Homer: biography brief and interesting facts

Homer, whose biography interests many today, is the first poet of Ancient Greece, whose works have survived to this day. He is still considered one of the best European poets today. However, there is no reliable information about Homer itself. Nevertheless, we will try to restore at least in general outline his biography, based on the available information.

What is the name of Homer?

The name "Homer" first appears in the 7th century. BC. E. It was then that Callin of Ephesus called the creator of the Thebaida so. The meaning of this name was tried to explain even in the times of antiquity. The following variants were suggested: "blind man" (Efor Kimsky), "following for" (Aristotle), "hostage" (Hesychius). However, modern researchers believe that they are all as unconvincing as the suggestions of some scientists to attribute to him the meaning of "accompanist" or "cumulus". For sure, in its Ionic form this word is a real personal name.

Where does Homer come from?

The biography of this poet can only be recreated presumably. This applies even to the birthplace of Homer, which is still unknown. Seven cities fought for the right to be considered his homeland: Chios, Smyrna, Salamis, Colophon, Argos, Rhodes, Athens. It is likely that the "Odyssey" and "Iliad" were created on the Asia Minor coast of Greece, which was inhabited at that time by the Ionian tribes. And perhaps these poems were built on some of the adjacent islands. Homer's dialect, however, does not give any exact information about which tribe belonged to Homer, whose biography remains a mystery. It is a combination of Aeolian and Ionian dialects of Ancient Greek. Some researchers suggest that it is one of the forms of poetic koin formed long before Homer.

Was Homer blind?

Homer is an ancient Greek poet, whose biography was reconstructed by many, from ancient times to our days. It is known that he is traditionally portrayed as blind. However, it is more likely that this view of him is a reconstruction typical of the genre of the antique biography, and does not come from real facts about Homer. Since many legendary singers and soothsayers were blind (in particular, Tiresias), according to the logic of antiquity, which linked the poetic and prophetic gift, the assumption that Homer was blind, looked plausible.

Years of Homer's Life

Antique chronographs also diverge in the definition of time when Homer lived. The writer, whose biography interests us, could create his works in different years. Some believe that he was a contemporary of the Trojan War, that is, he lived in the early 12th century. BC. E. However, Herodotus claimed that Homer lived around the middle of the 9th century. BC. E. Scientists of our time tend to date his work in the 8th or even 7th century BC. E. In this case, Chios or another region of Ionia, located on the coast of Asia Minor, is indicated as the main place of life.

Creativity Homer

Homer in antiquity, except for the "Odyssey" and "Iliad", attributed authorship and some other poems. Until now, fragments of several of them have been preserved. However, today it is believed that they were written by the author who lived later than Homer. This comic poem "Margate", "Homeric Hymns", etc.

It is clear that the Odyssey and the Iliad were written much later than the events described in these works. Nevertheless, their creation can be dated no earlier than the 6th century BC. E., When their existence was reliably recorded. Thus, the life of Homer can be attributed to the period from 12 to 7 centuries BC. E. However, the latest date is most probable.

The duel between Hesiod and Homer

What else can you tell about such a great poet as Homer? The biography for children usually omits this point, but there is a legend about the poetic duel between Hesiod and Homer. It was described in a work written no later than the 3rd century. BC. E. (And some researchers believe that much earlier). It is called "The Contest of Homer and Hesiod". It tells that the poets allegedly met at the games in honor of Amfidem, held on. Euboea. Here they read their best poems. The judge at the contest was King Pined. The victory was awarded to Hesiod, because he called for peace and agriculture, and not for slaughter and war. However, it was on the side of Homer that the sympathies of the audience were there.

Historicity of "Odyssey" and "Iliad"

In science in the middle of the 19th century, the opinion prevailed that "Odyssey" and "Iliad" were unhistorical works. However, he was denied the excavations of Heinrich Schliemann, which he held in Mycenae and on the hill Gissarlyk in the 1870s-80s. Sensational discoveries of this archaeologist have proven that Mycenae, Troy and Achaean citadels existed in reality. Contemporaries of the German scientist were struck by the correspondence of his findings in the 4th hipped tomb, located in Mycenae, Homer's descriptions. Later, Egyptian and Hittite documents were found, in which parallels with the events of the Trojan War can be traced. A lot of information about the time of the action of the poems gave the decipherment of Mycenaean syllabic writing. However, the data of the works of Homer with the available documentary and archaeological sources correlate in a complex manner and can not therefore be used uncritically. The fact is that in traditions of this kind, there must be great distortions of historical information.

