The great epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, were ascribed even in ancient times to an illustrious poet named Homer. Nevertheless, we have no real evidence as to when and where Homer was born. The predominant assumption is that Homer lived in the 8th century BCE in Ionia, on or near the coast of Asia Minor. He composed the great epics orally, since the Greek alphabet had not yet fully evolved during his lifetime, and only after his death were his works committed to writing, probably by other bards who had preserved Homer’s works. The ancient Greeks themselves, as far as we can ascertain, did not have any precise knowledge of his life, and yet, he occupied a most central position in their culture and education.
