(5) Heroes and Stars:

Back to Schrott’s thesis about Homer as a cultural accountant:

Schrott is correct in his view that the Greeks of the 7th century are not yet a cultural nation that only want to enjoy Homer’s battle descriptions. That’s why he rightly mistrusts the idea of Homer as a poet of the spirit of beauty.

The question is: Why did the Greeks still love their Homer so hot and intimately from the very beginning? Only because of the prophecy of future Greek greatness?

Is there a practical reason that makes the rapid spread of the Iliad plausible?

The solution is offered by the ancient literary genre of doctrinal poetry. Many ancient philosophers presented their wisdom in poetic form (Lucretius), and the poets not only entertained their audience, but also wanted to teach it (Ovid).

Starting from this idea, two other outsiders of Homer research, Florence and Kenneth Wood, have found a solution that surprises only at first glance. In their book “Homer’s Secret Iliad. The Epic of the Night Skies Decoded”, London 1999, they show that the Iliad can also be read as a star catalogue.