Western Civilization Homer Term Paper

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Legacy of Homer

Modern best sellers' books could never compare to the great ancient writings of Homer. Homer has become a household name and is considered one of the most important and influential writers in history. Little is known about Homer's life yet his poetry, including the Iliad and the Odyssey, has gained recognition as some of the greatest literary works ever written.

According to research, Homer was born sometime around 700 B.C. And lived for approximately 70 years. According to historians, Homer was born on the island of Khios but traveled throughout Greece. During his travels, he was notorious for singing poetry to aristocrats and commoners in the islands he visited. Homer's best-known tales were those he told of the Trojan War in the Iliad and the homecoming of a war hero in the Odyssey. He was well-known amongst the Greeks for his stories.

However, scholars do not know for sure whether or not Homer wrote down his poetry. Many believe that his works were the result of oral communication and could have been written down by someone else who had heard the stories. Still, many others believe that Homer wrote his poetry down on papyrus.

In Homer and His Influence, John Scott shows how much influence Homer has had on every generation since he wrote his stories. According to Scott, the Greeks, Romans, and the early European settlers were strongly influenced by works of Homer, as are many writers today.

The Greeks learned his poems as part of their heritage. Socrates quotes him in his philosophies, as do Plato and Aristotle. Some writers have continued his tales after the war, while others try to explain just what Homer meant in his stories.

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Many authors, throughout time, have tried to imitate Homer and his style, and historians have based their research on his work. Xenophanes describes Homer's legacy, saying: "From the beginning, for all have learned from him."

Homer's Iliad is a long poem that was divided into twenty-four books (Lattimore 1951: 14). It tells of how the Greeks invaded and destroyed Troy, around the year 1250 BC (Latacz 1996: 63). This story is absolutely epic, as it includes so many remarkable tales of ancient history, war, religion and heroism.

The main character, Achilles, is filled with rage and pride, which causes him a great deal of internal and external problems. This character is an amazing hero, whom none of today's protagonists can hold a candle to. Like many of today's war hero characters, Achilles fights the inner battle of a warrior battling an extrinsic force and dealing with the moral of war.

Homer tackles the unnecessary brutality of war through this character, like many of today's writers, yet adds the elements of ancient history, which make his readers understand how the concept of war was created. Even today's war heroes can relate to the feelings and everyday occurrences experienced by Homer's characters. For this reason, it would be difficult to compare a modern writer to Homer.

In the Odyssey, Homer tells the adventures of Odysseus during his travel back to his homeland. While Homer describes how the Greeks revolved their lives around the gods, this story is not restricted to ancient times, as this tale is more about the struggle between good and evil.

Homer used the gods as examples of human nature, exposing that we are our own enemy, and are accountable for.....

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