About the Author

Marble bust of a bearded man with curly hair.

Homer

(Eighteenth Century / 1700s)

Ancient Greek Poet

Homer is known for The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Homer is the legendary ancient Greek poet credited with writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. Living around the 8th century BCE, his epic stories are the foundation of Western literature. They tell tales of the Trojan War, brave heroes, and angry gods.

Who Was Homer?

Scholars are not sure if Homer was a real person. He is often pictured as a blind man with a beard. Instead of writing, he probably recited stories out loud. This is like how a rapper rhymes a beat without reading words from a page. Later, other people wrote his spoken poems down.

The Iliad

The Iliad is a story about the Trojan War. It focuses on Achilles, the best Greek fighter. He gets very mad at his boss. Because of his anger, he stops fighting for a long time. Without Achilles, the Greeks lose many battles against the Trojans. In the end, he comes back to fight the Trojan hero Hector.

The Odyssey

The Odyssey is about a Greek hero named Odysseus. He fights in the Trojan War and helps the Greeks win by using the famous Trojan Horse. Afterward, he tries to sail back home to his family. The trip takes him ten years. Along the way, he battles angry gods, dangerous monsters, and the one-eyed Cyclops.

Why Does Homer Matter?

Homer's stories taught ancient Greeks about bravery and how to behave. They also showed how humans and gods interact. Even today, modern movies and books still use these same adventure ideas.

The Iliad

The Iliad is an ancient Greek epic poem traditionally attributed to the blind poet Homer and was composed around 750 BCE to 650 BCE.

Core Context

Author: Homer (traditionally credited as a singular blind poet, though scholars debate if "Homer" represents a collective oral tradition).
Date composed: Late 8th or early 7th century BCE (750 – 650 BCE).
Setting: The Bronze Age (around 1200 BCE), during the final year of the 10-year Trojan War.
Form: An epic poem written in dactylic hexameter, spanning 24 books.

The Main Plot

The epic does not cover the whole Trojan War. It covers only a few weeks of the final year, focusing entirely on the rage of the Greek warrior Achilles.

The insult: The Greek commander Agamemnon dishonors Achilles by stealing his war prize, a captured woman named Briseis.
The strike: Enraged, Achilles refuses to fight, causing the Greek forces to suffer catastrophic losses against the Trojan prince Hector.
The catalyst: Achilles’ close friend, Patroclus, fights in Achilles' armor to save the Greeks but is killed by Hector.
The revenge: Blinded by grief, Achilles returns to battle, slaughters Hector, and desecrates his corpse.
The resolution: Trojan King Priam begs Achilles for his son's body. Achilles relents, closing the poem with Hector's funeral.

About the Movies

Film Adaptations of The Iliad

Several movies adapt Homer's The Iliad. The most famous is the 2004 Hollywood blockbuster Troy, which focuses on the human conflict of the Trojan War. For a more classic experience, check out the Italian epic The Fury of Achilles or the sweeping 1956 film Helen of Troy.

Here is a quick look at the original movies:

Troy (2004): Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Stars Brad Pitt as Achilles, Eric Bana as Hector, and Orlando Bloom as Paris. It turns the epic poem into a gritty, realistic action film and takes away the mythical gods.
The Fury of Achilles (L'ira di Achille) (1962): Directed by Marino Girolami. Stars Gordon Mitchell. This is an Italian "sword and sandal" movie. It stays closer to the original poem and includes the Greek gods.
Helen of Troy (1956): Directed by Robert Wise. Stars Rossana Podestà and Stanley Baker. It is a massive, colorful classic with huge battle scenes and a focus on the love story that starts the war.

Helen of Troy (1956)

Helen of Troy (1956) is a classic epic drama directed by Robert Wise. It follows Trojan Prince Paris, who washes up in Sparta while on a peace mission. He falls in love with the Greek Queen, Helen, not knowing who she is. Their forbidden romance sparks the legendary Trojan War.

Key Plot Points

The spark: Paris and Helen meet on the beach. They are instantly drawn to each other.
The escape: When Helen's husband, King Menelaus, discovers their connection, he plots to kill Paris. Helen warns Paris, and the two flee together to Troy.
The siege: The Greeks use this "abduction" as an excuse to declare war and launch their thousand ships. The war rages on for years until the Greeks build the famous Trojan Horse to breach the city walls.

Main Cast

Rossana Podestà as Helen of Troy
Jacques Sernas as Paris
Stanley Baker as the warrior Achilles
Niall MacGinnis as King Menelaus
Sir Cedric Hardwicke as King Priam of Troy
Brigitte Bardot in an early minor role as Andraste

Production Details

Filming: It was shot in Italy using grand, practical sets.
Style: The movie uses CinemaScope (a wide-screen movie format) and vibrant colors to make the battle scenes feel huge.
Director: Robert Wise is also famous for directing later classics like The Sound of Music.

Watch the original trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSe2OjMoOPk

Watch the IMDb trailer:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049301/

Watch the movie:

https://ok.ru/video/7432797555227

The Trojan Horse (1961)

The primary film adapting Homer's Iliad released in 1961 is the Italian sword-and-sandal epic, The Trojan Horse, (originally titled La guerra di Troia). Directed by Giorgio Ferroni, the movie retells the final year of the Trojan War from a Trojan perspective.

