Homer: Philosopher and Theologian
And Why Christians Should Care
Who was Homer?
Some claim he was just a flat echo of his time; yet, others claim he was an intentional teacher of the perennial truths of mankind.
Some claim Plato disregarded Homer; yet, others claim it was Homer, the philosopher, who taught Plato the art of dialectic.
Some claim Homer was just a bard; yet, others claim he was inspired by the divine, a theologian who offers insights into the cosmos through mystical allegories.
Some claim he has nothing to do with Christianity; yet, others claim God used him as the fountainhead of a Hellenized culture that would prepare the world for Christ.
Who was Homer?
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Who was Homer?
The city of Troy is said to have fallen in 1184 B.C. Troy was a well-fortified city-state or polis situated on the west coast of ancient Asia Minor—now predominantly modern-day Turkey—across the Aegean Sea from Greece. It was a city of tremendous wealth and culture.
The fall of Troy was already part of the ancient history of Greece during the classical era (400-300s BC)—think Socrates and Plato. Homer writes of the fall of Troy, in part, in the Iliad, but modern scholarship tends to date Homer in the late 700s B.C. There is a notable gap between the event and the writings of Homer.
Very little is known about Homer the person, except that he was Greek, most likely born in Asia Minor, and was a bard of great mastery, i.e., an oral poet who would compose and perform verses, especially on the histories and great deeds of his people. Various traditions also present him as a slave and/or as blind.
But what of his masterworks?
Well, neither the Iliad nor the Odyssey originated as a written epic.
Both stories originally consisted of oral poems or rhapsodies memorized and performed by Greek bards in the centuries between the fall of Troy and Homer. Consequently, you should see Homer as the inheritor of an already old tradition of oral stories about the Trojan War, which includes the story of Odysseus’ homecoming.
The brilliance of Homer was his capacity to compose a written epic out of a myriad of oral traditions spanning several centuries. He most likely wrote the Iliad (or dictated it to a scribe) around 750 B.C. with the Odyssey at 725 B.C., according to Robert Fagles.
Sure, everyone knows the Iliad and the Odyssey.
But like the Bible, many know of the stories but few have read them.
So, why is Homer worth the time and effort?
Why Should You Read Homer?
Homer is an author of your culture. Western culture is shaped by Homer. You are his inheritor. Ancient Greek culture is inseparable from the identity of the West—a unique blend of Hebrew faith, Greek reason, and Roman order made one in Christianity. As one starts with Genesis to understand the Hebrews, one starts with Homer to understand the Greeks.
The Iliad is arguably the first “great book” in the Western canon—save Holy Scripture. The Odyssey is an indispensable continuation of the story. In Homer, the perennial truths about mankind are discussed but in a nascent way—justice, the soul, freewill, the divine, providence, glory, virtue, and many more fundamental human questions are imaged in the Homeric writings. And these questions mature under the tutelage of the later Greek tragedians, like Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and then under the Greek philosophers, like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
All these Greek thinkers are in conversation with Homer.
And later Hebrew and Roman thinkers are in conversation with the Greeks.
Homer is the inheritance of the West. He is the origin.
In Homer you discover more about yourself—what it means to be human.
Yet, this is still a shallow, introductory answer.
Many still see Homer as a flat echo of his culture—he recorded what he received. He was not an intentional teacher.
Yet, as Socrates tells us, there is a hidden meaning in Homer.
Homer is not an echo. He is the choirmaster. He is a teacher, a philosopher, and a theologian. Hidden amongst his simple stories are profound lessons on what it means to be human—lessons many argue he intentionally wrote for you to discover.
But why should a Christian care?
Well, it has to do with the claim that God used Homer to prepare the world for Christ.
