Smyrna, One of the Seven Churches of Revelation
(Revelation 2:8-11)
(8) "To the leader of the church in Smyrna write this letter:
"This message is from him who is the First and Last, who was dead and then came back to life.
(9) "I know how much you suffer for the Lord and I know all about your poverty (but you have heavenly riches!). I know the slander of those opposing you, who say that they are Jews —the children of God—but they aren’t, for they support the cause of Satan. (10) Stop being afraid of what you are about to suffer—for the devil will soon throw some of you into prison to test you. You will be persecuted for "ten days." Remain faithful even when facing death and I will give you the crown of life—an unending, glorious future. (11) Let everyone who can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches: He who is victorious shall not be hurt by the Second Death.
HOMER
Homer was the author of the earliest and finest epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Although modern scholars hold conflicting theories on the authorship of these poems, the ancient world believed that a blind poet named Homer had composed them. Tradition has it that he lived in the 12C BC, around the time of the Trojan War, in an Ionic settlement, Smyrna, where he made his living as a court singer and storyteller.
Modern archaeological research has uncovered artifacts similar to those described in the poems, providing evidence that Homer wrote at a later date. Because the poems display a considerable knowledge of the East or Ionia and are written in the dialect of that region, most scholars now think that Homer was Ionian of the 8-9C BC. Homer wrote nothing of himself in his poems.
The question of how the poems were composed remains a matter for debate. It is likely that Homer and his audience were members of a preliterate, oral culture and that his poems were written down long after their original composition. 19C scholars argued that one person could not memorize so long a text and that the poems must have been compiled by an editor, who merged several independent works into a consistent whole. This view is supported by scholars’ opinions concerning the occasional inconsistencies of narrative and awkward transitions from subject to subject.
The 20C studies of preliterate societies have shown, however, that lengthy works can be composed orally by poets whose recitations belong to a long tradition of storytelling. Homer was probably a practitioner of an inherited art, retelling a story that his audience had heard many times before. Differences of language and style between the Iliad and the Odyssey have led some critics to argue that each is the work of a different poet.