For centuries, the Homeric Question has fuelled fierce debate among scholars. The Homeric epics are widely regarded as having their origins in the Late Bronze Age, with oral transmission continuing until a final redaction in the eighth to second century BCE.

The question of whether a single poet wrote both The Iliad and The Odyssey, the time and place in which Homer(s) worked and lived, and the circumstances of the poems’ final composition are still subjects of discussion.

In the present paper, a fairly simple statistical χ2 analysis has been carried out to evaluate the frequency of the keywords related to metals and weapons, which are mainstays of the material culture of this ancient period.

A thorough examination of The Iliad discloses a pronounced predominance of the keyword ‘bronze’, exhibiting a higher frequency in The Iliad than in The Odyssey. On initial observation, the prevalence of dominance appears to be a consequence of the warlike nature of The Iliad. Notwithstanding, a significant dominance endures even when the intrinsic disparities between the two poems are taken into account and suitably adjusted.

This remarkable discrepancy suggests the potential for distinct authorship, editorial involvement, or redaction locations for The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Although studies in Second Language Acquisition have consistently highlighted the fundamental role played by vocabulary in mastering a foreign language, traditional Latin instruction still tends to focus primarily on morphology and syntax at the expenses of vocabulary, with the result that students often struggle to retain the words they are required to memorize. Following in the wake of research on Game-Based Learning, I suggest that introducing board games in the Latin classroom—particularly those designed to develop the different stages of new information acquisition—is an inexpensive and engaging way to facilitate vocabulary learning and retention, as well as to foster students’ socialization and participation.