“You don’t get Homer, Homer gets you,” reflects Adam Nicholson in The Mighty Dead: Why Homer Matters, his homage to two of the most significant ancient epic poems: the Iliad and the Odyssey. With Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film adaptation, Nicholson’s work has become essential for anyone intrigued by the broader significance of these timeless tales.

Nicholson’s exploration unfolds in three distinct sections. The first part philosophically examines what Homer—often referred to in singular terms—communicated about life’s essence and the clash between civilization and chaos. He also investigates the profound admiration that literary figures like John Keats held for Homer’s work, particularly for Endymion. The title is attributed to Alexander Pope, whose translation, while impactful, does not capture the full depth of the original.

The subsequent sections ground his exploration in tangible analysis. Nicholson scrutinizes the texts of the Iliad and Odyssey, tracing variations in Ancient Greek and connecting linguistic structures to the Mycenaean period, Linear B, and earlier forms. He argues that poetry’s origins are far older than previously understood. He posits that the written Homer we recognize stems from a profound oral tradition that dates as far back as 2000 to 1800 B.C.

Further, Nicholson uncovers traces of Homeric writing in archaeological discoveries across the ancient Mediterranean. This includes papyri unearthed at the Hawara site in Egypt and pottery fragments from Ischia, which represent some of the earliest known examples of written Greek. The papyrus is dated around 150 AD, while pottery finds date back to the 8th century BC. Significant attention is also devoted to Mycenaean shaft tombs and what they reveal about the era preceding the Bronze Age collapse.

Nicholson’s fascination lies not in the historical accuracy of Homer’s tales but rather in the mythology of poetry itself. He presents a vivid portrait of a multifaceted ancient society and the individuals for whom these narratives provided a connection to a nomadic, warrior-based heritage.

Rereading The Mighty Dead prompted personal reflections; it conjured memories of my honeymoon in Crete, where my husband and I visited the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion. We marveled at a displayed boar’s tusk helmet, reminiscent of the gear described in the 10th volume of the Iliad, worn by Odysseus himself. This serves as a poignant reminder that, as Nicholson asserts, the world of Homer endures if only we learn to recognize its echoes.

Mycenaean and Peloponnesian Archeology: Discoveries in Greece

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