O Brother where Art Thou and Odyssey Parallels: Exploring Homer’s Mystique

The Enigmatic Existence of Homer

There are many influential writers. Writers like Shakespeare, William Faulkner, and Emily Dickinson. But the further back you go, the more influential the writers are. They have made paths for our education and culture. Homer is one of these writers. He has had a significant impact on our education and culture with his poems, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. Although most historians agree that Homer was very influential, many doubt his existence.

There is a lot we don’t know about Homer, which causes people to doubt his existence, so much so it is considered one of the greatest literary mysteries, according to Biography.

The Homeric question was created by Friedrich August Wolf, and it is whether Homer was a real person or not (Nicolson 41). Many historians speculate there were multiple people who contributed to the writing of the Iliad and the Odyssey, others think he was a woman, and some even think he was the son of a goddess.

Homer’s Life: Speculations and Reconstructions

His birth is placed around the 9th and 8th century BCE. Many historians placed his birth around the time of the Trojan Wars based on the accuracy of events in the Iliad. Others think he was born much later because of his poetic style. Herodotus placed him centuries before him, around 850 BCE.

The location of Homer’s birthplace is still not confirmed. It is speculated to be Ionia, based on the predominantly Ionic dialect used in the poems, although multiple cities have claimed to be his birthplace, including Smyrna, Ithaca, Thessaly, and Egypt (Nicolson 53). There are manuscripts that say he lived in Chios or on the island of Ios in the Cyclades. Scholars insist Homer was familiar with the plain of Troy due to the accuracy of the geography in the Iliad. Due to the local references in the Iliad, scholars have concluded the author must have lived in an East Aegean environment (Britannica).

Many people have tried to recreate Homer’s life. Historians believe he hinted at what his life was like through a character in the Odyssey, Demodokos. In the poem, Demodokos is a blind poet. People have used this character to determine what Homer looked like. They built statues with thick, curly hair, a beard, and blank eyes to represent his blindness. According to Why Homer Matters, “Homer” means “blind” in Greek and was most likely a name given to him after he became blind. His real name was Melesigenes (Nicolson 55).

Contrasting Theories: The Girl and The Son of Calliope

Due to the lack of information we have on him, historians and scholars have started to come up with their own theories about Homer. According to Why Homer Matters, Samuel Butler thought the author of the poems was a girl. She thought this because the writer was “so exquisitely right” in describing “every single one of [her] women” (Nicolson 52). She also thought the writer was a girl due to “girlish” mistakes made in the poems. One example is thinking a ship has a rudder at both ends in the Odyssey. This mistake is made twice in book 9, lines 483 and 540 (Nicolson 52)

Another theory made by Plutarch is Homer was the son of Calliope. Calliope is the muse of epic poetry and the goddess of song and eloquence (Theoi). In his book Parallel Lives, Plutarch says, “for you were not born of no mortal mother, but of Calliope.” He also says Homer was not born on earth, and his ancestors came from “great heaven” (Nicolson 54).

How Is “O Brother” Like “The Odyssey” and Homer’s Enduring Influence

The most common theory is the poems were written by different people. This theory is based on the difference in style and subtle differences in vocabulary between the two poems that indicate they were written a century apart. The way the poems were written also differs. According to Biography, the Iliad is credited to a poet at the height of his powers, while the Odyssey is credited to an elderly Homer. The genres also differ between the poems. The Iliad is a heroic story, while the Odyssey is picturesque.

Whether these theories are true or not, we can all agree whoever wrote these poems had a profound influence on Western culture. According to Britannica, the Iliad, and the Odyssey had a deep impact on the Renaissance culture of Italy and provided the basis of Greek education and culture throughout the classical age. Homer was very important to the Greeks and their culture because he included gods and goddesses, something that was very important to them, in his stories.

Homer’s poems are still influencing things today. They helped us understand what life and society were like during that time. They have also been the inspiration for books and movies like the Coen Brothers’ film, “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and J.R.R Tolkien’s book, “The Fall of Gondolin.” In his book Paideia: The Ideals of Greek Culture, Werner Jaeger says, “Plato tells us that in his time many believed that Homer was the educator of all of Greece. Since then, Homer’s Influence has spread far beyond the frontiers of Hellas [Greece]…” (Biography). According to Biography, Homer also influenced many writers after him, including Shakespeare, John Keats, Walt Whitman, and James Joyce, with his use of similes and metaphors.

In conclusion, we will never truly know whether Homer existed or not due to the lack of information we have on him. One thing we do know is the impact his poems had on our education and culture. So, while we may never know the truth about Homer, his impact will never be forgotten.

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