Biography
Homer
Read Homer’s biography and explore related books.
Read biography →Classical Reference Library
Homer Resources
Explore articles, videos, guides, and other resources related to Homer.
Resources
TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Character Guide to Homer’s Iliad
A classroom-oriented guide to the major characters in Homer’s Iliad, with explanations of their roles in the poem, relationships and traits to watch, and questions that help students understand Homer’s treatment of heroism, honor, leadership, war, and mortality.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Character Guide to Homer’s Odyssey
A classroom-oriented guide to the major characters in Homer’s Odyssey, with explanations of their roles in the story, traits and relationships to watch, and questions that help students consider why each character matters.
Read resource →Reference Guide by Ian Johnston
Deaths in the Iliad
A chronological guide to the named deaths and major woundings in Homer’s Iliad, identifying the combatants, manner of death or injury, and corresponding lines in Ian Johnston’s translation.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Discussion Questions for the Iliad
Discussion questions for Homer’s Iliad, organized around major episodes, characters, and themes, with prompts for close reading, classroom conversation, short written responses, and longer analysis
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Discussion Questions for the Odyssey
Discussion questions for Homer’s Odyssey, organized around major episodes, characters, and themes, with prompts for close reading, classroom conversation, written responses, and longer analysis.
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
Epic Similes in the Iliad
A student-friendly guide to recognizing and analyzing Homer’s epic similes, with a printable organizer that helps students move from identifying a comparison to explaining what it contributes to the poem.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • STUDENT GUIDE
Epic Similes in The Odyssey: A Student Guide
A clear introduction to Homeric or epic similes in The Odyssey, explaining how these extended comparisons work, why Homer uses them, and how students can analyze their effect. Includes a printable student guide available by email.
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
Essential Vocabulary for Homer’s Iliad
A clear, student-friendly guide to the essential words and ideas needed to understand Homer’s Iliad, from honor and glory to epic similes, fate, and divine intervention.
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
Essential Vocabulary for Homer’s Odyssey
A student-friendly guide to essential vocabulary for reading Homer’s Odyssey, including epic terminology, Greek cultural concepts, religious practices, important places and peoples, and recurring ideas that help students understand the poem.
Read resource →GREEK LITERATURE & CULTURE
Greek Literature and the Tragic Vision
Ian Johnston explores how Greek ideas of justice, divine power, and human freedom shaped the heroic and tragic vision of ancient Greek literature.
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
Greek Mythology Background Students Need Before Reading Homer
A clear introduction to the Greek mythological background students need before reading Homer, including the Trojan War, the major gods, the House of Atreus, the judgment of Paris, and the events that connect The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Read resource →HOMER'S ENDURING LEGACY
Homer in the News
Recent articles, reviews, discoveries and cultural conversations surrounding Homer, The Iliad and The Odyssey
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • STUDENT GUIDE
How The Odyssey Moves Through Time
A clear guide to the unusual narrative structure of Homer’s Odyssey, showing how the poem moves between Ithaca and Odysseus, uses a long flashback for the famous wanderings, and brings its separate story lines together. Includes a printable narrative-structure organizer available by email.
Read resource →THE WORLD OF THE ANCIENT GREEKS
Introduction to Ancient Greece
A concise guide to the geography, history, political life, and cultural development of ancient Greece, from the Bronze Age civilizations of Crete and Mycenae through the rise of the city-states, Classical Athens and Sparta, and the age of Alexander the Great.
Read resource →ESSAY ON THE ODYSSEY
It’s a New Moment for The Odyssey. The Classroom Is Where It Matters Most.
A New Generation Discovers The Odyssey. This gives educators a new opportunity.
