HOMER First seeds of poetry were born among the Greeks even before writing was invented. Poets were bards, chanting gripping narrative epic war poems and emotional ballads. Homer was a Greek poet, to whom are attributed the great epics, the Iliad, the story of the siege of Troy, and the Odyssey, the tale of Ulysses' wanderings. The place of his birth is doubtful, probably a Greek colony on the coast of Asia Minor, traditionally is …showed first 75 words of 477 total…

…showed last 75 words of 477 total…battle field, courage and cunning, win fame and honor against impossible odds. The idea of arete so widely spread by Homer formed the foundation of the Greek view of the world. Homer's impact on the Greek Culture was so tremendous that in the Hellenistic Age, after the death of Alexander the Great, educated Greeks continued to learn Homer by heart, the way people in the West would know the Bible, or as Muslims the Koran.