The poet Homer is traditionally dated to which time period?

• A. 8th Century BC
• B. 10th Century AD
• C. 5th Century BC
• D. 1st Century AD

Answer: (A)

Homer is traditionally dated to the eighth century BCE, placing him in the early Archaic period when Greek epic poetry circulated orally before being written down. This dating comes from ancient testimony about Homer and from features of the poems themselves—archaic Greek language, formulaic epithets, and the oral‑formulaic style that scholars associate with pre‑classical epic. Those other options place him in times that don’t fit the poems’ linguistic and stylistic evidence: a date in the tenth century AD is far outside the ancient Greek world; a fifth-century BCE date would put him in the classical era with different literary conventions; and the first century AD sits in the Roman era, also mismatching the epic’s early, oral character. So the traditional eighth‑century BCE dating is the best fit.