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Homeric Greek is the form of the Greek language that was used in the Iliad, Odyssey, and Homeric Hymns. It is a literary dialect of Ancient Greek consisting mainly of an archaic form of Ionic , with some Aeolic forms, a few from Arcadocypriot , and a written form influenced by Attic . [ 1 ]
Homer (/ ˈ h oʊ m ər /; Ancient Greek: Ὅμηρος [hómɛːros], Hómēros; 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. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history. [2]
The Homeric Hymns (Ancient Greek: Ὁμηρικοὶ ὕμνοι, romanised: Homērikoì húmnoi) are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram. [a] The hymns praise deities of the Greek pantheon and retell mythological stories, often involving a deity's birth, their acceptance among the gods on Mount Olympus, or the establishment of their cult.
A characteristic of Homer's style is the use of epithets, as in "rosy-fingered" Dawn or "swift-footed" Achilles.Epithets are used because of the constraints of the dactylic hexameter (i.e., it is convenient to have a stockpile of metrically fitting phrases to add to a name) and because of the oral transmission of the poems; they are mnemonic aids to the singer and the audience alike.
Calchas (Κάλχας), a powerful Greek prophet and omen reader, who guided the Greeks through the war with his predictions. Diomedes (Διομήδης, also called "Tydides"), the youngest of the Achaean commanders, famous for wounding two gods, Aphrodite and Ares. Helen (Ἑλένη) the wife of Menelaus, the King of Sparta. Paris visits ...
The Iliad and the Odyssey were likely written down in Homeric Greek, a literary mixture of Ionic Greek and other dialects, probably around the late 8th or early 7th century BC. Homer's authorship was infrequently questioned in antiquity , but contemporary scholarship predominantly assumes that the Iliad and the Odyssey were composed ...
In a similar vein, the word "Homer" may simply be a carryover from the Mediterranean seafarers' vocabulary adoption of the Semitic word base ’MR, which means "say" or "tell". "Homer" may simply be the Mediterranean version of "saga". Pseudo-Plutarch suggests that the name comes from a word meaning "to follow" and another meaning "blind". [17]
Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance .