The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the most famous and widely read stories in history. They were most likely composed in the late eighth and early seventh centuries BCE by a Greek bard named Homer. However, many scholars believe that the works were based on a long tradition of oral poetry that had been circulating in Greece for hundreds of years. The Iliad and The Odyssey are set in Mycenaean Greece in about the 12th century BCE, during the Bronze Age, but they reflect the social structure and beliefs of 8th-century BCE and 7th-century BCE Greece.

The epics strive to evoke a pristine age when gods still frequented the earth and heroic, godlike mortals with superhuman attributes populated Greece. The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, while The Odyssey recounts the adventures of the hero Odysseus after the war. Both works are written in a high style and generally depict life as it was believed to have been led in the great kingdoms of the Bronze Age.

For centuries, many scholars believed that the Trojan War and its participants were entirely the creation of the Greek imagination. But in the late 19th century, a German archaeologist named Heinrich Schliemann declared that he had discovered the remnants of Troy. Although most scholars accept Schliemann’s discovered city as the site of the ancient city of Troy, many remain skeptical as to whether Homer’s Trojan War ever really took place.

They were composed primarily in the Ionic dialect of Ancient Greek, which was spoken on the Aegean islands and in the coastal settlements of Asia Minor, now modern Turkey. Some scholars conclude that the poet hailed from somewhere in the eastern Greek world. However, more likely, the poet chose the Ionic dialect because he felt it to be more appropriate for the high style and grand scope of his work.

The Iliad tells the story of the Trojan War, which began when the Greeks, also known as the Achaeans, attacked the city of Troy. After the Greeks sack the town of Chryse, they capture two maidens, Chryseis and Briseis. Agamemnon, the leader of the Achaeans, takes Chryseis as his prize, and Achilles claims Briseis. Chryseis’s father, Chryses, who serves as a priest of the god Apollo, offers an enormous ransom for his daughter, but Agamemnon refuses to give her back. Apollo sends a plague upon the Achaean camp, causing many deaths, and Agamemnon consults the prophet Calchas to determine the cause. When he learns that Chryseis is the cause, he reluctantly gives her up but then demands Briseis from Achilles as compensation. Furious at this insult, Achilles returns to his tent and refuses to fight in the war any longer.

With Zeus supporting the Trojans and Achilles refusing to fight, the Achaeans suffer great losses. The Trojans push the Achaeans back, forcing them to take refuge behind the ramparts that protect their ships. Several Achaean commanders become wounded, and the Trojans break through the Achaean ramparts. They advance all the way up to the boundary of the Achaean camp and set fire to one of the ships. Concerned for his comrades but too proud to help them himself, Achilles agrees to a plan proposed by Nestor that will allow his beloved friend Patroclus to take his place in battle, wearing his armor. Patroclus helps the Achaeans push the Trojans back, but he is eventually slain by Hector, the Trojan prince. Achilles fills with grief and rage, reconciles with Agamemnon, and returns to the battle. He rides out to battle at the head of the Achaean army and kills Hector. He then lashes the body to the back of his chariot and drags it across the battlefield to the Achaean camp.

At last, the gods agree that Hector deserves a proper burial, and Zeus sends the god Hermes to escort King Priam, Hector’s father, into the Achaean camp. Priam tearfully pleads with Achilles to take pity on a father bereft of his son and return Hector’s body. Deeply moved, Achilles finally relents and returns Hector’s corpse to the Trojans. Both sides agree to a temporary truce, and Hector receives a hero’s funeral.

The Odyssey is a story that takes place ten years after the fall of Troy. The Greek hero Odysseus has not yet returned to his kingdom in Ithaca. A mob of suitors has taken over Odysseus’s palace and is courting his wife, Penelope, while his son, Prince Telemachus, is powerless to fight them. One of the suitors, Antinous, plans to assassinate the young prince.

Unbeknownst to the suitors, Odysseus is still alive, trapped on the island of Ogygia by the nymph Calypso. Athena, Odysseus’s supporter among the gods, disguises herself as a friend of Telemachus’s grandfather and convinces him to call a meeting of the assembly, where he reproaches the suitors. Athena also prepares him for a journey to Pylos and Sparta, where he learns that Odysseus is alive.

Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Odysseus from Calypso, and Odysseus sets sail for home. Poseidon, the god of the sea, sends a storm to wreck Odysseus’s ship, but Athena intervenes to save him from Poseidon’s wrath. Odysseus lands at Scheria, home of the Phaeacians, and receives a warm welcome from the king and queen.

Odysseus spends the night describing his adventures to the Phaeacians, including his battle with the Cyclops Polyphemus, his love affair with the witch-goddess Circe, his journey into Hades to consult the prophet Tiresias, and his fight with the sea monster Scylla. The Phaeacians promise to give him safe passage to Ithaca, where he is disguised as a beggar and welcomed by his faithful swineherd, Eumaeus. He reveals his true identity to Telemachus and devises a plan to massacre the suitors and regain control of Ithaca.

At an archery contest organized by Penelope, Odysseus reveals himself by stringing his great bow and firing an arrow through a row of twelve axes. He and Telemachus, assisted by a few faithful servants, kill every last suitor. Odysseus reunites with Penelope and travels to see his aging father, Laertes. They come under attack from the vengeful family members of the dead suitors, but Laertes successfully puts a stop to the attack.

With his power secure and his family reunited, Odysseus’s long ordeal comes to an end.