Answer:
"The Illiad" was written by Homer in the 8th Century B.C.
Explanation:
The great epic poem "The Illiad" was written by the blind poet Homer. Most historians assumed and accepted the time of publication and composition to be around the 8th - 13th Century B.C.
The authorship of this epic poem narrating the Battle of Troy is debated by many. Some historians and critics claim that there is no one single man named Homer who could have composed all these tales, covering just a mere 51 days of the final days of the war. But it contains a background detailing of the story before the actual battle. The Greeks credited a blind poet named Homer to be the true writer. This Homer, according to them, was the most famous and credited him to be the basis of their Greek identity foundation. They also agreed on the fact that Homer had recited the whole poetry from memory.
The real period of publication and the authorship of this epic has been debated and tried to be rediscovered by many scholars and historians. But due to it's ancient and old nature of the story, there are really no hard proof of it. But, the general opinion is that Homer is the rightful author of this work and that it may probably have been written around the 8th century B.C. This is in consideration of the topic of the book which deals with the famous battle of Troy that happened during the 13th Century B.C, which made it probable for the epic to be written after that.
Courageous and determined
The lines are explaining how even though our hearts are beating, they are beating us all the way to the grave. The heart beat is compared to the rhythm of a funeral march with everyone stepping in time. The lines are showing hearts are beating courageously and with determination all the way to the person's death, which is inevitable.