The Greek Way

Who is Homer from The Greek Way and what is their importance?

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Homer's writings essentially mark the beginning of Greek literature. His two epic poems, "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" were written in about 800 B.C.. They tell the story of the Trojan War (believed to have occurred around 1100 B.C.). These stories present the Greek Pantheon of gods and goddesses, the heroes of early Greece and the interaction of humans with the gods to work out their destiny. All later Greek literature owes a debt to these poems. They present the classical understanding of heroism as well as attempting to explore the human condition. The two poems together tell the story of the war, of the siege of Troy by the Greeks and the story of Achilles, the hero. Odysseus is credited with the scheme to breach the walls of Troy with the Trojan Horse, but he is condemned by the god Poseidon to wander for ten years before he is allowed to return home to his family.