcityknownasIzmir,orChios,anislandintheeasternAegeanSea.Accordingtolegend,Homerwasblind,thoughscholarlyevidencecanneitherconfirmnorcontradictthepoint.TheongoingdebateaboutwhoHomerwas,whenhelived,andevenifhewroteTheOdysseyandTheIliadisknownasthe"Homericquestion."ClassicistsdoagreethatthesetalesofthefallofthecityofTroy(Ilium)intheTrojanWar(TheIliad)andtheaftermathofthatten-yearbattle(TheOdyssey)coincidewiththeendingoftheMycenaeanperiodaround1200BCE(adatethatcorrespondswiththeendoftheBronzeAgethroughouttheEasternMediterranean).TheMycenaeanswereasocietyofwarriorsandtraders;beginningaround1600BCE,theybecameamajorpowerintheMediterranean.Brilliantpottersandarchitects,theyalsodevelopedasystemofwritingknownasLinearB,basedonasyllabary,writinginwhicheachsymbolstandsforasyllable.ScholarsdisagreeonwhenHomerlivedorwhenhemighthavewrittenTheOdyssey.SomehaveplacedHomerinthelate-Mycenaeanperiod,whichmeanshewouldhavewrittenabouttheTrojanWarasrecenthistory.Closestudyofthetexts,however,revealsaspectsofpolitical,material,religious,andmilitarylifeoftheBronzeAgeandoftheso-calledDarkAge,astheperiodofdominationbytheless-advancedDorianinvaderswhousurpedtheMycenaeansisknown.Buthow,otherscholarsargue,couldHomerhavecreatedworksofsuchmagnitudeintheDarkAge,whentherewasnosystemofwriting?Herodotus,theancientGreekhistorian,placedHomersometimearoundtheninthcenturyBCE,atthebeginningoftheArchaicperiod,inwhichtheGreeksadoptedasystemofwritingfromthePhoeniciansandwidelycolonizedtheMediterranean.Andmodernscholarshipshowsthatthemostrecentdetailsinthepoemsaredatabletotheperiodbetween750and700BCE.Noone,however,disputesthefactthatTheOdyssey(andTheIliadaswell)arosefromoraltradition.Stockphrases,typesofepisodes,andrepeatedphrases--suchas"early,rose-fingereddawn"--bearthemarkofepicstorytelling.Scholarsagree,too,thatthistaleoftheGreekheroOdysseus'sjourneyandadventuresashereturnedhomefromTroytoIthacaisaworkofthegreatesthistoricalsignificanceand,indeed,oneofthefoundationsofWesternliterature.AuthorbiographyfromtheBarnes&NobleClassicseditionofTheOdyssey.GoodToKnowThemeter(rhythmicpatternofsyllables)ofHomer'sepicpoemsisdactylichexameter.
