Homer
The Blind Bard
Homer was a bard, or singing poet, who recited his epic poems to the public. Historically, Homer was rumored to be blind, and there are many famous artworks that depict him as such. More recent rumors claim that the works of Homer were not likely the work of one man, but of a group of poets.
The Odyssey
Not only did Homer create the Odyssey (if you believe history), but he also had to memorize and repeatedly recite over 12,000 lines of dactylic hexameter verse divided into 24 books!
The Illiad
Homer also created The Illiad, which was the prequel to The Odyssey, was based on actual events, and contained over 15,000 lines of Homeric Greek.
Homeric Hymns
Homer was very religious, so he created and dedicated 33 hymns to various Greek gods. This is not surprising since most artistic works of the period were inspired by the gods.
Homeric Greek
Homer was such an influential poet that he actually invented a form of Greek language called Homeric Greek, which is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek.
Learn More about Homer
Want to know about Homer, but don't have a lot of time? Check out this 1 minute biography of the famous Greek poet from Cloud Biography.