Question

Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey? What happened in the stories?

A) Homer wrote both epics, with the Iliad narrating the Trojan War and the Odyssey detailing Odysseus' journey home.
B) Euripides wrote the Iliad, and Sophocles wrote the Odyssey, both detailing the adventures of Greek heroes.
C) Herodotus wrote the Iliad, and Thucydides wrote the Odyssey, both describing historical events in Greece.
D) Aristophanes wrote both epics, portraying comedic events in ancient Greece.

Answer 1

Homer wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey, with the Iliad narrating the Trojan War and the Odyssey detailing Odysseus' journey home.

Step-by-step explanation:

Homer's epic poems - The Iliad and The Odyssey - were written down in this period after being recited in oral form by traveling singers for centuries. They purported to recount the deeds of great heroes from the Mycenaean age, in the process providing a rich tapestry of information about ancient Greek values, beliefs, and practices to later cultures. Both poems celebrated arete - a Greek virtue which can be translated in English as “excellence" and "success," but must be understood as a moral characteristic as much as a physical or mental one. Throughout the epics, men and women struggle to overcome both one another and their own limitations, while grappling with the limitations imposed by nature, chance, and the will of the gods.