Homer is considered the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, the two epic poems that are the foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Neither his place of birth, nor the date of his birth, nor that of his death are known beyond doubt. It is not even certain that Homer existed at all. The Homeric Question – concerning by whom, when, where and under what circumstances the Iliad and Odyssey were composed – continues to be debated. Modern scholarship considers that the two works were written by different authors. It is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC.