# Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (c. 750–700 BCE)

URL: https://allhistories.com/greece/timeline/-750-homer-s-iliad-and-odyssey
Themes: Key Events

The Iliad and Odyssey, attributed to Homer, took shape in the late 8th or early 7th century BCE, most likely in Ionia. The Iliad recounts episodes from the Trojan War; the Odyssey follows Odysseus on his journey home. Both grew from a long tradition of oral poetry in dactylic hexameter. Whether Homer was one person, and how the poems were written down, are long-running scholarly questions.

## Why it matters
Homer's epics became the shared cultural foundation of Greece and a cornerstone of Western literature.

Ruler at the Time: [Archaic Greek city-states](https://allhistories.com/greece/rulers/archaic-greek-city-states)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Homer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Homer](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Homer-Greek-poet)
- [Wikipedia — Iliad](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad)
- [Wikipedia — Archaic Greece](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_Greece)
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Greek history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Greek_history)