Homer
From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia
Historical figure.
Homer (born ca. 8th century BCE) was an ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most influential authors in history.
In Conan Doyle's fictions
Micah Clarke (1889)
- Micah Clarke said that : « Homer hath, I remember, a chapter or book wherein he records the names of all the Grecian chiefs and whence they came, and how many men they brought to the common muster. It is pity that there is not some Western Homer who could record the names of these brave peasants and artisans, and recount what each did or suffered in upholding a noble though disastrous cause. » (MICA 3725).
The reference is about the Iliad, Book II — specifically:
- the "Catalogue of Ships" (Achaean/Greek contingents), Iliad, Book II, v. 494-759.
- the "Catalogue of the Trojans and their Allies," Iliad, Book II, v. 815–877.
[SH] The Reigate Squire (1893)
- Mr. Acton's place was turned upside down, drawers burst open and presses ransacked, with the result that an odd volume of Pope "Homer", two plated candlesticks, an ivory letter-weight, a small oak barometer, and a ball of twine are all that have vanished (REIG 27).
Uncle Bernac (1896)
- Napoleon Bonaparte said : « It is a pity that we have no poets now in France, for the deeds of the last few years would have given a subject for a Homer or a Virgil » (BERN 2712).
See also
