Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, and Homerica By H. G. Evelyn-White Greek oral poet, often identified as the first economist. The Homeric Hymns are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter-dactylic hexameter-as the Iliad and Odyssey, use many similar formulas and are couched in the same dialect.