Read resource →HOMER & THE EPIC TRADITION
Lecture on the Odyssey
Ian Johnston explores the enduring appeal of Homer’s Odyssey, examining its narrative structure, its celebration of home and family, and the transformation of Odysseus from warrior to returning husband, father, and king.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Major Themes in Homer’s Odyssey
A guide to the major themes of Homer’s Odyssey, including homecoming, identity, hospitality, loyalty, temptation, leadership, mortality, divine intervention, and justice, with questions to help students connect these ideas across the poem.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Major Themes in the Iliad
A guide to the major themes of Homer’s Iliad, including anger, honor, heroism, leadership, friendship, mortality, fate, grief, family, and the human cost of war, with questions to help students connect these ideas across the poem.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • MAP
Map of Odysseus’s Journey
A classroom-ready map tracing one possible route of Odysseus’s travels through the Mediterranean, from Troy to Ithaca, with 14 numbered stops and book references. Includes a free printable PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →HOMER—IN HIS OWN WORDS
Quotes from The Iliad
Selected passages from Ian Johnston's Iliad Translation
Read resource →HOMER—IN HIS OWN WORDS
Quotes from The Odyssey
Selected passages from Ian Johnston's Odyssey Translation
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
Reading Homer for the First Time — aimed specifically at students
A practical introduction for students reading Homer for the first time, with guidance on unfamiliar names, gods, heroic values, repeated language, long speeches, battle scenes, and the best ways to approach The Iliad and The Odyssey without feeling overwhelmed.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • STUDENT GUIDE
Symbols and Motifs in The Odyssey: A Student Guide
A student-friendly guide to important symbols and recurring motifs in Homer’s Odyssey, including the olive-tree bed, Odysseus’ bow, weaving, disguise and recognition, the sea, and omens. Includes a printable analysis organizer available by email.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Teacher’s Guide to Homer’s Iliad
A practical guide to teaching Homer’s Iliad, with essential background, book-by-book guidance, central themes and questions, discussion topics, writing assignments, and a flexible framework for classroom use.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Teacher’s Guide to Homer’s Odyssey
A practical guide to teaching Homer’s Odyssey, with background for students, book-by-book guidance, central themes and questions, discussion topics, writing assignments, and a flexible framework for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • TEACHER GUIDE
Teaching the Iliad in High School
Practical guidance for teaching Homer’s Iliad in high school, including background students actually need, suggested books for close reading, approaches to the battle scenes, discussion strategies, a flexible four-week pacing model, and assessment ideas.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
Teaching the Odyssey in High School — practical guidance for teachers
Practical guidance for high school teachers planning an Odyssey unit, with suggestions for pacing, choosing what to read closely, helping students manage unfamiliar material, using discussion effectively, and balancing literary analysis with the momentum of the story.
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
The Heroic Code in the Iliad: Honor, Glory, and Shame
A student-friendly guide to the heroic values that shape the Iliad, explaining honor, glory, and shame through Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector, and Patroclus, with a printable character-analysis worksheet.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Books 21–24 Quiz
A 10-question reading quiz on Books 21–24 of Homer’s Iliad, covering Achilles and Hector, the treatment of Hector’s body, Patroclus’ funeral games, Priam’s appeal to Achilles, and Hector’s funeral.
Read resource →FOR TEACHERS
The Iliad Student Worksheet Pack
Eight printable worksheets for reading, discussion, close reading, and written response as students work through Homer’s Iliad.
Read resource →FOR TEACHERS
The Iliad Unit Pacing Guide
A flexible four-week plan for teaching Homer’s Iliad, with suggested readings, themes, classroom activities, and assessments.
Read resource →FOR TEACHERS
The Iliad Writing Prompts and Essay Assignments
Short-response questions, analytical writing prompts, and full essay assignments for studying Homer’s Iliad.
Read resource →THE TROJAN WAR
The Legend of the Trojan War
Ian Johnston traces the legend of the Trojan War from its origins and the judgment of Paris through the war, the fall of Troy, and the journeys that followed, placing the stories of the Iliad and Odyssey within the larger tradition of Greek myth.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • WRITING PROMPTS
The Odyssey — Writing Prompts and Essay Assignments
A flexible set of 24 writing prompts for Homer’s Odyssey, including short responses, analytical paragraphs, full essay assignments, and comparative or creative options. Includes a free printable PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • TEACHER RESOURCE
The Odyssey Essay Rubric and Grading Guide
A classroom-ready essay rubric for evaluating student writing on Homer’s Odyssey, with clear criteria for argument, textual evidence, analysis, organization, and writing quality. Includes a printable teacher-and-student PDF available by email.
Read resource →TEACHING THE CLASSICS
The Odyssey Is Back in the Classroom. Now We Need to Help Students Read It.
Renewed interest in The Odyssey is bringing Homer to a new generation. The challenge for educators is helping students encounter the poem in an accessible form without sacrificing its language, ideas, and enduring questions.
Read resource →The Odyssey Student Worksheet Pack
The Odyssey Student Worksheet Pack
Four flexible student worksheets for tracking Odysseus's journey and its consequences, xenia and hospitality, identity and recognition, and character development across Homer's Odyssey. Designed for use throughout the poem and includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • TEACHER PACK
The Odyssey Teacher Pack
A comprehensive printable classroom bundle for teaching Homer’s Odyssey, with unit pacing, discussion questions, worksheets, a journey map, writing assignments, literary-analysis guides, quizzes, answer keys, and assessment materials. A 46 page guide including maps and quizzes. Available as one free PDF by email.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • TEACHER GUIDE
The Odyssey Unit Pacing Guide
A flexible high-school pacing guide for teaching all 24 books of Homer’s Odyssey, with both 4-week and 6-week unit plans, assessment checkpoints, and suggested RRP classroom resources. A free printable teacher PDF is available by email.
Read resource →FOR STUDENTS
The Shield of Achilles: A World Beyond War
An illustrated-literature study guide exploring the extraordinary shield Hephaestus makes for Achilles in Book 18 of Homer's Iliad. Examines its scenes of peace, war, work, and celebration, with a printable analysis organizer.
Read resource →TROY
The True Story of Troy
A Documentary by the History Channel
Read resource →The Trojan War
Who Really Won the Trojan War?
