Title: Homer and The Iliad Task: Write a report on the significance of Homer and the Iliad to ancient Greece and to Western culture.

Essay by dimi19High School, 11th gradeA+, December 2003

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Homer, who has been known as a historic poet throughout many centuries, was very significant to ancient Greece and to Western culture. He orally passed down two monumental epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. This is very interesting because it explains why Homer was considered to be the spokesman of oral Greek literature. Although, Homer did not create the plot or the characters of these epics, he is presumed have composed the two, from the inherited information that was passed down to him. The Iliad, which was the first epic to be created, mainly focused on the consequences and results of Achilleus' anger at being dishonored and at the same time it described the events, which occurred in the Trojan War. The Greeks waged the war against Troy, which lasted ten years, after the abduction of Helen from Menelaus. The epic occurred during the late Bronze Age, in the late 8th century B.C.

Both Homer and the Iliad had great value and significance to ancient Greece and to Western culture.

Ionia, where Homer is believed to have lived, is in the Eastern Mediterranean, where eastern and western cultures met. This would explain how Homer's literature was widely spread across to Western culture. The exact dates of Homer's life are unknown, but it is thought that he lived during the 8th and 9th century B.C. According to legend, Homer was blind and lived until old age. Although even with this disability, Homer was still able to influence ancient Greece with his stories. This is because the people of ancient Greece believed that inner vision was superior to physical vision. A man was believed to have an intensified vision of the universe and the world and often had prophetic abilities if he possessed an inner vision. This idea is...