The Odyssey

Although originally written in heroic verse, it has been called the first novel because of its exciting use of narrative and the effective use of flashbacks to heighten the dramatic action. While The Iliad is a collection of mythical material that grew up about an event that seems actually to have occurred toward the end of the Mycenean era, The Odyssey is largely a collection of folk tales, many of which are easily recognizable in the legends of other lands.

We know very little about the author of The Odyssey. Most scholars agree that Homer was Greek. According to legend, he was blind, though scholarly evidence can neither confirm nor contradict the point. No one, however, disputes the fact that The Odyssey (and The Iliad as well) arose from oral tradition. Stock phrases, types of episodes, and repeated phrases -- such as "early, rose-fingered dawn" -- bear the mark of epic storytelling. Scholars agree, too, that this tale of the Greek hero Odysseus's journey and adventures as he returned home from Troy to Ithaca is a work of the greatest historical significance and, indeed, one of the foundations of Western literature.