An average citizen would definitely have at least been familiar with the stories. Not only were the Iliad and the Odyssey general knowledge, but ancient Greece had a class of performers known as rhapsodes (ῥαψῳδόι) whose job was to perform epic poetry like the Homeric stories, along with other important works. Rhapsodes are attested as early as the 6th century BCE, and an Athenian law was passed in the 4th century BCE that required the performance of Homer's works at every Panathenaic Festival, which occurred every four years.