[TELEMACHUS DEPARTING FROM NESTOR]
(Henry Howard)
[ODYSSEUS AND NAUSICAÄ]
(Charles Gleyre)
[ODYSSEUS AND POLYPHEMUS]
(J.M.W. Turner)
[CIRCE]
(Sir E. Burne-Jones)
[THE RETURN OF ODYSSEUS]
(L.F. Schützenberger)
[ODYSSEUS AND EURYCLEIA]
(Christian G. Heyne)
INTRODUCTION
The impersonal character of the Homeric poems has left us entirely in the dark as to the birthplace, the history, and the date, of their author. So complete is the darkness which surrounds the name of Homer that his very existence has been disputed, and his works have been declared to be an ingenious compilation, drawn from the productions of a multitude of singers. It is not my intention here to enter into the endless and barren controversy which has raged round this question. It will be more to the purpose to try and form some general idea of the characteristics of the Greek Epic; and to do this it is necessary to give a brief review of the political and social conditions in which it was produced.