Xenophanes of Colophon was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and critic of Homer from Ionia who travelled throughout the Greek-speaking world in early Classical Antiquity.
Fictionalized portrait of Xenophanes from a 17th-century engraving
6th century BC depiction of an Ancient Greek symposium. Xenophanes criticized these drinking parties as they were celebrated in his time for their excesses and failures to honor the gods.
Xenophanes was likely the first philosopher to offer a naturalistic rather than a mythological explanation for St. Elmo's Fire.
Homer was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history.
Marble terminal bust of Homer. Roman copy of a lost Hellenistic original of the 2nd c. BC.
Homer and His Guide (1874) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Part of an eleventh-century manuscript, "the Townley Homer". The writings on the top and right side are scholia.
Page from the first printed edition (editio princeps) of collected works by Homer edited by Demetrios Chalkokondyles. Florence, 1489. Bibliothèque Nationale de France
