Homer, name traditionally attributed to the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, the two major epics of Greek Antiquity. Nothing is known about Homer as an individual, and in fact, whether a single person can be considered to have written both the Iliad and the Odyssey is a matter of controversy. Linguistic and historical evidence, however, suggests that the poems were composed in the Greek colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor during the 8th century BC. Both epics are written in an elaborate style, using language that is too impersonal and formal for ordinary speech. speech. The metric form is the dactylic hexameter (see Versification). Stylistically, no real distinction can be made between the two works. Since ancient times, however, many readers have believed that they were written by different people. The Iliad deals with passions, with insoluble dilemmas. There are no real villains; Achilles, Agamemnon, Priam and the others are drawn, as actors and victims, into a cruel and ultimately tragic world. In The Odyssey, by contrast, the wicked are destroyed, right prevails, and the family is reunited. Here, the rational intellect – that of Odysseus in particular – acts as the guiding force throughout the story. Besides the Iliad and the Odyssey, the so-called Homeric Hymns, a series of relatively short poems celebrating the various gods and composed in a style similar to that of the epics, have also been traditionally attributed to Homer. The Odyssey describes the return of the Greek hero Odysseus from the Trojan War. The opening scenes describe the disorder that has occurred in Odysseus's household during his long absence: a band of suitors live off his wealth while courting his wife, Penelope. The epic then recounts Odysseus' ten-year journey, during which he must face dangers such as the man-eating giant Polyphemus and more subtle threats such as the goddess Calypso, who offers him immortality if he abandons his quest for a homeland. The second half of the poem begins with Odysseus' arrival on his home island of Ithaca. Here, showing infinite patience and self-control, Odysseus tests the loyalty of his servants; plots and carries out bloody revenge against Penelope's suitors; and finds his son, his wife and his old father Penelope, in Greek mythology, daughter of Icarius, king of Sparta, and wife of Ulysses, king of Ithaca. Penelope and Ulysses had a son, Telemachus.