homer's epics

[Megas Methuselah]

Most scholars believe that the Odyssey was written down about 50 years after the Iliad, thus making it highly unlikely that a single author made both poems. Both are collections of a far earlier oral tradition that was passed down orally from one poet to another until it was written down. Even after being written down many versions existed until the version we had was put down, which was written for one of the Athenian religious festivals, where poets would recite Homeric poems in a competition. Standardising the text was important for Athens, most obviously so that there was a single text all authors could agree on and compete with. However, it was also important so that they could put a bit more focus on their very small appearances (Such as during the catalogue of ships).

God knows how many versions of the epics there were. It's likely that every poet/bard that recited the poems off by heart probably added their own spice to it.