Join us as we explore the life and legacy of Homer, the ancient Greek poet widely credited with authoring the Iliad and the Odyssey, two foundational works of Western literature. In this episode, we examine the "Homeric Question," an enduring academic debate concerning whether a single author composed these epics or if they were the product of a long oral tradition,. We discuss ancient biographies that depicted Homer as a blind bard from Ionia, contrasting these legends with modern scholarly views that often regard his single authorship as a fictional narrative,.

We also dive into the texts themselves, analyzing how the Iliad centers on the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles during the Trojan War, while the Odyssey chronicles Odysseus’s ten-year struggle to return home. You will learn about the "Oral- ...