Poetki Inspiration in Homer's "Illiad" and "Odyssey"
Poetki Inspiration in Homer's "Illiad" and "Odyssey"

Summary/Abstract: The concept of poetic inspiration — fundamental to ancient poetics, was for centuries founded on the image of a poet as an unconscious vessel for the Muses. However, no evidence of an actual possession was to be found in works of archaic poets, such as Homer, Hesiod or Pindar. The text of Iliad and Odyssey show that the relation between an artist and the goddess is of an intellectual nature, and that these two interact on many different levels. The Muse, stirs the bard to sing, supplies him with ‘divine’ knowledge, assists him whenever a need arises. But, at the same time, leaves him enough freedom when it comes to the composition of the poem.

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