Treasures Of Troy King Priam's Treasure Of Iliad's Trojan War MP4 DVD
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Priam's Treasure, The Grand Golden Cache Of Mythic Troy, Site Of The Ancient Greek Bard Homer's Storied City Of Ilion, Home To Troy's King Priam And The Abdicted Spartan Queen Helen Of Troy, "The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships / And Burnt The Topless Towers Of Ilium" During The Trojan War -- Was It Really Priam's Gold As Its Discoverer, Pioneer Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, Said It Was? And What Was The Treasure's Own Homeric Odyssey From The Royal Museums Of Berlin Complex To Be Secreted In The Berlin Zoo's "Zoo Tower" Anti-Aircraft Blockhouse, Only To Disappear During The Battle Of Berlin For A Full Half Century? Two Epic Tales Of Two Great Wars, Presented In The Highest DVD Quality MPG Video Format Of 9.1 MBPS As An MP4 Video Download Or Archival Quality All Regions Format DVD! (Color, 1993, 24 Minutes.) #HeinrichSchliemann #Troy #AncientTroy #Ilion #Priam #Priam'sTreasure #Archaeology #Archeology #Iliad #TheIliad #Odyssey #Homer #Odysseus #EpicCycle #Turkey #Dardanelles #Hellespont #TrojanWar #Achaeans #MycenaeanGreece #MycenaeanCivilization #BronzeAge #Hisarlik #TroyVIIa #AncientGreeks #AncientGreece #GreekCivilization #AncientGreekCivilization #History #AncientHistory #MilitaryHistory #BattleOfBerlin #ZooTower #Berlin #EasternFrontWorldWarII #EasternFrontWWII #GreatPatrioticWar #EuropeanCivilWar #SecondEuropeanWar #WorldWarII #WWII #WW2 #WorldWarTwo #WorldWar2 #SecondWorldWar #WesternCulture #WesternCivilization #OccidentalCulture #WesternWorld #WesternSociety #WesternTradition #StoryOfCivilization #History #WorldHistory #Mythology #MP4 #VideoDownload #DVD
Priam's Treasure is a cache of gold and other artifacts discovered by classical archaeologists Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik on the northwestern coast of modern Turkey. The majority of the artifacts are currently in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Schliemann claimed the site to be that of Homeric Troy, and assigned the artifacts to the Homeric Priam, King Of Troy. This assignment is now thought to be a result of Schliemann's zeal to find sites and objects mentioned in the Homeric epics which take place in what is now northwestern Turkey. At the time the stratigraphy at Troy had not been solidified, which was done subsequently by the archaeologist Carl Blegen. The layer in which Priam's Treasure was alleged to have been found was assigned to Troy II, whereas Priam would have been king of Troy VI or VII, occupied hundreds of years later. Schliemann traded some treasure to the government of the Ottoman Empire in exchange for permission to dig at Troy again. It is located in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. The rest was acquired in 1881 by the Royal Museums of Berlin (Konigliche Museen zu Berlin). After the capture of the Zoo Tower by the Red Army during the Battle in Berlin, Professor Wilhelm Unverzagt turned the treasure over to the Soviet Art Committee, saving it from plunder and division. The artefacts were then flown to Moscow. During the Cold War, the Soviet government denied any knowledge of the fate of Priam's Treasure. Rumours abounded: that was in a vault in Leningrad (closest to the truth), that it was secretly owned by an American millionaire, and that the hoard had been melted down to fund a Nazi pension fund. Finally, in 1994 the Pushkin Museum admitted it possessed the Trojan gold. Russia keeps what the West terms the looted art as compensation for the destruction of Russian cities and looting of Russian museums by Nazi Germany in World War II. A 1998 Russian law, the Federal Law on Cultural Valuables Displaced to the USSR as a Result of the Second World War and Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation, legalizes the looting in Germany as compensation and prevents Russian authorities from proceeding to restitutions.
