The Iliad

Author:

Homer

800 BCE – 650 BCE

Dates are approximate

Homer is the name associated since antiquity with the authorship of the Iliad and Odyssey, the so-called Homeric Hymns, and some other poems (mostly not extant). Nothing is recorded of him as a historical person; ancient biographical accounts contain nothing reliable, being compilations from apocryphal stories, competing local claims, and imaginative inferences from the poems.

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Historical Context for Homer

Explorations

Explorations labeled “Licensed for Private Use” are available only to members of the Columbia community.

Achilles and Briseis, Athenian Red Figure Amphora,... Contemporaneous Resource

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Episodes of the Trojan War, Athenian Red Figure Cup... Contemporaneous Resource

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Agamemnon leads Briseis away from Achilles,... Contemporaneous Resource

Public Domain
Briseis led away from Achilles, Athenian Red Figure... Contemporaneous Resource
Detail of Achilles and Briseis, Athenian Red Figure... Contemporaneous Resource

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Priam Ransoms the Body of Hector, Attic Red Figure... Contemporaneous Resource

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Achilles and Briseis, Athenian Red Figure Amphora,... Contemporaneous Resource

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Map of the Homeric World Contemporaneous Resource

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Greek Shield, 8th century BCE Contemporaneous Resource

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Geometric Terracotta Krater, c. 750-735 BCE Contemporaneous Resource

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Greek Bronze Helmet from Crete, late 600s BCE... Contemporaneous Resource

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Briseis Arriving at Agamemnon’s camp, Athenian Red... Contemporaneous Resource

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Panathenaic Amphora, attributed to the Painter of... Contemporaneous Resource

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Papyrus showing fragments of the Iliad, c. 150 CE... Contemporaneous Resource

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Homer's Trojan Theater by Jenny Strauss Clay,... Contemporaneous Resource

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Scenes of the Trojan War, Frieze from the Treasury... Contemporaneous Resource

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Detail of Athenian Black Figure Volute Krater,... Contemporaneous Resource

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Aeneas and Diomedes, Athenian Red Figure Calyx... Contemporaneous Resource

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Death of Patroklos, sculpture from the metopes of... Contemporaneous Resource

Public Domain
Etruscan Chariot, c. 550-525 BCE Contemporaneous Resource

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Death of Sarpedon, Red Figure Krater, c. 515 BCE... Contemporaneous Resource

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Detail of Athenian Black Figure Volute Krater,... Contemporaneous Resource

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Athenian Black Figure Volute Krater, 'François... Contemporaneous Resource

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Homer’s Iliad & Odyssey, translated by Thomas... Contemporaneous Resource

Hosted Offsite
The Homer Multitext Project, The Center for... Lecture

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RadioLab on the Trojan War, 2007. Lecture

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Homer's Works, RBML, 2011. Columbia Rare Book & Manuscript Library

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The Poem in Performance, Society for the Oral... Performance

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Achilles yielding Briseis, Roman Fresco from... Artistic Response

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Detail of Achilles yielding Briseis, Roman Fresco... Artistic Response

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"Troy", Warner Brothers 2004 Artistic Response

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"Temporary Like Achilles" by Bob Dylan,... Artistic Response

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Achilles' Song, by Robert Duncan, 1968 Artistic Response

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Hector Reproaching Paris, Tapestry, designed by... Artistic Response

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"Helen of Troy" by Madam Yevonde, 1935... Artistic Response

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Athena Preventing Achilles from Killing Agamemnon,... Artistic Response

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Graphic Novel: Age of Bronze #1 Written &... Artistic Response

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"And Then There was Silence" by Blind... Artistic Response

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Custer's War - Map of Battle, c. 1900 Artistic Response

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The Iliad

Homer

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