Unraveling the “Homeric Question”: Investigating Homer’s Existence
The enigmatic figure of Homer, traditionally credited with composing the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, has been the subject of scholarly debate for centuries.
This discussion, known as the “Homeric Question”, examines the authorship, composition, and historical authenticity of these monumental works. The central issue remains: Was Homer a single poet, or are these epics the culmination of a collective oral tradition?
Historical Perspectives and Scholarly Debates
In antiquity, Homer was revered as the sole genius behind The Iliad and The Odyssey. However, during the 18th and 19th centuries, scholars began to challenge this idea. The groundbreaking work of Friedrich August Wolf, Prolegomena ad Homerum (1795), argued that the epics were not the creation of a single author but rather an evolution of smaller, independent songs passed down orally for centuries before being compiled into the texts we know today.
This theory gave rise to two major schools of thought:
The Analysts, who believed the epics were composed by multiple poets.
The Unitarians, who argued that a single poet must have been responsible for their cohesive structure and artistic unity.
Oral Tradition and Milman Parry’s Contribution
In the early 20th century, a paradigm shift occurred with Milman Parry’s pioneering research on oral composition. Parry identified repeated phrases and epithets within Homeric texts, suggesting that these were hallmarks of oral storytelling techniques.
His work demonstrated that the epics were products of a long-standing oral tradition, in which bards relied on formulaic expressions to aid memorization and the recitation of extensive narratives.
Linguistic and Archaeological Insights
Linguistic studies have provided further context to the debate. Research using evolutionary language models has dated the composition of Homeric epics to approximately the 8th century BCE, aligning with traditional estimates.
Archaeological discoveries have also played a role. The excavations of Heinrich Schliemann at Hisarlik (ancient Troy) uncovered evidence suggesting that events similar to those described in The Iliad may have a historical basis. However, these findings do not conclusively prove Homer’s existence as a historical figure.
The Question of Homer’s Historicity
Despite his legendary status in Western literature, no definitive biographical evidence confirms Homer’s existence. Ancient sources offer contradictory accounts:
Herodotus placed Homer around 850 BCE,
Others assigned him to different centuries or even denied his existence altogether.
The so-called Lives of Homer, written centuries after his supposed time, mix myths and speculation, with various Greek cities competing to claim him as their own. Modern scholars generally regard these narratives as more mythical than factual.
As Mary R. Lefkowitz argues in The Lives of the Greek Poets (1981), these biographies reflect the imagination and cultural values of later generations rather than historical reality. Furthermore, there are no inscriptions, contemporary records, or archaeological findings that confirm Homer’s existence.
From this perspective, many scholars view “Homer” not as a historical individual, but as a symbolic name—possibly representing a guild of bards or the culmination of a poetic tradition.
Modern Scholarly Consensus
Today, most researchers agree that The Iliad and The Odyssey emerged from a rich oral tradition, refined over generations before being committed to writing. While the idea of a singular poet named Homer remains a subject of inquiry, there is no concrete evidence supporting his existence. Instead, the epics likely represent a collective storytelling tradition, capturing the cultural and historical consciousness of Ancient Greece.
