Homer’s Iliad is one of the most famous literary works in the world, and it was arguably even more renowned in antiquity. But how did a poem by a single poet achieve such widespread fame across the ancient Greek world, and when exactly did this rise to prominence occur?
The date of the composition of the Iliad
To understand how Homer’s Iliad became famous, we first need to explore the history of its composition. Earlier generations of scholars have held that it was a narrative that gradually evolved over centuries, accumulating more layers and details over time.
More recent scholarship, on the other hand, views the Iliad as the product of a single mind. Indeed, the thematic and linguistic unity throughout the epic strongly suggests it was composed by a single poet.
Based on a detailed analyses of depictions of warfare in the Iliad, scholars generally date its composition to between 700 and 650 BC. This timeframe is supported by ancient traditions regarding the dates of Homer’s life.
The role of Terpander and Lycurgus of Sparta
As a poet, Homer would have naturally contributed to the fame of his own works by performing them before audiences whenever possible. However, it is unlikely that a single man was responsible for the widespread fame the Iliad eventually achieved.
Fortunately, numerous ancient records provide valuable insight on the process. For instance, several ancient texts maintain that a certain poet of the mid-seventh century BC, known as Terpander, regularly performed Homer’s epics at festivals and contests. Undoubtedly, this practice would have contributed to the popularity of Homer’s Iliad.
Also of note is a claim in Plutarch’s Life of Lycurgus. Plutarch was a Greek historian who lived from the first century to the second century AD. Plutarch’s Lycurgus recounts the story of Lycurgus, the famed lawgiver of Sparta. Many ancient sources identify Lycurgus as a contemporary of Thales (or Thaletas) of Crete. Thales’ career, in turn, can securely be dated to the latter half of the seventh century BC.
Based on this, we can be confident that the career of Lycurgus likewise falls within the same time period. Notably, Plutarch remarks that certain ancient authorities claimed Lycurgus had met Homer. Given the likely date of composition of the Iliad, this is entirely plausible.
How Lycurgus helped Homer’s Iliad become famous
Plutarch’s Lycurgus contains the following passage:
“Here he had the first sight of Homer’s works, in the hands, we may suppose, of the posterity of Creophylus; and…he set himself eagerly to transcribe and digest them into order, as thinking they would be of good use in his own country. They had, indeed, already obtained some slight repute among the Greeks, and scattered portions, as chance conveyed them, were in the hands of individuals; but Lycurgus first made them really known.”
According to this account, it was Lycurgus who discovered Homer’s poems and helped make them famous. This reportedly happened during his time in Anatolia, where Plutarch suggests he found the poems in the possession of the family of Creophylus, said to be a contemporary and friend of Homer.
Allegedly, Homer himself had written down the poems and presented them as a gift to Creophylus. Yet, is this historically plausible? Today, a common belief holds that the Iliad was not written down until centuries after its composition. However, scholar Hans van Wees explains the following:
“The process may well have involved the writing down of the poems, since it is, after all, at precisely this time [the mid-seventh century BC] that many other forms of poetry were first put in writing, too.”
Therefore, there is nothing historically implausible about the idea that Homer put his own poems into writing. According to Plutarch, Lycurgus discovered these writings during his time in western Anatolia, brought them back to Greece, and played a key role in popularizing them. As the leader of a city-state, Lycurgus would have been well-positioned to significantly increase the fame of Homer’s Iliad beyond what it had previously achieved.
The role of the Athenians in making the Iliad famous
If Plutarch’s claim is accurate, then Homer’s Iliad began gaining widespread popularity by the late seventh century BC at the latest. However, even Plutarch acknowledges that Homer’s poems were already being performed by others before Lycurgus’s promotion, undoubtedly including the poet Terpander.
However, it was in the following century that we find clear evidence of Homer’s works being widely known across Greece. A guild of rhapsodes, or professional poets, called the Sons of Homer were active in the sixth century BC. At the Great Panathenaia, a festival held in Athens every four years for both Athenians and visitors to the city, the Sons of Homer performed Homer’s two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Undoubtedly, their performances significantly contributed to the increasing popularity of Homer’s Iliad.
Most sources credit the tyrant of Athens, Peisistratus, with instituting this regular recital of Homer’s poems. His rule of Athens began in the 560s BC and continued, with interruptions, until 527 BC. However, these accounts are from the first century BC or even later. An earlier source, Plato’s Hipparchus dialogue from the fourth century BC, attributes the custom to Hipparchus, Peisistratus’s son.
On this basis, some scholars argue that Hipparchus instituted the custom in the 530s BC, toward the latter part of his father’s rule. Regardless of the exact date, this places the start of this practice in roughly the mid-sixth century BC. Hence, this marks the latest possible point at which Homer’s Iliad can be said to have become famous. Yet, there is strong reason to believe it enjoyed increasing fame even well before then, with significant contributions from figures like Terpander and Lycurgus.
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