ABSTRACT
The first thing that seemingly distinguishes the 'Alexiad' from many other pieces of Byzantine literature is its uniformity, contrasting with the usual diversity and lack of unity of many other Byzantine literary works. The imitation of an ancient poet has a specific literary function and belongs, to my mind, to the very essence of Anna Komnene's literary method. And the first 'Homeric' trait of the 'Alexiad' is the unity of the main hero. The role Achilles plays in the Iliad is played in the 'Alexiad' by Alexios I Komnenos. The epic air of the 'Alexiad' is supported by some other peculiarities of Anna's work. Trying to fix Anna's place in the long chain of development of Byzantine historiography the chapter stressed her adherence to two great pieces of world literature separated from each other by about two thousand years: the Iliad by Homer and the Chronography by Psellos.
