Homer was the composer of the Iliad, the most famous account of the Trojan War. Generally, Homer is thought to have actually lived many generations—possibly even centuries—after the events he described. Yet some ancient commentators believed that Homer actually witnessed the Trojan War himself. Who held this view, and how closely does it align with Homer’s Iliad?
The claim that Homer witnessed the Trojan War
The belief that Homer was an eyewitness to the Trojan War was not common. Nevertheless, it did exist, being attested at least as early as the second century AD. This attestation comes from the Life of Homer, a biography falsely attributed to Plutarch. The author, Pseudo-Plutarch, wrote the following:
“As for his chronology, some say he was born at the time of the Trojan War, of which he was actually an eyewitness; others place him a hundred years after the war; still others, a hundred and fifty.”
According to this ancient source, some people claimed that Homer himself was an eyewitness to the Trojan War. Unfortunately, Pseudo-Plutarch did not provide further details about this belief. Was he referring to specific historians from past generations, or was this merely a belief circulating among some of the general populace in Plutarch’s time? We cannot say for sure.
Other sources that Homer was a contemporary of the Trojan War
Although Pseudo-Plutarch is perhaps the only ancient source that directly refers to Homer as an eyewitness to the Trojan War, there are many other sources that refer to the concept of his being a contemporary of that event. For example, another source in the second century AD mentions this idea.
Ancient writer and theologian Tatian, in his Address to the Greeks, makes the following remark in a passage regarding the greater antiquity of the Israelites compared to the Greeks:
“But let Homer be not later than the Trojan War; let it be granted that he was contemporary with it, or even that he was in the army of Agamemnon.”
For Tatian to make such a remark, we can conclude that such a belief probably existed. This supports the statement of Pseudo-Plutarch from that same century. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian of the first century BC, wrote that a certain Dionysius “writer of cycles” claimed that Homer was a contemporary of the Trojan War and that “countless others” agreed with him.
Even prior to this, the historian Crates of Mallus from the second century BC appears to have made Homer a contemporary of the war. This is less certain, however, because in other sources, he seems to place Homer’s birth some eighty years after the war. Some scholars have also argued that Hellanicus of Lesbos, a Greek historian of the fifth century BC, also placed Homer at the time of the Trojan War. However, this is even less certain.
Although these sources do not specifically refer to Homer as being an eyewitness of the Trojan War, they are consistent with the idea.
Does Homer make himself an eyewitness of the Trojan War?
Does the idea that Homer was an eyewitness of the Trojan War match up with what he himself claimed? Homer does not comment much on the origin of his story in the Iliad. Nevertheless, there is one passage which is particularly insightful.
Just prior to presenting the Catalogue of Ships, Homer introduces the topic by making the following statement:
“Tell me now, ye Muses that have dwellings on Olympus—for ye are goddesses and are at hand and know all things, whereas we hear but a [rumor] and know not anything—who were the captains of the Danaans and their lords.”
In other words, Homer appealed to the mythological Muses as the source of his information about the contingents that participated in the Trojan War. This effectively rules out the possibility that Homer was an eyewitness of the events he described.
Could Homer have still been a contemporary?
Some commentators even contend that this implies Homer was neither an eyewitness nor a contemporary of the Trojan War. Yet does it necessarily follow, or might it merely reflect that Homer lacked access to trustworthy sources?
Perhaps Homer was simply acknowledging that his own account of events was limited compared with that of the Muses. While he had heard only “rumors”—accounts from eyewitnesses and others—the Muses were aware of the precise facts. This interpretation gains weight when we consider that it comes just before the Catalogue of Ships, a section of the Iliad that provides a highly detailed account of the contingents involved rather than advancing the main narrative.
Nevertheless, this is a somewhat strained interpretation. After all, Homer does not merely say that “he” had heard just rumors but “we,” meaning his listeners as well. Therefore, what could be concluded? This likely means that Homer and most, if not all, of his listeners were not eyewitnesses to the Trojan War.
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