Homer and the system of education, imitation of Homer

The system of ancient Greek education, formed by the end of the classical era, was built on the study of creativity Homer. His poems were learned in whole or in part, on the themes of them recitations were arranged, etc. Later Rome borrowed this system. Here from the 1st century AD. E. The place of Homer took Virgil. Large hexametric poems were created in the post-classical era in the dialect of the ancient Greek author, as well as in competition or in imitation of the Odyssey and the Iliad. As you can see, many were interested in the work and biography of Homer. The summary of his works formed the basis of many works of authors who lived in ancient Rome. Among them, one can note the "Argonavtiku" written by Apollonius of Rhodes, the work of Nonna Panopolitan's "The Adventures of Dionysus" and Quint Smirnsky "The After-Gambler Events". Recognizing the merits of Homer, other poets of ancient Greece refrained from creating a large epic form. They believed that perfect perfection can be achieved only in a small work.

The influence of Homer on the literature of different countries

In ancient Roman literature, the first surviving work (although fragmentary) was the translation of the Odyssey. Made him a Greek Libyan Andronicus. Note that the main work of literature of Ancient Rome - "Aeneid" Virgil - in the first six books is an imitation of the Odyssey, and in the last six - the Iliad. Almost in all the works of antiquity, one can see the influence of the poems that Homer created.

Biography and creativity of his interest and the Byzantines. In this country Homer was thoroughly studied. To date, dozens of Byzantine manuscripts have been found in his poems. For antiquity, this is unprecedented. Moreover, the scientists of Byzantium created comments and scholia to Homer, compiled and copied his poems. Seven volumes are taken by Archbishop Eustathius' commentary on them. Greek manuscripts in the last years of the Byzantine Empire, and then after its collapse fell to the West. So was re-opened the Renaissance Homer era.

The biography of this poet, created by us, leaves many questions unsettled. All of these together form the Homeric question. How did the researchers solve it? Let's figure it out.

The Homeric question

Homer's question is still relevant. This is a set of problems that relate to the authorship of the Odyssey and the Iliad, as well as to the identity of their creator. Many pluralist scholars believed that these poems are not in the real world the creations of Homer, which, as many believed, did not exist at all. Their creation is attributed to the 6th century BC. E. These scholars believe that the poems were created, most likely, in Athens, when the songs of various authors passed from generation to generation were collected and recorded in writing. Unitarian, on the contrary, defended the compositional unity of the works of Homer, and hence the uniqueness of their creator.

Homer's poems

Epic poems of this ancient Greek author are brilliant, priceless works of art. Throughout the centuries, they have not lost deep meaning and relevance. The subjects of both poems are taken from a multifaceted and extensive cycle of legends dedicated to the Trojan War. "Odyssey" and "Iliad" only show small episodes from this cycle. In brief, we characterize these works, completing our story about such a great man as Homer. The poet, whose brief biography was examined by us, created truly unique works.

The Iliad

It talks about the events of the 10th year of the Trojan War. The poem ends with the death and burial of the main Trojan warrior Hector. About the subsequent events of the war does not tell the ancient Greek poet Homer, whose brief biography is presented above.

War is the main thread of this poem, the main element of its characters. One of the features of the work is that the battle is depicted not as bloody battles of the masses, but as a battle of individual heroes who demonstrate exceptional strength, courage, skill and fortitude. Among the battles can be identified a key match between Achilles and Hector. Single combats of Diomedes, Agamemnon and Menelaus are described with less heroism and expressiveness. Very brightly in the "Iliad" are depicted habits, traditions, moral aspects of life, morality and way of life of the ancient Greeks.

"Odyssey"

It can be said that this work is more complicated than the "Iliad". In it, we find many features that are still being investigated from the point of view of literature. This epic poem is mainly about the return to Ithaca of Odysseus after the end of the Trojan War.

In conclusion, we note that the works of Homer - the treasury of the wisdom of the people of ancient Greece. What other facts can be of interest about such a person as Homer? A brief biography for children and adults often contains information that he was an oral narrator, that is, he did not possess a letter. However, despite this, his poems are distinguished by high skill and poetic technique, they reveal unity. "Odyssey" and "Iliad" have characteristic features, one of which is the epic style. The consistent tone of the narrative, the unhurried thoroughness, the complete objectivity of the image, the unhurried development of the plot-these are the characteristic features of the works that Homer created. Biography of this poet briefly, I hope, has caused you interest in his work.