On Homer 2 by Homer Life-anonymous

On Homer 2 is an anonymous work of ancient literary scholarship, traditionally but incorrectly ascribed to the biographer Plutarch. It is the work of an unknown author, conventionally termed Pseudo-Plutarch, and dates to the Imperial Roman period, most likely the 1st or 2nd century CE. Written in Attic Greek prose, the text is a systematic compilation of 55 passages that collect and analyse verses from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. It functions as a digest of earlier Hellenistic scholarship, particularly drawing upon the Stoic and Pergamene critical traditions exemplified by figures such as Crates of Mallos. The work addresses a broad spectrum of topics found within the Homeric epics, including linguistic usage, ethical exemplars, historical details, and principles of natural philosophy. A central and unifying thesis is the presentation of Homer as a universal sage whose poetry constitutes an encyclopedic repository of knowledge on all subjects. To support this view, the author frequently employs allegorical interpretation, seeking to extract philosophical doctrines and scientific truths from the mythical narratives. The treatise is believed to have been composed for an educated, Greek-speaking audience during the cultural flourishing of the Second Sophistic, serving both pedagogical and apologetic aims by defending Homer’s enduring authority and relevance. The text is fully extant and has been transmitted through medieval manuscripts as part of the Plutarchan corpus known as the Moral Essays. Its principal historical value lies in its preservation of numerous interpretations and fragments from earlier scholars whose works are otherwise lost, making it a significant source for understanding the history of ancient literary criticism and the long reception of Homeric poetry.