Homer is a legendary Greek poet of antiquity who is probably best known for his poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. Approximately half of all the ancient Greek papyrus scrolls found by archeologists are some excerpts from the poet's literary works.

In many European languages boisterous and prolonged laughing was named after the poet. The English language is not an exception: there is an expression Homeric laughter.

As the story goes, it was given such a name because the poet very often described the laughter of the Olympian gods as loud and hearty.