When did Homer compose the Odyssey?
Homer
The Homeric Question – concerning by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" were composed – continues to be debated. Broadly speaking, modern scholarly opinion falls into two groups. One holds that most of the "Iliad" and (according to some) the "Odyssey" are the works of a single poet of genius. The other considers the Homeric poems to be the result of a process of working and reworking by many contributors, and that "Homer" is best seen as a label for an entire tradition. It is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC.
Classical compass winds
The archaic Greek poet Homer (c. 800 BC) refers to the four winds by name – Boreas, Eurus, Notos, Zephyrus – in his "Odyssey", and in the "Iliad". However, at some points, Homer seems to imply two more: a northwest wind and a southwest wind. Some have taken this to imply that Homer may have had as many as eight winds. However, others remain unconvinced, and insist Homer only had a four wind-rose.