The Politics of Homer. During the Archaic Period (700-480 B.C.E.) Greece went through a political and social renewal. The epic poetry of Homer, composed toward the end of the eighth century, indicates some of the changes that occurred. For several generations before, oral poets had composed and sung epic poems celebrating various aspects of the legendary war against Troy. Now two parts of that epic cycle took shape through the skill of a poet, or poets, whom we call Homer. The first, the Iliad, focuses on the anger of Achilles, the greatest fighter among the armies amassed against Troy. This anger, which is directed at Agamemnon, the expedition's commander, leads to Achilles' petulant withdrawal from fighting, with disastrous consequences for his friends and allies, including his best friend, Patroclus, whose death leads Achilles to rejoin the fight...