When was the Odyssey composed?
The Odyssey was first composed in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC. By the mid-6th century BC it had become part of the Greek literary canon.
Questions about Odyssey
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who wrote the Odyssey and is Homer a real person?
The Odyssey is attributed to Homer, though contemporary scholarship predominantly holds that it formed as part of long oral traditions rather than being the work of a single author. Whether Homer lived, and if so when, remains actively debated as part of the long-running Homeric Question.
How many lines does the Odyssey have?
The Odyssey has 12,109 lines composed in dactylic hexameter, sometimes called Homeric hexameter. The broader original Homeric texts total 27,803 lines, of which around 9,200 are repetitions.
What is xenia in the Odyssey?
Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of guest-friendship. In the Odyssey it functions as a strict social code governing how hosts must treat guests, covering reception, food, shelter, gifts, and the guest's right to depart safely. Scholar J. B. Hainsworth identified a specific six-step pattern this hospitality follows throughout the poem.
What is the first English translation of the Odyssey?
Arthur Hall was the first to translate Homer into English, publishing a version of the first 10 books of the Iliad in 1581, though that relied on a French intermediary. George Chapman became the first to complete full English translations of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, with his translations published together in 1616.
How has the Odyssey influenced modern literature?
James Joyce's 1922 novel Ulysses retells the Odyssey set in Dublin and is widely considered foundational to the modernist genre. Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad (2005) and Madeline Miller's Circe (2018) revisit female characters from the epic. In 2018, a BBC Culture poll of experts named the Odyssey literature's most enduring narrative.