THE GREATEST EVER POET/PLAYWRIGHT/AUTHOR

In my opinion Homer - Sing Goddess the accursed wrath of Akhilles son of Peleus which sent forth to Hades many mighty souls of heroes, making them food for dogs and all birds. And so the will of Zeus was accomplished from the day when first there parted in strife Agammemon son of Atreus, Lord of Men, and the Godlike Akhilles.

THE ILIAD AND THE ODYSSEY two of the greatest works ever written,

but hey what are you opinions on A. Homer and B. your greatest author

First off, I'm going to move this to the misc. entertainment section.

Second, I will say that I read The Odyssey in the Grade 12 Classical Civilization class, and quite enjoyed it. I have yet to read The Illiad, though of course I know the general story (probably a little more that just the general, actually). Though while Homer is certainly an important writer/poet, I am hesitant to say he's the greatest, since those are his only two works to survive.

I also really enjoy the Coen brother's interpretation of The Odyssey in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Originally Posted by Galedeep

First off, I'm going to move this to the misc. entertainment section.

Second, I will say that I read The Odyssey in the Grade 12 Classical Civilization class, and quite enjoyed it. I have yet to read The Illiad, though of course I know the general story (probably a little more that just the general, actually). Though while Homer is certainly an important writer/poet, I am hesitant to say he's the greatest, since those are his only two works to survive.

I also really enjoy the Coen brother's interpretation of The Odyssey in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

My friend two questions - unless you read in Greek, which I do not know, whose translation did you read? Was it Chapman or Murray? or someone else.

Homer ONLY wrote those two - it is not a question of them surviving - Herodotus, Aristotle in fact nearly all of the ancient authors say that Homer only wrote two works!

You should read the Iliad. For it is in my opinion the greatest work of western literature. The themes are timeless, the rhythm faultless ( there are only 3 hypermetrical lines in the entire work) Homer for me is the greatest.

One thing...I hate to correct, but are you sure that you know the story of the ILIAD - or that of the Trojan war as a whole. For in the Iliad there is no ten year war, no wooden horse, no arrow through the heel etc it plots the course of four days in the ninth year of the war and the withdrawal of Achilles. It starts with the quarrel between him and Agammemnon on the first day, and ends with the funeral of Hector on the fourth.

I like Homer's poems, but Emily Dickinson is my favorite author. This is verse two of one beautiful poem I got to memorize:

I love thee not, I dare not love thee.
Go in silence, drop my hand.
If thou seek roses, seek them where they bloom;
In garden alleys, not in desert sands.

Can life and death agree,
That thou shalt not stoop thy song to my complaint?
I cannot love thee if thy word is faint.
Look in my face and see.

Poet: Homer is at the top of my list, hardly undisputed though with the likes of Milton and Alighieri taking on even more ambitious themes. Still, if I was hankering for an epic-read by the fireplace, I'd rather go for a rousing adventure than Satan's infamy with Dios or a journey through the hot place.

For poems of the non-epic variety, I'll go with T.S. Eliot for his work on the Wastelands.

Playwright - The truly undisputed one, this one goes out to Bill S. I'm sure you all know who i'm talking about. I'd say he has had a bigger impact on Western culture than Jesus, and for that matter, the Beatles.

Author - Toughy. I'd probably go with Steinbeck for this one. He's a legend, and his stories are still amazingly moving reads. The fact that he has a Nobel Prize in his collection helps his case a lot. I'd say Chuck Dickens, but my own personal loathing of his writing style has made me forget about his impact on the world.

Originally Posted by AzaISaZELDALORD

My friend two questions - unless you read in Greek, which I do not know, whose translation did you read? Was it Chapman or Murray? or someone else.

It was over three years ago, I honestly don't remember. If I was at home I'd check my notes, but alas.

Homer ONLY wrote those two - it is not a question of them surviving - Herodotus, Aristotle in fact nearly all of the ancient authors say that Homer only wrote two works!

Bah, I knew that. I wasn't paying enough attention when I was replying. I'm too used to using "surviving" when talking about classical writers/poets. I still stand by my point. While I can say for certain that the Odyssey is a great bit of work, I still find it hard to say that the greatest poet/writer of all time is based off of only two works. While I can certainly see where the arguement can be made for it, it's just not a claim I can personally make.

You should read the Iliad. For it is in my opinion the greatest work of western literature. The themes are timeless, the rhythm faultless ( there are only 3 hypermetrical lines in the entire work) Homer for me is the greatest.

Does Homer count as western literature? I always figured classical literature had a category on its own. While it certainly fits the bill of being western and literature, I always thought of the concept of western literature as a grouping really only started being applied to works after the classical period.

One thing...I hate to correct, but are you sure that you know the story of the ILIAD - or that of the Trojan war as a whole. For in the Iliad there is no ten year war, no wooden horse, no arrow through the heel etc it plots the course of four days in the ninth year of the war and the withdrawal of Achilles. It starts with the quarrel between him and Agammemnon on the first day, and ends with the funeral of Hector on the fourth.

Not a correction, because I meant what I said. I know the Illiad. I know the Trojan War as well, and the various stories that surround it (mostly the ones depicted in classical plays), but I was indeed simply referring to the Illiad. You know, Brisies, lots of fighting, Achilles and Patroclus being totally into eachother in a big bad way, and Achilles dragging Hector's body around? I'm 99% sure that's the Illaid.

I was in the classics program for all four years of high school. I've taken university classes on classical literature and writings. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. Not a great one, mind you, but a pretty good one.

Originally Posted by Galedeep

It was over three years ago, I honestly don't remember. If I was at home I'd check my notes, but alas.


Bah, I knew that. I wasn't paying enough attention when I was replying. I'm too used to using "surviving" when talking about classical writers/poets. I still stand by my point. While I can say for certain that the Odyssey is a great bit of work, I still find it hard to say that the greatest poet/writer of all time is based off of only two works. While I can certainly see where the arguement can be made for it, it's just not a claim I can personally make.


Does Homer count as western literature? I always figured classical literature had a category on its own. While it certainly fits the bill of being western and literature, I always thought of the concept of western literature as a grouping really only started being applied to works after the classical period.


Not a correction, because I meant what I said. I know the Illiad. I know the Trojan War as well, and the various stories that surround it (mostly the ones depicted in classical plays), but I was indeed simply referring to the Illiad. You know, Brisies, lots of fighting, Achilles and Patroclus being totally into eachother in a big bad way, and Achilles dragging Hector's body around? I'm 99% sure that's the Illaid.

I was in the classics program for all four years of high school. I've taken university classes on classical literature and writings. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about. Not a great one, mind you, but a pretty good one.

I apologize! Sorry too many people I have talked to have no idea of the actual plot of the Iliad. How much of the original did you read?