Expert: Maria - 2/25/2007

Question
In many ways, the two extant homeric epics have different subject matter, is there a marked difference in mood or style between the iliad and the odyssey

Answer
Hello,

Here are the main differences between The Iliad and The Odyssey.

1-While the most important recurring elements and  themes  in Homer's ODYSSEY are Odysseus's wanderings, his adventures, his love stories, and especially his longing for knowledge as Homer portrayed Odysseus as a man of outstanding wisdom and shrewdness, eloquence, resourcefulness, courage and endurance, in the ILIAD Homer does not focus on only one character, but on more heroes like Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon, Patroclus, Aiax, etc. and on the events of the Trojan War.
Therefore the themes of these two poems are different.

2- While Homer’s Odyssey and the epic journey of its hero reflects a fact that actually happened, i.e. the ancient Greek colonization of Southern Italy and Sicily in 8th-7th. century BC, the setting of the Iliad is  the 12th. century BC, as the fall of Troy  happened in 1184 BC, according to traditional date for the destruction of Troy by the Greek troops.
Therefore also the historical epoch of these two poems is different.

3- As for the mood, we can say that a warlike ambiance  dominates the Iliad, while in the Odyssey there is an adventurous atmosphere which is caused by the extraordinary journey of the hero Odysseus through  the Mediterranean Sea from Asia Minor (Modern Turkey) to Northern Africa and Southern Italy until its return to
Ithaca, the small island on the western shore of Greece , of which Odysseus was king.

4-Finally with regard to style, it is epic in the Iliad, while in the Odyssey it shows a very different sensibility and is rich of flashbacks.

This in short, of course.

Hope this brief outline can be helpful to you.

Best,
Maria