Homeric context:
Literary context
The poems were composed by a Greek who lived in Ionia - west coast of turkey- in 725-700
bc
Guy is called homer
Because of demodocus, bard from book 8 of odyssey, is blind people believe homer was
blind
Blindness is often associated with divine inspiration, gift from the gods
Epics are composed in dactylic hexameters, each line of a hexameter has six feet. Each foot
can be made up of one long and two short vowel sounds or two long vowel sounds, allows
vary of pace
Context
The poems are set during the trojan war.
Excavations at hisarlik' troy' show the city to have been destroyed by a fire in 1200 bc but
this cannot be taken as evidence that the war homer described
The culture of the mycenaeans florished and was based on rich palace centres, which is the
home of agamemnon.
The excavations of schliemann in the late 19th century show the riches of the mycenaeans
The setting of the epics is in the bronxe age mycenaean period
However there are references to materials and practices which being to homers own times
such as iron, bronze, cremating bodies and warriors carrying 2 spears instead of one.
Phoenician traders are mentioned in both epics
Trying to work out a date for homer involves forensic examination of evidence
Its agreed that the Iliad was composed before the odyssey
Oral tradition
The Iliad and the odyssey are results of hundreds Of years of tales being transmitted by
bards.
Homer expected that his listeners were already familiar of stories about the trojan war
Primary epic- memorised originally and passed on through generations, oral traditions
Secondary epic- written down first read out after
Hexameter rhythm
Rheteorical technique- long speeches pursuasive and impressive
Writing began in Greece in C.750 BC
Literary context
The poems were composed by a Greek who lived in Ionia - west coast of turkey- in 725-700
bc
Guy is called homer
Because of demodocus, bard from book 8 of odyssey, is blind people believe homer was
blind
Blindness is often associated with divine inspiration, gift from the gods
Epics are composed in dactylic hexameters, each line of a hexameter has six feet. Each foot
can be made up of one long and two short vowel sounds or two long vowel sounds, allows
vary of pace
Context
The poems are set during the trojan war.
Excavations at hisarlik' troy' show the city to have been destroyed by a fire in 1200 bc but
this cannot be taken as evidence that the war homer described
The culture of the mycenaeans florished and was based on rich palace centres, which is the
home of agamemnon.
The excavations of schliemann in the late 19th century show the riches of the mycenaeans
The setting of the epics is in the bronxe age mycenaean period
However there are references to materials and practices which being to homers own times
such as iron, bronze, cremating bodies and warriors carrying 2 spears instead of one.
Phoenician traders are mentioned in both epics
Trying to work out a date for homer involves forensic examination of evidence
Its agreed that the Iliad was composed before the odyssey
Oral tradition
The Iliad and the odyssey are results of hundreds Of years of tales being transmitted by
bards.
Homer expected that his listeners were already familiar of stories about the trojan war
Primary epic- memorised originally and passed on through generations, oral traditions
Secondary epic- written down first read out after
Hexameter rhythm
Rheteorical technique- long speeches pursuasive and impressive
Writing began in Greece in C.750 BC
