Who is the author of The Odyssey?

• A. Virgil
• B. Homer
• C. Sophocles
• D. Hesiod

Answer: (B)

Homer is the author traditionally associated with The Odyssey. This ancient Greek epic follows Odysseus on his long return home after the Trojan War and is one of the two great Homeric epics, the other being The Iliad. The name Homer has come to symbolize these foundational Greek works, originally part of an oral storytelling tradition that was later written in verse. While scholars sometimes discuss questions about whether a single author created both epics or whether multiple contributors were involved, the standard answer in most classrooms is that The Odyssey was written by Homer. The other figures listed come from different literary contexts: Virgil wrote the Aeneid, Sophocles was a tragedian, and Hesiod produced didactic poems like Theogony and Works and Days.