Homer

Abstract

The journey starts from Homer and his works that have been saved and attributed to him, that is, the epics of The Iliad and The Odyssey, which are the first “seam” of Greek history. The Homeric epics describe a bridging of the past with the present of the poet and his transcriptions. In general, we can say of Homeric epics that injustice and social disorder, disregard of moral laws and their deliberate violation (hubris), cause the rage of gods and incite anger and punishment (nemesis). Thus, the design of Homer’s works treats both divine power and human will: these two elements are interwoven and matched, and coexist within the Homeric epics in antagonism/contrast, the main result of which is the development of the myth but also the insurmountable poetic value of the epics.

All extracts are from (open access) http://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/literature/index.html, and translated from Greek to English. Homer’s epics, translated to English, can be found at http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/searchresults?q=Homer&redirect=true