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THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.

authority of Homer; for, were he but a generation or two later than the events described in the poems, his exposition of the social life, religion, morals, learning and general character of the Greeks would be possessed of a supreme historic value. In regard to this value of Homer, modern critics form a sliding-scale of disagreement. Gladstone believes Homer to have lived at a very ancient date, and accepts his dictum, in gen­eral, as a final test of the Greek status. Prof. Evelyn Abbott, at the other pole, regards the Homeric life as almost entirely imaginative. If it be true that the author of the Iliad composed his verses several centuries after the Fall of Troy, that tale would, for obvious reasons, be much less authoritative as a standard of Greek life than George Eliot’s“ Romola” is of life in Florence during the Revival of Learning.

Eight biographies of Homer were known in historic Greece, but by general ver­dict they are all spurious. We know that “ Seven cities now contend for Homer dead, through which the living Homer begged his bread,” and so vigorous did this conten­tion grow that the people of Smyrna displayed Homer’s monument, and the people of Ios his grave. The general belief is that the poems were brought in historic times from the Ionian cities of Asia Minor into Greece proper; some cities, however, claim that the poems, being very ancient and originally composed in Greece, were carried into Asia by the Achaeans fleeing from the Doric invasion, and were afterward reim­ported by them. Gladstone brings many arguments to bear in support of this view, the most important being Homer’s thorough acquaintance with Greece proper, both on the coast and in the interior, and his slight descriptions of the Asiatic country.

The tradition of Homer’s blindness seems to have arisen from a mention thereof in a so-called Homeric hymn to Apollo, which is considered spurious. In support of this popular notion it may be observed that the minstrel of Scheria in the Odyssey, praised most tenderly by Homer, is blind; that color is rarely mentioned in the poems, and when mentioned not very appropriately. But the descriptions of sea and shore, of movement and action, render it almost impossible that Homer should have been blind, at least until of a very mature age. That he honored the office of bard is like­wise shown in his characterization of the same blind minstrel. Minstrelship in his day was one of the very few learned professions, and it was held in great honor. The bard was usually retained by some noble house; but this does not seem to have been Homer’s position, as he left no traces of any patron’s influence upon his work—such traces as may be seen in the writings of Horace or Tasso, or even of later recipients of noble patronage. Thus Homer speaks of Demodocus, the Divine minstrel of Scheria:

“ Then the henchman drew near, leading with him the beloved minstrel, whom the Muse loved dearly, and she gave him both good.and evil; of his sight she reft him, but granted him sweet song. Then Pontonus, the henchman, set for him a high chair, inlaid with silver, in the midst of the guests, leaning it against the tall pillar, and he hung the loud lyre on a pin, close above his head, and showed him how to lay his hands on it. And close by him he placed a basket, and a fair table, and a goblet of wine by his side, to drink when his spirit bade him. So they stretched forth their hands upon the good cheer spread before them. But after they had put from them the desire of meat and drink, the Muse stirred the minstrel to sing the songs of famous men.”

On another occasion Odysseus, the hero, thus honors the minstrel:

“ Lo, henchman, take this mess, and hand it to Demodocus, that he may eat, and I will bid him hail, despite my sorrow. For minstrels from all men on earth get their meed of honor and worship; inasmuch as the Muse teaches them the paths of song, and loveth the tribe of minstrels.”

Homer’s works are traditionally believed to be the Iliad (the story of Ilium or Troy) and the Odyssey (the adventures of Odysseus on his return home). Several hymns, smaller epics and other works formerly attributed to him, are now generally considered spurious. “ Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles ” are the opening words in the poem miscalled the Iliad. It is essentially the tale of the Wrath. At the open-