The Iliad of Homer - Get a Free Blog

The following passage betrays the same
tendency to connect the personages of
the poems with the history of the poet,
which has already been mentioned:—
"In his poetical compositions Homer displays
great gratitude towards Mentor of
Ithaca, in the Odyssey, whose name he
has inserted in his poem as the companion
of Ulysses, 13 in return for the care
taken of him when afflicted with blindness.
He also testifies his gratitude to
Phemius, who had given him both
sustenance and instruction."
His celebrity continued to increase, and
many persons advised him to visit
Greece, whither his reputation had now
extended. Having, it is said, made some
additions to his poems calculated to
please the vanity of the Athenians, of
whose city he had hitherto made no mention,
14 he sent out for Samos. Here being