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Homer (Great Lives from History: The Ancient World, Prehistory-476)

Early Life

The Greeks were not sure where Homer (HOH-muhr) was born, when he lived, or even if such a person actually existed. The name “Homer” may simply be a generic term denoting “one who fits a song together.” Still, various sources provide some information about the provenance of the Iliad (c. 750 b.c.e.; English translation, 1611) and the Odyssey (c. 725 b.c.e.; English translation, 1614). The language of the poems is Ionic and Aeolic Greek, which points to an East Greek origin. (In antiquity, East Greece included the west coast of Asia Minor and...

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