Heinrich Schliemann, German-Italian pioneer archaeologist, businessman and author, advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeological excavator of Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites of Mycenae and Tiryns, whose work provided proof that Homer's Iliad reflects historical events (January 6, 1822 - December 26, 1890) was born Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann in Neubukow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Confederation. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains, the first ever attempted, has since been criticized as a destructive method, causing damage to significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy. Heinrich Schliemann dies of cholesteatoma (a Keratin cyst in or about the middle ear) in a Naples, Kingdom Of Italy hotel room after he had collapsed into a coma on Christmas Day. His corpse was transported by friends to the First Cemetery in Athens, Greece. He is interred in a mausoleum shaped like a temple erected in ancient Greek style, designed by Ernst Ziller in the form of an amphiprostyle temple on top of a tall base. The frieze circling the outside of the mausoleum shows Schliemann conducting the excavations at Mycenae and other sites.
Troy (Hittite: Truwisa/Taruisa; Ancient Greek: Troia; Latin: Troia) or Ilion (Hittite: Wilusa; Ancient Greek: I_lion) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destination, and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998. Troy was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt during its 4000 years of occupation. As a result, the site is divided into nine archaeological layers, each corresponding to a city built on the ruins of the previous. Archaeologists refer to these layers using Roman numerals, Troy I being the earliest and Troy IX being the latest. Troy was first settled around 3600 BC and grew into a small fortified city around 3000 BC (Troy I). Among the early layers, Troy II is notable for its wealth and imposing architecture. During the Late Bronze Age, Troy was called Wilusa and was a vassal of the Hittite Empire. The final layers (Troy VIII-IX) were Greek and Roman cities which served as tourist attractions and religious centers because of their link to mythic tradition. The site was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann and Frank Calvert starting in 1871. Under the ruins of the classical city, they found the remains of numerous earlier settlements. Several of these layers resemble literary depictions of Troy, leading some scholars to conclude that there is a kernel of truth underlying the legends. Subsequent excavations by others have added to the modern understanding of the site, though the exact relationship between myth and reality remains unclear and there is no definitive evidence for a Greek attack on the city.
The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II - XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. By the mid-nineteenth century AD, both the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical, but in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was at what is now Hisarlik in modern-day Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars. The historicity of the Trojan War remains an open question. Many scholars believe that there is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age. Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the twelfth or eleventh century BC, often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 1194-1184 BC, which roughly correspond to archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VII, and the Late Bronze Age collapse.
The Iliad (Ancient Greek: Ilias, "[A Poem] About Ilion (Troy)") is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version/ The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature and is a central part of the Epic Cycle. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the war's final weeks. In particular, it traces the anger of Achilles, a celebrated warrior, from a fierce quarrel between him and King Agamemnon, to the death of the Trojan prince Hector. The narrative moves between wide battleground scenes and more personal interactions. The Iliad and the Odyssey were likely composed in Homeric Greek, a literary mixture of Ionic Greek and other dialects, around the late 8th or early 7th century BC. Homer's authorship was infrequently questioned in antiquity, although the poem's composition has been extensively debated in contemporary scholarship, involving debates such as whether the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently, and whether they survived via an oral or also written tradition. The poem was performed by professional reciters of Homer known as rhapsodes at Greek festivals such as the Panathenaia. Critical themes in the poem include kleos (glory), pride, fate, and wrath. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the poem also contains instances of comedy and laughter. The poem is frequently described as a "heroic" epic, centred around issues such as war, violence, and the heroic code. It contains detailed descriptions of ancient warfare, including battle tactics and equipment. However, it also explores the social and domestic side of ancient culture in scenes behind the walls of Troy and in the Greek camp. Additionally, the Olympian gods play a major role in the poem, aiding their favoured warriors on the battlefield and intervening in personal disputes. Their anthropomorphic characterisation in the poem humanised them for Ancient Greek audiences, giving a concrete sense of their cultural and religious tradition. In terms of formal style, the poem's formulae, use of similes, and epithets are often explored by scholars.
