Homer was an ancient Greek poet traditionally believed to have lived around the eighth century BCE. Almost nothing certain is known about his life, and scholars continue to debate whether Homer was a single historical poet or a name representing a long tradition of oral composition and performance. He is credited with the epic poems “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey,” whose meter, recurring formulas, and narrative structures profoundly influenced later literature and drama. His representative work, “The Iliad,” is set during the final phase of the Trojan War. Beginning with a conflict between the warrior Achilles and the Greek commander Agamemnon, it follows Achilles through anger, withdrawal, the death of his companion, and his decisive confrontation with the Trojan prince Hector.
