Homer

Homer is the name given to the unitary author of the early Greek poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is now generally believed that they were composed by illiterate aoidoi (rhapsodes) in an oral tradition in the 8th or 7th century BC. Homer's works began the Western Canon and are universally praised for their poetic genius. By convention, the compositions are also often taken to initiate the period of Classical Antiquity.

During the early period of the Roman Empire, citizens were not considered educated unless they knew how to speak and read Greek as well as Latin. A common way to learn Greek, in all its complexities, was to study the works of Homer.