The Odyssey is traditionally attributed to the ancient Greek poet Homer , though modern scholars debate whether it was the work of a single author or the product of a long oral tradition.

Who wrote the Odyssey?

  • In classical antiquity, Greeks universally believed that Homer wrote both the Iliad and the Odyssey.
  • Today, Homer is still credited as the author in most editions, but many academics see “Homer” as a convenient name for one or more poets who shaped and wrote down older oral stories.

What do we know about Homer?

  • Homer is usually described as an epic poet from around the 8th–7th century BCE, possibly from Ionia on the coast of Anatolia.
  • Ancient biographical details (such as him being blind) are considered largely legendary, but his name has become a symbol for the foundational poet of Greek epic.

When was the Odyssey composed?

  • Linguistic and historical evidence suggests the Odyssey was composed in Homeric Greek sometime between the late 8th and early 7th century BCE.
  • It emerged from an oral performance tradition and only later was written down and standardized, becoming part of the core Greek literary canon by the 6th century BCE.

TL;DR: The classic answer to “who wrote Odyssey?” is Homer , an ancient Greek epic poet, but modern scholarship sees the poem as the refined product of a long oral tradition that may have involved multiple contributors rather than a single, fully knowable individual.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.