Homeridae facts for kids

The Homeridae were a special group of people, like a family or a club, who lived on the island of Chios in ancient Greece. They believed they were descendants of the famous Greek poet Homer.

The name "Homeridae" sounds like it means "children of Homer." This is similar to how the "Asclepiadae" were a group of doctors who saw themselves as "children of Asclepius," a god of healing.

However, some people in ancient times thought the name might mean something else. The Greek word homeros can also mean "hostage." So, it was suggested that the Homeridae might have been "children of hostages." This idea also led some to believe that Homer himself might not have been a real person, but a legendary figure created later by this group.

The Homeridae played a very important role in keeping Homer's stories alive. They helped pass down his epic poems, like the Iliad and the Odyssey, through many generations.

When Did They Live?

We have information about the Homeridae from around the late 500s BC to the 300s BC. After that, we don't hear about them anymore.

Early Mentions

One of the first times the Homeridae are mentioned is in a poem by Pindar around 485 BC. He described them as:

Singers of stitched words, usually
Begin with an address to Zeus ...

A "singer of stitched words" is a good way to describe a rhapsode. Rhapsodes were performers who recited epic poems.

Later Mentions

Later on, in the 300s BC, famous Greek writers like Plato and Isocrates also mentioned the Homeridae.

Around 350 BC, Isocrates wrote:

Some of the Homeridae tell the story that Helen appeared to Homer in a dream and told him to make a poem about the Trojan expedition.

This shows that the Homeridae also shared stories about how Homer's poems came to be.

Plato also mentioned them, saying:

I believe that some of the Homeridae recite two hymns to Eros from among the esoteric poems. One of them is quite disrespectful to the god, and, what's more, the metre is incorrect! This is what they sing:

Now this winged god is called by mortals Eros,
But immortals say "Pteros" because love must grow wings.

Plato also mentioned the Homeridae in his books Republic and Ion. In Ion, a rhapsode named Ion even said he should be "crowned by the Homeridae" for helping to spread Homer's poems.

What Did They Do?

From what we know, the Homeridae were a group of oral performers, or rhapsodes. They claimed to continue Homer's traditions and performed poems that were believed to be by Homer. This included the famous Iliad and Odyssey.

They also created stories about how these poems began, like the one about Homer's dream of Helen. Like other rhapsodes, they traveled a lot, but they might have been based on the island of Chios.

Standardizing Homer's Poems

Some Homeridae were very active in adding new poems to the Homeric collection. One famous member was Cynaethus of Chios. He was part of a group that wrote new poems and connected them to Homer's works. Cynaethus is even thought to be the author of the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. He was also the first person to perform Homeric poems in Syracuse.

During the time of Peisistratos, a ruler in Athens, performing Homeric poems became very important. The Homeridae, like other rhapsodes, started using specific, approved versions of the texts. This meant they became some of the first people to create "official" versions of Homeric poetry. They also reduced the amount of improvisation that performers used to do.

Because of their work, even people like Thucydides, a famous historian, believed that the Homeric Hymn to Apollo was truly written by Homer.