First of all, I think you're confusing correlation and causation here: "It seems that the sort of people who enjoy Homer are, to a first approximation, the sam

First of all, I think you're confusing correlation and causation here: "It seems that the sort of people who enjoy Homer are, to a first approximation, the same sort of people as those who enjoy Joyce, or any other literary work where it is difficult to figure out what the author means." For example, Nabokov is much more accessible than Joyce, but the same people who like Ulysses are likely to enjoy Lolita. Second, I would ask whether you enjoy any literature. Some people like words more than others. What do you like to read? Do you read poetry? Not everyone has to. People who study music tend to like more "inaccessible" music like Bach or Mahler or whatever, and I presume you don't think it's because they're being pretentious. I listen to more mainstream music. But words, I get and love. I haven't read the Iliad, but I loved The Odyssey. I read it for the first time two years ago (age: 26, translation: Fagles). It's full of sex and violence and dramatic tension. Expecting a dusty classic, I was surprised by how engaging it was.