Lecture - Homer: poet of Western literature

How did two poems from nearly 3,000 years ago become the foundation for Western literature? This lecture seeks to uncover the enigmatic figure of Homer, the traditionally credited author of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Although we know almost nothing about him, a number of cities claim to be his birthplace. Experts continue to debate many “Homeric questions”: Did Homer really exist? Was he the sole author of these epics, or was this simply a name attributed to these works?

This talk will explore how The Iliad and The Odyssey were passed down through a long oral tradition, put into writing, and transformed over time. We will also examine how these poetic works of a combined 27,793 lines have immensely influenced Western writers and artists from antiquity to now.

With Jacques Bouchard, Honorary Professor, Department of Literatures and Languages of the World, Université de Montréal. Jacques Bouchard is a Quebec-based scholar who specializes in Modern Greek studies. He is a full professor of Modern Greek Literature and the Director of Neo-Hellenic Studies at Université de Montréal and a literary translator from Greek to French. He is a member of the Royal Society of Canada.