In an article published by National Geographic, historian and award-winning author Adam Nicolson claims that The Iliad and The Odyssey, two of the most important and influential works of Western civilization were not written by a person, but by a whole culture.

The famous author has a personal theory about Homer, which is described in his latest book, titled “Why Homer Matters”. According to this theory, the two great poems attributed to the Greek bard are not purely the product of the eighth century BC, when they were first written down, but go back a thousand years earlier than generally believed.

“I think it’s a mistake to think of Homer as a person. Homer is an “it.” A tradition. An entire culture coming up with ever more refined and ever more understanding ways of telling stories that are important to it. Homer is essentially shared,” he explains.

In his interview to National Geographic magazine, Nicolson also describes how he came to love the two famous masterpieces of literature. The difficulties he faced while he was sailing with a friend up the west coast of the British Isles and the Atlantic coast led him to a kind of “epiphany” when he opened his copy of The Odyssey, having never really looked at Homer for about 25 years.

“I found myself confronted with what felt like the truth—like somebody was telling me what it was like to be alive on Earth, in the figure of Odysseus,” the authors says explaining the symbolic power of this amazing book.

“Odysseus is the great metaphor for all of our lives: struggling with storms, coming across incredibly seductive nymphs, finding himself trapped between impossible choices. I suddenly thought, This is talking to me in a way I would never have guessed before,” says Nicolson.

The Apotheosis of Homer

This grand 1827 painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres is now exhibited at the Louvre. It depicts Homer receiving homage from all the great men of Greece, Rome and modern times. The Universe crowns him, Herodotus burns incense. The Iliad and Odyssey sit at his feet.