This question pertains to The Odyssey and Homer. Examine if the book is an important historical work?

I think
that 's work can be a valuable work of history in understanding the dialectic of Greek history.
 Homer's work has historical undercurrents within it, seeking to explain spiritual identity in
Greece, political instability, and how social stability is evident in elements of Greek society.
In its reflection and comment on Greek social values, possesses historical
value.

Yet, where the true historical value lies in The Odyssey is in its
place in the history of literature and intellectual ideas.  Homer's work has a place in the
history of literature and this is essential.  The work depicts the multiple layers of the hero
and the complexity in war.  At the same time, human consciousness is shown to be layered with
intricacy, characterizations that were essential in the understanding of what literature is and
what it can be.  It is here in which the value of The Odyssey is felt.  It
is an integral part of Western literature, establishing at a very early point what literature
can be and, perhaps, what it should strive to be.  This historical value is undeniable, and
represents the work's historical merit.