The Odyssey (Ancient Greek: Odysseia) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the Iliad, the Odyssey is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to contend with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. The Odyssey was first composed in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC; by the mid-6th century BC, it had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer's authorship was taken as true, but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently, as part of long oral traditions. Given widespread illiteracy, the poem was performed for an audience by an aoidos or rhapsode. Key themes in the epic include the ideas of nostos ("return", homecoming), wandering, xenia ("guest-friendship"), testing, and omens. Scholars discuss the narrative prominence of certain groups within the poem, such as women and slaves, who have larger roles than in other works of ancient literature. This focus is especially remarkable when contrasted with the Iliad, which centres the exploits of soldiers and kings during the Trojan War. The Odyssey is regarded as one of the most significant works of the Western canon. The first English translation of the Odyssey was in the 16th century. Adaptations and re-imaginings continue to be produced across a wide variety of media. In 2018, when BBC Culture polled experts around the world to find literature's most enduring narrative, the Odyssey topped the list.
Homer (Ancient Greek: Homeros), possibly born c. 8th Century BCE, was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most influential authors in history. The Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The epics depict man's struggle, the Odyssey especially so, as Odysseus perseveres through the punishment of the gods. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language that shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for their tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter. The Homeric poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece". In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film. The question of by whom, when, where, and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars generally regard the two poems as the works of separate authors. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.
Priam's Treasure, The Grand Golden Cache Of Mythic Troy, Site Of The Ancient Greek Bard Homer's Storied City Of Ilion, Home To Troy's King Priam And The Abdicted Spartan Queen Helen Of Troy, "The Face That Launched A Thousand Ships / And Burnt The Topless Towers Of Ilium" During The Trojan War -- Was It Really Priam's Gold As Its Discoverer, Pioneer Archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, Said It Was? And What Was The Treasure's Own Homeric Odyssey From The Royal Museums Of Berlin Complex To Be Secreted In The Berlin Zoo's "Zoo Tower" Anti-Aircraft Blockhouse, Only To Disappear During The Battle Of Berlin For A Full Half Century? Two Epic Tales Of Two Great Wars, Presented In The Highest DVD Quality MPG Video Format Of 9.1 MBPS As An MP4 Video Download Or Archival Quality All Regions Format DVD! (Color, 1993, 24 Minutes.) #HeinrichSchliemann #Troy #AncientTroy #Ilion #Priam #Priam'sTreasure #Archaeology #Archeology #Iliad #TheIliad #Odyssey #Homer #Odysseus #EpicCycle #Turkey #Dardanelles #Hellespont #TrojanWar #Achaeans #MycenaeanGreece #MycenaeanCivilization #BronzeAge #Hisarlik #TroyVIIa #AncientGreeks #AncientGreece #GreekCivilization #AncientGreekCivilization #History #AncientHistory #MilitaryHistory #BattleOfBerlin #ZooTower #Berlin #EasternFrontWorldWarII #EasternFrontWWII #GreatPatrioticWar #EuropeanCivilWar #SecondEuropeanWar #WorldWarII #WWII #WW2 #WorldWarTwo #WorldWar2 #SecondWorldWar #WesternCulture #WesternCivilization #OccidentalCulture #WesternWorld #WesternSociety #WesternTradition #StoryOfCivilization #History #WorldHistory #Mythology #MP4 #VideoDownload #DVD
