Epic Fail

Question: What legendary poet of the Ancient World is believed by scholars to have never existed?

Answer: Homer

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in all likelihood the legendary Greek poet behind The Odyssey and The Iliad, two foundational epics of Ancient Greek literature that still resonate in the modern world, wasn’t even real. How can that be? Even the renowned literary critic Harold Bloom says that Homer’s influence on contemporary literature is simply monumental. “Everyone who now reads and writes in the West,” he writes, “of whatever racial background, sex or ideological camp, is still a son or daughter of Homer.”

And to add insult to injury, scholars say that even if he was real, he wasn’t blind.

The problem is we know so little about Homer—who he was, when he lived, and where he lived. Homer, as most know, is credited by the Ancient Greeks as the author of both works. The Iliad recounts the climactic battles of the Trojan War and The Odyssey follows the perilous journey of Odysseus to return home after the war—both works were written some time between 750 and 650 BC. But the Ancient Greeks themselves weren’t really sure when Homer was supposed to have lived. Herodotus says that he “believes” Homer lived “no more than four hundred years before my time.” That would place him in the ninth century BC.  The key word in Herodotus’ statement is “believes,” which means he didn’t know—it’s like saying Homer lived a “really long time ago.”

If Homer were indeed the author of both works, modern scholars tend to place him in the eighth century BC—for reasons having to do with the dating of other Archaic Greek texts and the Greek alphabet. But this assumes the Greeks were correct in ascribing the authorship of both works to a single individual—this is the so-called “Homeric Question,” a debate over authorship that has been going on since the 18th century. Some said the Iliad and Odyssey were produced by the same person, but not at the same time; others said each work was by a different author due to variances in syntax, grammar, and vocabulary; and one outlier, 19th-century novelist Samual Butler, argued that the author of The Odyssey was a woman.

The real revolution in Homeric studies took place in 1928, when a dissertation by Milman Parry came up with the idea that the Homeric epics were the product of a long tradition of oral poetry. And it is becoming more and more accepted that Homer’s works are likely the culmination of numerous bards who developed the stories over generations.

If Homer was real, why was he blind?

Some speculate that Homer’s blindness was a “myth invented to account for the fact that the Homeric poems originally evolved orally, before the development of writing in Greece.” Since a large number of other poems were attributed to Homer, some scholars believe that “Homer” is not a personal name at all, but rather a title. There is no proof in the poems themselves that Homer couldn’t see. One theory as to how it came to be is the name itself. In Ancient Greek, “Homeros” can be translated to mean “blind” (although it can also be translated to mean “hostage”). Adding more fuel to the Greek fire is the character of Demodocus in The Odyssey. Believed to be a proxy for Homer, Demodocus appears in the epic as a blind poet who performs before the royal court. Another modern scholar, Eric Moormann, mentions an ancient piece of writing that suggests Homer’s blindness was “punishment for his seeing Helen (Of Troy) or the shield of Achilles in its full splendor” (which seems kind of harsh, don’t you think?!).

Homer’s blindness would be a moot point, of course, if he didn’t exist at all. But the Greeks believed he was real, and when they began making portraits of notable historical figures in the fifth century BC, they depicted Homer with “a very long, well-groomed beard, long hair and large closed eyes in a soft-idealized face.” And as the influence of the Iliad and Odyssey grew, this image became firmly established, and the mystery surrounding his identity and sight just seemed to underscore the enduring significance of his work. 

If Homer was real, where did he live?

The Ancient Greeks couldn’t even agree on where Homer was born. They all agreed that it had to be located somewhere in “East Greece,” as the eastern part of the Aegean is a likely place of origin for poems that were written in a dialect mostly consisting of Aeolic and Ionic Greek. But some ancient authors believed Homer was born in Smyrna (modern Izmir in Turkey); others believed his birthplace was the island of Chios. The Life of Homer, a work published in Ancient Rome, suggests he was born in Smyrna, and moved to Chios later in life.

And wouldn’t you know it, tensions between modern Greece and Turkey have made Homer’s birthplace a contentious issue—with the former favoring Chios and the latter opting for Smyrna. But why get worked up over it? The bottom line is that there is simply no way for us to know where Homer came from, whether the poet of the Iliad and Odyssey was one and the same person, or if this person even existed at all.

We are so distanced from Homer’s time we will probably never know whether he is real. But perhaps thinking of Homer as a person might be missing the point anyway. We should have no qualms about stating that Homer—the person or the idea—remains the creator of one of the most masterly works in world history.

