Greek writers
Homer
Homer was a Greek writer, poet and singer. He was born in the town of Smyrna, but the year of his birth is unknown. He died on the island of Ios, but it is also unknown when.
Homer is considered to be the oldest Greek poet and is also credited with the authorship of Ilias and Odysseus.
There is a long-standing dispute as to whether Homer actually existed. Currently, scholars are inclined to believe that the Odyssey is younger than Ilias and comes from an older oral tradition dating back to the Archaic period (c. 8th century BC). If Homer is a historical figure, he lived between 1200 and 700 BC.
Homer was supposed to have been born an illegitimate child and his mother was supposed to have been Kreitheis. Homer himself is always depicted as a blind old man.
The basic language of his works is the Ionic of the archaic period, sometimes permeated by examples in the Aeolic dialect. The dating of the works is very difficult, as the texts can be interpreted variously as references to a particular historical event. Therefore, some sources refer to the events described as occurring in the second half of the 8th century BC and others to an event in the 7th century BC. However, most traces point to the second half of the 8th century.
Another highly disputed work is the Homeric Hymns. This is a work of 33 poems praising the gods. The most famous of these are the Hymn to Apollo and the Hymn to Aphrodite.