Priam's Treasure is a cache of gold and other artifacts discovered by classical archaeologists Frank Calvert and Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik on the northwestern coast of modern Turkey. The majority of the artifacts are currently in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. Schliemann claimed the site to be that of Homeric Troy, and assigned the artifacts to the Homeric Priam, King Of Troy. This assignment is now thought to be a result of Schliemann's zeal to find sites and objects mentioned in the Homeric epics which take place in what is now northwestern Turkey. At the time the stratigraphy at Troy had not been solidified, which was done subsequently by the archaeologist Carl Blegen. The layer in which Priam's Treasure was alleged to have been found was assigned to Troy II, whereas Priam would have been king of Troy VI or VII, occupied hundreds of years later. Schliemann traded some treasure to the government of the Ottoman Empire in exchange for permission to dig at Troy again. It is located in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum. The rest was acquired in 1881 by the Royal Museums of Berlin (Konigliche Museen zu Berlin). After the capture of the Zoo Tower by the Red Army during the Battle in Berlin, Professor Wilhelm Unverzagt turned the treasure over to the Soviet Art Committee, saving it from plunder and division. The artefacts were then flown to Moscow. During the Cold War, the Soviet government denied any knowledge of the fate of Priam's Treasure. Rumours abounded: that was in a vault in Leningrad (closest to the truth), that it was secretly owned by an American millionaire, and that the hoard had been melted down to fund a Nazi pension fund. Finally, in 1994 the Pushkin Museum admitted it possessed the Trojan gold. Russia keeps what the West terms the looted art as compensation for the destruction of Russian cities and looting of Russian museums by Nazi Germany in World War II. A 1998 Russian law, the Federal Law on Cultural Valuables Displaced to the USSR as a Result of the Second World War and Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation, legalizes the looting in Germany as compensation and prevents Russian authorities from proceeding to restitutions.
Heinrich Schliemann, German-Italian pioneer archaeologist, businessman and author, advocate of the historicity of places mentioned in the works of Homer and an archaeological excavator of Hisarlik, now presumed to be the site of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites of Mycenae and Tiryns, whose work provided proof that Homer's Iliad reflects historical events (January 6, 1822 - December 26, 1890) was born Johann Ludwig Heinrich Julius Schliemann in Neubukow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, German Confederation. Schliemann's excavation of nine levels of archaeological remains, the first ever attempted, has since been criticized as a destructive method, causing damage to significant historical artifacts, including the level that is believed to be the historical Troy. Heinrich Schliemann dies of cholesteatoma (a Keratin cyst in or about the middle ear) in a Naples, Kingdom Of Italy hotel room after he had collapsed into a coma on Christmas Day. His corpse was transported by friends to the First Cemetery in Athens, Greece. He is interred in a mausoleum shaped like a temple erected in ancient Greek style, designed by Ernst Ziller in the form of an amphiprostyle temple on top of a tall base. The frieze circling the outside of the mausoleum shows Schliemann conducting the excavations at Mycenae and other sites.
Troy (Hittite: Truwisa/Taruisa; Ancient Greek: Troia; Latin: Troia) or Ilion (Hittite: Wilusa; Ancient Greek: I_lion) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destination, and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998. Troy was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt during its 4000 years of occupation. As a result, the site is divided into nine archaeological layers, each corresponding to a city built on the ruins of the previous. Archaeologists refer to these layers using Roman numerals, Troy I being the earliest and Troy IX being the latest. Troy was first settled around 3600 BC and grew into a small fortified city around 3000 BC (Troy I). Among the early layers, Troy II is notable for its wealth and imposing architecture. During the Late Bronze Age, Troy was called Wilusa and was a vassal of the Hittite Empire. The final layers (Troy VIII-IX) were Greek and Roman cities which served as tourist attractions and religious centers because of their link to mythic tradition. The site was excavated by Heinrich Schliemann and Frank Calvert starting in 1871. Under the ruins of the classical city, they found the remains of numerous earlier settlements. Several of these layers resemble literary depictions of Troy, leading some scholars to conclude that there is a kernel of truth underlying the legends. Subsequent excavations by others have added to the modern understanding of the site, though the exact relationship between myth and reality remains unclear and there is no definitive evidence for a Greek attack on the city.
