5 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
Semi-legendary Greek poet credited with composing the Iliad and the Odyssey — the foundational texts of Western literature — whose epics about the Trojan War and its aftermath established the heroic code, the interplay of divine and human agency, and the narrative conventions that all subsequent Western epic has drawn on.
Homer's epic poem about the Trojan War — following Achilles's wrath, his withdrawal from battle after Agamemnon dishonors him, his return after Patroclus is killed by Hector, and his killing of Hector — the foundational text of Western literature and the supreme expression of the Greek heroic ideal.
Homer's epic poem following Odysseus's 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War — through encounters with the Cyclops, Circe, the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis — the counterpart to the Iliad's heroism: the Odyssey's hero wins by cunning rather than martial excellence.
Homer's epic poem about the Trojan War — specifically the wrath of Achilles and its consequences — depicting the siege of Troy through the lens of divine politics, individual heroism, and the pathos of mortality — the foundational text of Western literature.
Homer's ancient Greek epic poem following Odysseus's 10-year journey home from Troy — encountering Cyclops, Sirens, Circe, and the underworld — which established the quest narrative and the archetype of the clever, enduring hero as templates for Western literature.