The earliest known European literary works are the Iliad and the Odyssey, both written by Homer in ancient Greek sometime in 8th century BC. Little is known about Homer, although legends about him were numerous in ancient times. Modern scholars suggest that he was a blind poet who lived on the west coast of Asia Minor and developed his two famous epic poems out of older legendary materials. Although parts of Homer's works were based on real events, most readers believed that Iliad and Odyssey were exclusive and largely fictional. Only recently have archeologists shown that much of the civilization that Homer described wasn't made up, so the two epics can be regarded as historical documents to a certain degree.

The Trojan Horse

The Iliad is one of the two epics written by Homer. It tells of 10-year siege of Troy and is divided into 24 books. The action...