A few fascinating facts about The Odyssey you may not know

• Edibles in Ancient Greece?—For centuries, scholars have been trying to figure out what the mysterious lotus plant in Book 9 of The Odyssey was based on, where Odysseus and his crew find themselves on the island of the Lotus Eaters. After consuming the intoxicating plant, the men lose all will to return to their homes and families. One theory suggests the lotus was a type of persimmon that was fermented into a potent wine; another is that it was the blue Egyptian water lily, which is known to induce a trance-like state; another is that the plant Homer was describing was really the opium poppy—which makes the most sense.
• Free Bird, Free Bird!—There’s a good reason why The Odyssey is neatly divided into 24 sections. Long before it was written down in its entirety, this made it easier for bards to memorize and recite individual sections of the epic poem to crowds of listeners. Since each book was associated with a letter of the Greek alphabet (alpha, beta, gamma, etc.) audiences could request their favorite story, like they were choosing a tune from a giant jukebox. If they wanted to hear about Odysseus’s encounter with the Cyclops, they could just shout out “Iota” or “Book 9”!
• You can teach an old poet new tricks—Odysseus represented a very different kind of hero than Greeks at the time were used to. Instead of the buff, Alpha-male warriors like Achilles or Hercules, Odysseus was someone who relied on his “mētis” or cunning intelligence, representing one of the earliest examples of the “trickster archetype,” which is someone who uses wits to overcome foes. Instead of brute force, the tricks Odysseus uses include defeating Cyclops by getting him drunk, claiming his name is “Nobody,” and then blinding him with a hot poker. When he arrives home in Ithaca in disguise, he then proves his identity to his wife by telling her the secret about their marriage bed known only to the two of them (blush, blush!).
• Hey, did Odysseus call in sick again?—For an epic poem called The Odyssey, it’s very unusual that the hero is conspicuously absent in the first four books. And when he does make his first appearance in the middle of Book 5, he is placed in the middle of his journey rather than at the beginning. What gives? This was actually a favorite narrative structure of the ancient poets known as “in media res” (Latin for “in the midst of things”). The first 4 books give us the backstory of all the troubles waiting for him back in Ithaca. Starting the story by leaving Odysseus out was a smart move, creating more tension and revealing the high stakes of his return.
• Is it Penelope or Olive Oyl?—The marriage bed of Odysseus and his wife Penelope is one of the most memorable symbols in The Odyssey. Not something you can pick up at IKEA, the bed was intricately crafted by Odysseus himself around a living olive tree, whose trunk was shaped into a bedpost. Since the bed was immovable, it symbolized the couple’s enduring bond and ability to withstand years of turmoil. The disguised Odysseus correctly identifies the secret design feature of the bed so Penelope knows it is truly him.
• Author, author—Whether it was Homer or some other guy, most scholars agree that The Odyssey was composed by a single author. But some of these scholars have questioned the legitimacy of Book 24, the epic poem’s final chapter. Suddenly, there is a stark tonal and thematic shift in the writing, with characters acting out of sync and plot points hastily resolved. While it is far less elegant than the rest of the work (and was probably tacked on later by a less skilled poet), removing it would throw off the 24-part structure and leave some of the plot unresolved—and the question of its authorship is likely to remain unresolved.
• Odyssey II: The Sequel—Based on fragments and references from many ancient texts, it is almost certain that The Odyssey had a sequel which focused on Odysseus’s secret son Telegonus. Called the Telegony, the epic poem picked up where the Odyssey left off with Odysseus returning home and slaying his wife’s suitors. Sadly, only a handful of lines from the lost epic have survived. But enough lines for some juicy details about where the plot was heading—including Odysseus’s affair with the sorceress Circe (resulting in the secret son Telegonus), a few accidental killings, and lots of sons marrying mothers ...
• Cameo appearances in The Odyssey—Filled with original characters and conflicts, The Odyssey is very different than The Iliad. But Book 24 of The Odyssey features a surprise underworld meeting between two of the great Ilian warriors—Achilles and Agamemnon. Unaware that they’ve both been killed, the men pick up where they left off and continue arguing who was the better fighter at Troy. As well as linking the two epic poems, the scene is a grim reminder that even in death, soldiers can’t let go of their battlefield glory.
• What a long, strange trip it’s been—Few works of literature have had a greater influence on modern storytelling than The Odyssey—which is why it is still widely taught in schools and universities. With themes that are still relevant, the basic plot has been retold countless times in many genres and settings. Just a small sample would include James Joyce’s 1922 masterpiece Ulysses, which closely follows The Odyssey’s structure, but recasts Odysseus as Irishman Leopold Bloom wandering the streets of Dublin. The Coen Brothers film, O Brother, Where Art Thou? reimagines the epic as a Depression-era comedy about three escaped convicts trying to return home. Even the original Battlestar Galactica series was compared to The Odyssey, with its space fleet trying to return home to the lost colony of Earth.

Explore the lands that inspired ancient epics during our Treasures of the Aegean: Athens to Istanbul Small Ship Adventure.