Homer
Homer (c. 9th–8th cent. BC ),the supposed author of two famous early Greek epics, The Iliad and The Odyssey . Homer occupied in the culture of ancient Greece a position even more central than Shakespeare's in England, since his works provided everyone's elementary education. No one in antiquity questioned his claim to be the greatest of poets, and his reputation survived in the Middle Ages even in the Latin West where his works were unknown. When the humanists began to learn Greek in the 14th cent. they turned eagerly to The Iliad, but found its directness and realism disappointing. The study of Homer stagnated, and a serious interest in his work did not show itself, in spite of G. Chapman 's heroic versions (Il. ?1611 , Od. ?1615 ), until Hobbes 's and Dryden 's attempts at translation towards the end of the century. The 18th-cent. interest in Homer had a number of...
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