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1、TheIliadofHomerHomer(Translator:WilliamCowper)1AboutHomer:Homer(ancientGreek:Ὅμηρος,Homēros)isalegendaryancientGreekepicpoet,traditionallysaidtobetheauthoroftheepicpoemstheIliadandtheOdyssey.TheancientGreeksgenerallybelievedthatHomerwasahistoricalindividual,butmodernscholarsareskeptical:norel
2、iablebiographicalinformationhasbeenhandeddownfromclassicalantiquity,andthepoemsthemselvesmanifestlyrepresenttheculmina-tionofmanycenturiesoforalstory-tellingandawell-developed"formulaic"systemofpoeticcomposition.AccordingtoMartinWest,"Homer"is"notthenameofahistoricalpoet,butafictitiousorconst
3、ruc-tedname."Thepoemsarenowwidelyregardedastheculminationofalongtraditionoforallycomposedpoetry,butthewayinwhichtheyreachedtheirfinalwrittenform,andtherolethatanindividualpoet,orpoets,playedinthisprocessisdisputed.BythereckoningofscholarslikeGeoffreyKirk,bothpoemswerecreatedbyanindividualgeni
4、uswhodrewmuchofhismaterialfromvarioustraditionalstories.Others,likeMartinWest,holdthattheepicswerecomposedbyanumberofpo-ets.GregoryNagymaintainsthattheepicsarenotthecreationofanyin-dividual;rather,theyslowlyevolvedtowardstheirfinalformoveraperiodofcenturiesand,inthisview,arethecollectiveworko
5、fgenera-tionsofpoets.ThedateofHomer'sexistencewascontroversialinan-tiquityandisnolesssotoday.HerodotussaidthatHomerlived400yearsbeforehisowntime,whichwouldplacehimatabout850BC;butotherancientsourcesgavedatesmuchclosertothesupposedtimeoftheTrojanWar.Formodernscholarship,"thedateofHomer"referst
6、othedateofthepoems'conceptionasmuchastothelifetimeofanindividual.Thescholarlyconsensusisthat"theIliadandtheOdysseydatefromtheextremeendofthe9thcenturyBCorfromthe8th,theIliadbeinganteri-ortotheOdyssey,perhapsbysomedecades.",i.e.somewhatearlierthanHesiod,andthattheIliadistheoldestworkofwesternl
7、iterature.Overthepastfewdecades,somescholarshavebeenarguingfora7th-centurydate.ThosewhobelievethattheHomericpoemsdevelopedgraduallyoveralongperiodoftime,however,generallygivealaterdateforthepoems:accordingtoNagy,theyonlybecamefixedtextsinthe6