Cast and Crew

Steve Reeves as Aeneas
John Drew Barrymore as Odysseus (Ulysses)
Juliette Mayniel as Creusa
Arturo Dominici as Achilles
Director: Giorgio Ferroni

Plot Summary

The story picks up in the tenth year of the Trojan War, shortly after the death of Hector. Unlike purely Greek-focused adaptations of The Iliad, this film highlights the efforts of the Trojan hero Aeneas as he leads the defense of his city. It features large-scale battle scenes and culminates in the famous ruse of the giant wooden horse. The movie ends with the burning of Troy and Aeneas leading the survivors to found Rome.

Read about the movie:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trojan_Horse_(film)

Watch the movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EAMQvHG8XQ

Fury of Achilles (1962)

The Fury of Achilles is a 1962 Italian historical drama based on Homer's Iliad. Set in the Trojan War, it follows the bitter clash between the warrior Achilles and the Greek commander Agamemnon. This feud and Achilles' grief over his fallen friend fuel a legendary quest for vengeance.

Main Details

Director: Marino Girolami
Stars: Gordon Mitchell (as Achilles) and Jacques Bergerac (as Hector)
Release: 1962
Genre: Action, War, Drama

Plot

The story takes place in the final years of the Trojan War. The Greek army is tired and far from home. A massive fight breaks out between the hero Achilles and the Greek leader Agamemnon. Agamemnon steals Achilles' prize of honor. In a deep rage, Achilles refuses to fight anymore.

Without their best fighter, the Greeks suffer heavy losses. The Trojan champion Hector pushes the Greeks back to their ships. Achilles stays on the sidelines until a personal tragedy strikes. After his close friend is killed in battle, Achilles' grief turns into pure fury. He puts on his armor, rejoins the fight, and challenges Hector to a fatal duel.

Read about the movie:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fury_of_Achilles

Watch the movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT3zRafOXUU

Troy (2002/2004)

Troy is a 2004 (often searched as 2002/2003 during early development) historical epic directed by Wolfgang Petersen, based on Homer's Iliad. The film stars Brad Pitt (Achilles), Eric Bana (Hector), and Orlando Bloom (Paris). It follows the brutal Trojan War, sparked when Prince Paris steals Queen Helen of Sparta from her husband.

Plot Summary
Greedy King Agamemnon uses the kidnapping of Helen as an excuse to attack the walled city of Troy and claim the Aegean Sea. To win, he relies on Achilles, the world's greatest warrior, who fights for glory rather than for Agamemnon's politics. A brutal, ten-year siege follows. The war peaks with a legendary, tragic duel between Achilles and the honorable Trojan Prince Hector. Afterward, the Greeks fake a retreat and trick the Trojans into bringing a massive wooden horse inside their city walls, leading to the total destruction of Troy.

Box Office Details

Release Date: May 14, 2004
Budget: $175 million
Box Office: $497 million worldwide
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenplay: David Benioff
Unique Approach: The movie leaves out the Greek gods. It focuses entirely on human choices and real-world combat.

Read about the movie:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy_(film)

Watch the trailer:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0332452/

Watch the movie:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N4L38K?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

The Odyssey

The Odyssey is an ancient Greek epic poem traditionally attributed to the blind poet Homer and composed near the end of the 8th century BCE, roughly between 725 and 675 BCE. The narrative covers 24 books and operates on three parallel tracks: a son's search for his father, a hero's perilous struggle against gods and monsters, and a household fighting off internal ruin.

1. The Crisis in Ithaca (Books 1 – 4)

Ten years after the fall of Troy (and twenty years since Odysseus left home), the island kingdom of Ithaca believes its king is dead. A destructive mob of over a hundred suitors occupies the royal palace. They consume the estate's livestock and wealth while aggressively pressuring the loyal Queen Penelope to choose a new husband. Facilitated by the goddess Athena, Odysseus’s young son Telemachus journeys to the Greek mainland to secure news of his father from old war comrades, King Nestor and King Menelaus.

2. The Apologue: Monsters and Wanderings (Books 5 – 12)

The perspective shifts to Odysseus, who is trapped on the remote island of Ogygia by the infatuated nymph Calypso. Released under orders from Zeus, Odysseus sails away on a raft but is promptly shipwrecked by his divine enemy, the sea god Poseidon. He washes ashore in Phaeacia, where he recounts his traumatic ten-year journey backward.

The Cyclops: Odysseus blinds Polyphemus, a giant son of Poseidon, cursing his own journey home.
The Sorceress: Circe transforms his crew into swine, requiring divine intervention to outwit her.
The Underworld: Odysseus travels to the realm of the dead to seek prophecies from the blind seer Tiresias.
The Sirens and Scylla: The crew navigates past lethal singing Sirens and a devouring six-headed sea cliff monster.

3. Homecoming and Reckoning (Books 13 – 24)

The Phaeacians return Odysseus to Ithaca under a veil of secrecy. Athena disguises him as a filthy beggar so he can evaluate who remains loyal to his household. He reveals his identity to Telemachus, and together they plot an ambush. Penelope announces an archery contest: she will marry whoever can string Odysseus’s massive hunting bow and shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads. Every suitor fails. Still in disguise, Odysseus effortlessly strings the bow, fires the shot, and immediately turns the weapon on the suitors, executing them all alongside his son to reclaim his throne.