# Homer — On the Art of Reading character guide

> Homer in On the Art of Reading by Arthur Quiller-Couch.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** old Homer

**First appearance:** 0003-lecture-i-introductory

## Snapshot

The blind epic poet whose Iliad and Odyssey served the Greeks as Bible, style manual, and first principle of art all at once.

## Who they are

To Quiller-Couch's Greeks, Homer was not a set text but a living authority — cited by Aristotle for the unity of epic construction, by Longinus for sublimity as 'the echo of a great soul,' and by Socrates for the soul's power to master its affections. He is the test case for the book's central claim: that great reading requires surrendering to a writer's greatness rather than dissecting it. His presence in the early lectures establishes the standard against which all later English literature will be measured.

## In the story

### [Lecture V: On Reading for Examinations](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_reading_se/chapters/lecture-v-on-reading-for-examinations)

Referenced in the phrase 'Nine days, according to Homer, Leto travailed with Apollo' to illustrate the labor behind inspiration.

### [Lecture X: On Reading the Bible (III)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_reading_se/chapters/lecture-x-on-reading-the-bible-iii)

Implied through reference to epic tradition and comparison with Job's sublimity.

### [Lecture XII: On the Use of Masterpieces](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_reading_se/chapters/lecture-xii-on-the-use-of-masterpieces)

Referenced in the context of the editio princeps of the Greek text of Homer.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_reading_se/characters/homer
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_reading_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/on_the_art_of_reading_se/characters