Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey"

<B>A worldwide exploration of the history, purpose, and inescapable influence of the <I>Iliad</I> and the <I>Odyssey</I> that will inspire readers to think anew about Homer&rsquo;s work</B><BR /> &#160;<BR /> No one knows whether Homer was a real person, but there is no doubt that the epic poems assembled under his name are foundations of Western literature. The <I>Iliad</I> and the <I>Odyssey</I>&mdash;with their tales of the Trojan War, Achilles, Odysseus and Penelope, the Cyclops, the beautiful Helen of Troy, and the petulant gods&mdash;have inspired us for over two and a half millennia and influenced writers from Plato to Virgil, Pope to Joyce, and Dante to Margaret Atwood.&#160;<BR /> &#160;<BR /> In this graceful and sweeping book, Alberto Manguel traces the lineage of Homer&rsquo;s poems. He examines their original purpose, either as allegory or record of history; surveys the challenges the pagan poems presented to the early Christian world; and looks at their reception after the Reformation through the present day. In this revised and expanded edition, Manguel ignites new ways of thinking about these classic works.