The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II - XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid. The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. By the mid-nineteenth century AD, both the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical, but in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was at what is now Hisarlik in modern-day Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars. The historicity of the Trojan War remains an open question. Many scholars believe that there is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age. Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the twelfth or eleventh century BC, often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 1194-1184 BC, which roughly correspond to archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VII, and the Late Bronze Age collapse.
The Iliad (Ancient Greek: Ilias, "[A Poem] About Ilion (Troy)") is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version/ The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature and is a central part of the Epic Cycle. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the war's final weeks. In particular, it traces the anger of Achilles, a celebrated warrior, from a fierce quarrel between him and King Agamemnon, to the death of the Trojan prince Hector. The narrative moves between wide battleground scenes and more personal interactions. The Iliad and the Odyssey were likely composed in Homeric Greek, a literary mixture of Ionic Greek and other dialects, around the late 8th or early 7th century BC. Homer's authorship was infrequently questioned in antiquity, although the poem's composition has been extensively debated in contemporary scholarship, involving debates such as whether the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently, and whether they survived via an oral or also written tradition. The poem was performed by professional reciters of Homer known as rhapsodes at Greek festivals such as the Panathenaia. Critical themes in the poem include kleos (glory), pride, fate, and wrath. Despite being predominantly known for its tragic and serious themes, the poem also contains instances of comedy and laughter. The poem is frequently described as a "heroic" epic, centred around issues such as war, violence, and the heroic code. It contains detailed descriptions of ancient warfare, including battle tactics and equipment. However, it also explores the social and domestic side of ancient culture in scenes behind the walls of Troy and in the Greek camp. Additionally, the Olympian gods play a major role in the poem, aiding their favoured warriors on the battlefield and intervening in personal disputes. Their anthropomorphic characterisation in the poem humanised them for Ancient Greek audiences, giving a concrete sense of their cultural and religious tradition. In terms of formal style, the poem's formulae, use of similes, and epithets are often explored by scholars.
The Odyssey (Ancient Greek: Odysseia) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the Iliad, the Odyssey is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to contend with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. The Odyssey was first composed in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC; by the mid-6th century BC, it had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer's authorship was taken as true, but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed independently, as part of long oral traditions. Given widespread illiteracy, the poem was performed for an audience by an aoidos or rhapsode. Key themes in the epic include the ideas of nostos ("return", homecoming), wandering, xenia ("guest-friendship"), testing, and omens. Scholars discuss the narrative prominence of certain groups within the poem, such as women and slaves, who have larger roles than in other works of ancient literature. This focus is especially remarkable when contrasted with the Iliad, which centres the exploits of soldiers and kings during the Trojan War. The Odyssey is regarded as one of the most significant works of the Western canon. The first English translation of the Odyssey was in the 16th century. Adaptations and re-imaginings continue to be produced across a wide variety of media. In 2018, when BBC Culture polled experts around the world to find literature's most enduring narrative, the Odyssey topped the list.
Homer (Ancient Greek: Homeros), possibly born c. 8th Century BCE, was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most influential authors in history. The Iliad centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The Odyssey chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The epics depict man's struggle, the Odyssey especially so, as Odysseus perseveres through the punishment of the gods. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language that shows a mixture of features of the Ionic and Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems were originally transmitted orally. Despite being predominantly known for their tragic and serious themes, the Homeric poems also contain instances of comedy and laughter. The Homeric poems shaped aspects of ancient Greek culture and education, fostering ideals of heroism, glory, and honor. To Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece". In Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, Virgil refers to Homer as "Poet sovereign", king of all poets; in the preface to his translation of the Iliad, Alexander Pope acknowledges that Homer has always been considered the "greatest of poets". From antiquity to the present day, Homeric epics have inspired many famous works of literature, music, art, and film. The question of by whom, when, where, and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed continues to be debated. Scholars generally regard the two poems as the works of separate authors. It is thought that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BCE. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey. Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary.