Homer

Nothing definite is known about the life of the ancient Greek epic poet Homer, but it is thought that he lived and died in the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. The epic poems The Iliad (the oldest work in Western literature) and The Odyssey are both attributed to Homer. Homer had an enormous influence on Greek culture and on the history of literature. Besides poems, Homer also wrote many speeches, which provided models for public speaking that were emulated throughout ancient Greece. Of all literary papyrus finds from Greece, fragments of Homer’s work account for nearly half.