Bornova, Türkiye - On a Turkish hillside overlooking olive-covered slopes outside Izmir is a cave in which many generations of locals have believed Homer penned The Odyssey.

"This place was always called Homer's Valley by the locals. Travelers from all over the world would come and see the cave where Homer is said to have composed his poems," said Altan Altin, a Turkish researcher who has written a book on the subject.

In reality, however, nobody knows exactly where Homer wrote his epic poems and there is much mythology around the idea of his cave.

Today, of course, the debate has become livelier and more immediate thanks to Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film The Odyssey, which has now become the director's high-grossing project.

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The poet has for a very long time been associated with the Izmir region of Türkiye's Aegean coast, which for most of its history was known as ancient Smyrna.

"The Smyrnaeans have the river Meles, with its lovely water, and at its springs is the grotto, where they say Homer composed his poems," wrote the 2nd-century Greek chronicler and geographer Pausanias.

Those words have fueled a centuries-long debate, one that continues today, about Homer's life and the location of the river where he was thought to have been born in the year 8 BC.

Visiting the cave, which is filled with rocks, is not easy. Inside, travelers have left Greek scrawled on the walls, although it is not clear how old the writing is.

Although other places, notably the Greek island of Chios, also lay claim to Homer's origins, ancient Smyrna and its hinterland – where Bornova is located – are closely associated with the poet.

"For me, there's no doubt, Homer is from Bornova. In any case, he is from Ionia, which includes Smyrna and Chios. He's from these lands," Altin said.