Reading the Classics #29: Homer
No, I do not mean Homer Simpson. And no, I didn't just spell Gomer Pyle wrong (Great show, by the way). The guy's name was literally just Homer (8th Century B.C.). But there is sufficient reason for that. He lived like almost 3000 years ago, and back then people either didn't have last names, or the way last names were formed was different (Remember Virgil? His name was just Virgil). Anyway, Homer lived in Greece, was blind, and was also a bard. We don't know much else about his life. Although he may sound like some obscure person who's never going to affect you, Homer left behind two masterpieces that have survived through the ages, and that are still widely read to this day. Those two books are The Iliad and The Odyssey. Let's talk about them.
1. The Odyssey
2. The Iliad
Now, I know that I usually talk about the best book first, but I'll have to do it a bit differently today, since you need to read The Iliad to better understand The Odyssey. Basically there was Helen, the most beautiful girl in the world, and the gods caused the Prince of Troy to kidnap her and take her to the city of Troy. Well, the Greeks weren't happy about this, especially Helen's husband Menelaus. A bunch of the Greek cities and islands, including Sparta, Athens, and Ithaca, band together to form a large army. and for ten years they besiege Troy, beginning the Trojan War. The gods and goddesses take sides on the issue, and heroes such as Achilles and Hector fight epic battles. I won't explain the ending, since I don't want to spoil it. The book is epic in scale, and an absolute must-read. It can be hard to follow, especially as the wording is often unusual and references are made to many myths and legends. It's helpful to have google up while you're reading so you can look up stuff.
Now that I've explained The Iliad, The Odyssey continues the story after the Trojan War is ended. I won't say who won, but one of the survivors is Odysseus. He wants to return to Ithaca, and he attempts to do so, but giants and whirlpools and dragons and the Underworld happen to exist, and they mess everything up so that it takes ten years for him to get back home (That's a total of 20 years away from home, counting the Trojan War). Meanwhile, his Penelope is back at home taking care of the house. She's the prettiest woman on the isle, so when Odysseus takes so long to return, everyone except her thinks he's dead, and she gets like a million suitors that are threatening to make her marry one of them. Not the best situation for either Odysseus or Penelope to be in. I won't tell you how this one ends either, but let me just say that it's good. This book is another of the most famous classics in the world, and is definitely worth reading if you've read The Iliad. As the two books did come from the same guy, there's even more references to old mythology and obscure words for you to enjoy.
Now, you may be asking, "If this guy was blind, how did he write this stuff?" Well, he didn't. Because he was blind and a bard, he wrote the whole thing in his head, memorized it, and would perform different parts of it at parties and feasts. Eventually somebody had the bright idea to write it all down, and more and more people began to copy the stories. Thus The Iliad and The Odyssey were born. And here's a cool tie-in to another post. Remember Virgil? (I already mentioned him once in this post). Well he wrote the Aeneid and the main character is Aeneas. Well, Aeneas was also a survivor of the Trojan War, but this guy was on the Trojan side rather than the Greek side. So while Odysseus is sailing the seas hoping to get home soon, Aeneas is talking to gods and becoming the founder of the Romans. Pretty cool how Virgil connected the stories, in my opinion.
Well, I hope that was interesting to read. This is my first author in the series from Greece, so I'm starting a new timeline now. If you want to see more Greeks (like Homer) or Romans (like Virgil), let me know. I've got Sophocles, Plato and Aristotle, Ovid, and a few others to write about at some point. See you next time!
8th Century B.C.- The Iliad by Homer
The Odyssey by Homer
