homer;s illiad js a fiction or reality?

Answer 1

Homer`s Illiad is the story of the siege of Troy, which was believed to be just a story until quite recently.
Troy has now been uncovered, exactly where Homer said it was. This now begs the question, how much more of Homer`s writings are acurate?



The word MYTH comes from ancient Greek and means truth.

Answer 2

Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought
countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send
hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs
and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the
day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first
fell out with one another.

I love the Iliad. I've read it so many times, still trying to fully understand it, and have read it with the aid of books that try to explain it. I have made progress.

Fiction or reality. Certainly full of mythology which is obvious by the characters. I don't believe that Achilles really existed. But did Homer use mythalogical characters to replace real life people?

I don't know. Maybe when I reach the end of my quest to fully understand the Iliad, then I will be able to answer. In the meantime I love the rhythm of the poetry, the words, and the unfolding mystery as I understand more and more it. (At least, how it's been translated.)

Sorry if this was not a studied reply as to whether it is fiction or reality, that would only be an opinion, and opinions differ. I love the poetry, and would love to fully understand the meaning behind it and whether there is truth in it or not. If I had the answer, then I would be unique, and I'm not. XX

Answer 3

I think the general concensus is that the Illiad tells the tale of a real conflict (well the end of it), however it almost certainly is part fiction, and sensationalisation. It is also important to remember, however, that the Illiad was an epic, and therefore was spoken originally and not written, and spoken as an entertainment to the ancient Greek audience. It is believed that the written Illiad was not written by Homer himself, but recorded by someone else, possibly after Homer's time.
On the plus side though, it is an amazing tale, and I love it. Its also worth remembering that the Illiad actually ends with the death of Hector, not the end of the siege. :)

Answer 4

It actually has historical basis, because a archaeologist did find some remains of a city where Homer described Troy to be. This was during the twentieth century, and the remains of the city were buried under earth. The reamains of the city show the signs of battles and burn. Homer probably wrote the Iliad a few centuries after the actual war based on stories and such. Reality in some aspects

Answer 5

A little of both. According to modern scholars, most of the cities, nations and tribes existed, and the Mycenaeans really conquered Troy after a prolonged seige. Many of the myths described in the Iliad were probably based on real heros, and many were probably just myths. 500 years after the battle, Homer made up a series of stories out of the traditional material and put it into an epic poem called the Illiad.

Answer 6

Homer's writings have mostly been proven accurate by arcaheological finds, both in Troy and in Greece. The major kingdoms he mentions have been found in excavations (Mycenae, Argos, Pylos, etc.). The war and most events have a true basis, but of course the litterary description of Homer reaches legend (he mentions the Gods, the legendary flesh eating horses of Diomeds, etc., which were not existent).

Answer 7

It is possible that the jorney itself is fact, but the adventures are fiction. There is a strong possiblitly that the Greeks made up such stories to explain fossils, differen charateristics of fossils bear this out and mammoth bones were buried as those of heroes.

Answer 8

er its greek mythology innit? called so for a reason methinks : )