The Greeks destroyed Troy—but victory proved far more complicated. Achilles was dead, Agamemnon returned home only to be murdered, Odysseus wandered for another ten years, and the defeated Trojans lived on in legend. The ancient stories leave us with a surprisingly modern question: if war devastates victors and vanquished alike, what does it really mean to win?
Read resource →A READER’S GUIDE
Who’s Who in The Iliad
A Guide to the Major Characters in Homer’s Iliad
Read resource →A READER’S GUIDE
Who’s Who in The Odyssey
A Guide to the Major Characters in Homer’s Odyssey
Read resource →THE ENDURING ODYSSEY
Why Odysseus Still Matters 3,000 Years Later
For nearly three thousand years, Odysseus has remained one of literature’s most compelling heroes. His intelligence, pride, failures, endurance, and longing for home still raise questions that feel remarkably familiar: what makes a hero, what does hardship do to us, and what does it really mean to find our way home?
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY
You Speak More Homer Than You Think
You may never have sailed past the Sirens or faced a Cyclops, but you probably speak Homer's language more often than you realize. From odyssey and mentor to siren song, lotus-eater, and between Scylla and Charybdis, discover how a 3,000-year-old poem still lives on in the words and expressions we use today.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Pre-Reading / Background Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question background quiz introducing students to Homer’s Iliad, the Trojan War, Achilles, epic poetry, the gods, honor, and heroism. Includes a free printable student PDF and teacher answer key.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey — Pre-Reading / Background Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question pre-reading quiz covering the essential background students need before beginning Homer’s Odyssey, including the Trojan War, Ithaca, key characters, xenia, and in medias res. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Books 1–4 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question quiz covering Books 1–4 of Homer’s Iliad, including Apollo’s plague, Achilles’ quarrel with Agamemnon, Briseis, Achilles’ withdrawal, and Paris and Menelaus. Includes a printable student PDF and teacher answer key.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey — Books 1–4 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question reading quiz covering Books 1–4 of Homer’s Odyssey, including Athena’s guidance, Telemachus’s growing independence, the suitors, and his visits to Nestor and Menelaus. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Books 5–8 Quiz
A 10-question reading quiz on Books 5–8 of Homer’s Iliad, covering Diomedes in battle, divine intervention, Hector and Andromache, Ajax and Hector, and the Trojan advance.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey — Books 5–8 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question reading quiz covering Books 5–8 of Homer’s Odyssey, including Odysseus’s departure from Calypso, his arrival in Phaeacia, Nausicaa, Alcinous and Arete, and Demodocus. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Books 9–12 Quiz
A 10-question reading quiz on Books 9–12 of Homer’s Iliad, covering the embassy to Achilles, Achilles’ refusal, the night raid, the wounded Greek leaders, and Hector’s breakthrough of the Greek defenses.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey - Books 9-12 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question reading quiz covering Books 9-12 of Homer's Odyssey, including the Cicones, Polyphemus, Aeolus, Circe, the underworld, the Sirens, Scylla, and the cattle of Helios. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Books 13–16 Quiz
A 10-question reading quiz on Books 13–16 of Homer’s Iliad, covering the crisis at the Greek ships, Patroclus’ decision to fight in Achilles’ armor, the death of Sarpedon, and the events leading to Patroclus’ death.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey - Books 13-16 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question reading quiz covering Books 13-16 of Homer's Odyssey, including Odysseus's return to Ithaca, Eumaeus, Telemachus's homecoming, the suitors' ambush, and the reunion of Odysseus and Telemachus. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ILIAD • QUIZ
The Iliad — Books 17–20 Quiz
A 10-question reading quiz on Books 17–20 of Homer’s Iliad, covering the struggle for Patroclus’ body, Achilles’ grief, the Shield of Achilles, reconciliation with Agamemnon, and Achilles’ return to battle.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey - Books 17-20 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question reading quiz covering Books 17-20 of Homer's Odyssey, including Odysseus's return to the palace in disguise, the suitors, Penelope, Eurycleia's recognition, and the omens that foreshadow the suitors' fate. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →THE ODYSSEY • QUIZ
The Odyssey - Books 21-24 Quiz
A ready-to-use 10-question reading quiz covering Books 21-24 of Homer's Odyssey, including the bow contest, the defeat of the suitors, Penelope's recognition of Odysseus, Laertes, and the final restoration of peace in Ithaca. Includes a free printable student PDF for classroom use.
Read resource →BOOK TRAILER
The Iliad Book Trailer
A visual introduction to Homer’s Iliad and its exploration of heroism, rage, honor, war, and the human cost of conflict.
Read resource →BOOK TRAILER
The Odyssey Book Trailer
A visual introduction to Homer’s Odyssey and its themes of endurance, cunning, hospitality, homecoming, and belonging.
Read resource →BOOK TRAILER
The Odyssey Abridged Book Trailer
A visual introduction to the abridged Odyssey, preserving Homer’s epic themes of endurance, cunning, and the long search for home.
Read resource →