Facts about Homer's Iliad and Odyssey
- 06
Approximately 28,000 lines of Greek verse compose Homer's two epics combined, making the Iliad and Odyssey among the longest literary works in Western tradition.
- 05
In Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Trojan War narrative ultimately derives from a tradition of oral poetry passed down by bards called aoidoi before being written down.
- 04
Each of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey was divided by ancient scholars at Alexandria into 24 books, corresponding to the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet.
- 03
Ancient Greeks attributed both epics to a blind poet named Homer, though modern scholars debate whether a single author composed them.
- 02
The Iliad focuses on a few weeks during the Trojan War, while the Odyssey follows the decade-long journey of Odysseus returning home afterward.
- 01
Both the Iliad and the Odyssey are epic poems attributed to Homer and composed in dactylic hexameter, the traditional meter of ancient Greek epic poetry.