The Odyssey author is Homer, a 5-letter word. Homer is an ancient Greek poet who is widely credited as the author of the epic poem The Odyssey. He is believed to have lived in the 8th or 9th century BC and is one of the earliest known authors in Western literature. The Odyssey is one of the two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, the other being The Iliad. It tells the story of Odysseus, a hero of the Trojan War, and his long journey home after the war.