Could Homer have used writing while composing the Iliad?

Whether Homer used writing to compose the Iliad remains a subject of scholarly debate, as there is no definitive evidence regarding his literacy or working methods. Because an alphabetic writing system reached Greece in the 9th or early 8th century BCE, it is chronologically possible that a poet active after 750 BCE could have utilized writing.1

Scholarly perspectives on this possibility generally fall into three categories:
* Direct use: Some scholars argue that the complex cross-references and subtle structural effects within the Iliad would have been difficult to achieve without the ability to consult a written text.1
* Dictation: Others suggest that while Homer may have remained nonliterate—as literacy is not typically associated with oral creativity—he could have dictated his work to a literate assistant.1
* Oral tradition: Many maintain that the poems were products of a long-standing oral tradition, relying on a "formulaic" style of noun-epithet systems and improvisation rather than the deliberate, word-by-word progress of a writer.12

Ultimately, most experts agree that even if writing was involved, its role was likely ancillary, and Homer functioned primarily as a traditional oral poet.1