c. 8th century BCE
The name attached to the two founding epics of Greek—and therefore Western—narrative. Whether one poet or a tradition, Homer gives the war at Troy and the long way home their durable music.
Fixed the epic as a form of cultural memory: formula, catalog, simile, and the double plot of glory and nostos.
Epic poem · c. 750 BCE
Homer
In the tenth year of the Trojan War, Achilles withdraws from battle after a quarrel with Agamemnon. The poem follows rage, friendship, and the death of Hector until a king kneels for his son’s body.
Heroic epic
Epic poem · c. 725 BCE
Homer
Odysseus wanders a decade after Troy, delayed by gods, monsters, and his own cunning, while Penelope holds a house under siege. Homecoming is as hard as war.
Nostos epic