The content and background of Homer’s epic poem

Category: Education/Academic/Examination

Problem description:

Please give a brief introduction, thank you

Analysis:

What is an epic? There have always been two explanations. One is that epics refer to long narrative works of ancient myths, legends and heroic deeds recorded in the form of poetry during human childhood. They have a grand structure and are full of fantasy and mythological colors; another explanation is that epics refer to a history that reflects a history. It is a narrative work of historical events in which all the people participated in the period and the multi-faceted lives of the people. Both of these characteristics are present in Homeric epics. It is not only a narrative poem of human childhood, full of fantasy and mythology, but also reflects the social life and ideological sentiments of all Greeks. It is an encyclopedia of the lives of the ancient Greek people. China’s poetic tradition is lyrical poetry, and there are no epic works like Homer’s epics or medieval heroic epics. The Daya in the Book of Songs has five chapters that record the history from the birth of Houji to King Wu’s destruction of the Shang Dynasty. It can be said to be the earliest in China. The embryonic form of narrative poetry or the prototype of epic poetry, but they cannot be compared with Western epics. For more than two thousand years, Homer's epic has been regarded as a model of European narrative poetry and a model of ancient epic poetry.

Ancient Greek literature left us two great epics - "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey", which were produced between the ninth and eighth centuries BC and are the earliest in the history of European literature. Important works of morality. It is said that the epic poem was compiled by a blind poet named Homer based on the epic short songs circulated in Asia Minor, so it is called Homer's epic poem.

There has been endless debate for thousands of years as to whether Homer, the author of the epic poem, was the real person. There were seven places in ancient Greece vying to be Homer’s hometown, so much so that a modern writer wrote two poems about it. Irony on this matter: "Homer would be satisfied if he could rob and die in the seven cities, but Homer was wandering and begging in these seven cities." Apart from the epic poem, there is no earlier record of Homer's life. According to ancient legend, Homer was a blind musician, which is quite possible. Professional musicians in ancient times were often blind. This is because blind people cannot choose other professions and have to rely on memory and singing lyrics to maintain their lives. Homer lived in the ninth century BC and lived in eastern Greece near Asia Minor. His status and identity were similar to the old musician he described in Volume 8 of the Odyssey. These blind old artists often brought their harps and went into noble halls to sing poems praising heroic deeds. Homer's epic collection based on folk oral creations was passed down from generation to generation. It was not written down until the sixth century BC. In the third to second centuries BC, Alexandrian scholars compiled both epics into twenty-four volumes. This Is Us The final version of Homer’s epic poem that we saw today.

Homer’s epic description of the Trojan War is divided into two levels. The human battlefield is the Greeks against the Trojans, and the heavenly battlefield is the gods on Mount Olympus each supporting one side. The gods represented by Hera and Athena supported the Greeks, and the gods represented by Apollo and Aphrodite supported the Trojans. Although there is a war going on between heaven and earth, the main part of it is about human beings.

The Trojan War lasted for 10 years. In the end, the Greek coalition adopted Odysseus' Trojan horse strategy, hiding the army in a huge wooden horse, then pretending to retreat and abandoning the wooden horse on the beach. The Trojans mistook the Trojan horse for a trophy and pulled it back into the city. In the middle of the night, the Greek soldiers hiding in the wooden horse came out, cooperated inside and outside, captured Troy, and looted the entire city.