After well over 2,500 years, we still cannot say for sure who created the Odyssey, exactly how it was composed, or precisely when it was written. Even though there is little autobiographical information in the epic and not much else to go on, we can make some educated guesses based upon research by top scholars.
Most early Greeks had no doubt that there once was a single individual named Homer to whom they attributed authorship of The Iliad, The Odyssey, and the “Homeric Hymns,” poems celebrating the ancient Greek gods. Although some seven different cities claimed to have been his birthplace, many thought Homer might have come from the island of Chios off the western coast of Asia Minor. In ancient times, a family bearing his name and living there was said to consist of his descendants.
Furthermore, because Homer composed his works in a form that blended Ionic and Aeolic dialects, it is likely that he was a native or resident of the western part of Asia Minor. He probably was a bard or rhapsode (a specialist in performing epics). Tradition has it that he was blind, a theory based largely on his portrayal of Demodocus, the blind singer of the Phaeacians (8.51), a passage in the “Hymns,” and the somewhat romantic notion (partly supported by fact) that many such performers were blind.
By the second century BC, editors of the epics had raised what we now call the “Homeric Question.” At issue are the authorship, origin, and means of composition of the works. Differences were noted in the styles and language of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Over the years, some critics have complained that the subjects and themes are too diverse for a single author. Some scholars even suggest that the works were the creation of a group. The dispute continues today.
