Homer (10th-9th c. BC?)

Iliad

Odyssey

Earliest records of works are from8th c. BC

Trojan War, c. 1200 BC?

Paris of Troy

Helen

Menelaus of Sparta

Odysseus of Ithaca

Odysseus has been sent to Underworld bysorceress Circe to consult ghost of seerTiresias on how Odysseus can get home

Story is told retrospectively by Odysseuswhile at the court of Alcinous, king ofthe Phaeacians

Odyssey, Book 11

Collection of Middle Eastern folk tales

Earliest versions (9th c.) Hazar Afsana(Persian, 1000 Tales) and Alf Layla(Arabic, 1000 Nights)

Named changed to Alf Layla wa Layla (1001Nights), probably in 12th c.

Last definitely genuine additions in 16th c.

Arabian Nights/1001 Nights

Shahrazad, who tells unfinished stories everynight to keep her husband/king fromexecuting her! Story based on Indianfolktale

1001 Nights influenced by traditions fromIndia, Persia, Arabia, ancient Egypt,Turkish Asia Minor, Jewish diaspora,Mesopotamia and more…

Influenced by the Epic of Gilgamesh?

Story within story told by Yamlika, Queen ofSerpents, to a woodcutter named Hasib

Jewish king Bulukiya on quest to find ring ofSulaiman (Solomon) with advisor Affan

Yamlika provides them with plant juice thatenables them to cross Seven Seas

The Tale of Bulukiya

Bulukiya and Affan cross Seven Seas, havingadventures on the way. They come to thetomb of Sulaiman but fail to obtain ringbecause Bulukiya mispronounces spellmeant to enable Affan to take ring. Affanis killed

Bulukiya encounters party of jinn (genies) whointroduce him to their king. He learnsabout origin of jinn and is then transportedhome

The Tale of Bulukiya