Biography

In 1835, FMS likely read The Odyssey. In her journal, she has a page of quotes from Alexander Pope's translation of The Odyssey.

As for Home, historians place his birth sometime around 750 BCE, however it may date back to the 12th century BCE. Little is known about the life of Homer. He is credited with composing "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey," and is arguably the greatest poet of the ancient world. Due to the lack of information about Homer the person, many scholars hold the poems themselves as the best windows into his life. Homer's poems were extremely influential both during ancient times and in the foundation of European literature.

"There is much evidence to support the theory that The Iliad and The Odyssey were written by different authors, perhaps as much as a century apart. The diction of the two works is markedly different, with The Iliad being reminiscent of a much more formal, theatric style while The Odyssey takes a more novelistic approach and uses language more illustrative of day-to-day speech. Differing historical details concerning trade also lend credence to the idea of separate authors. It is certain, that neither text was written down upon creation. By the eighth century BC written text had been almost entirely forgotten in Greece. Both The Iliad and The Odyssey conform to the diction of a purely oral and unwritten poetic speech that was used before the end of that century."