Theodore M Andersson

Homer's Odyssey Theodore M Andersson

The Odyssey is generally judged to be a later composition than the Iliad but may still be from the eighth century BCE. It does not have the force or the drama of the older epic, but the larger number of manuscripts in which it was transmitted suggests that it was more popular even in antiquity. That preference seems to have persisted down into modern times, and it is safe to say that the Odyssey is more often read or sampled in schools and colleges than the Iliad. The former has the advantage of a more unifying focus on a single figure and his preternatural ingenuity and stamina. His unfailing success foreshadows the modern predilection for superheroes. Whether that is a positive or negative association will depend on the reader. It may in any event account for some of the poem's abiding popularity. Uncontested is the fact that the Odyssey is much richer in the depiction of domestic details in contrast to the battlefield scenery in the Iliad. The Odyssey is an unparalleled source on how life was lived in early Greece.