I am not a teacher neither a native. I haven't even started University (yet)
, and I don't want to appear like a show-off. But I have been reading about Homer and I'd like to know whether you are going to use the 'combined' sentence in an essay or something.
If that is the case, we should say that nobody knows
for sure where he was born, since some say he was from Babylon, others mention Ithaca, Smyrna or Chios as the place of his birth. In fact, many scholars doubt he was an actual historical individual (see
Homer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
So, as a free choice:
"We don't know for sure where Homer, the great poet, was born."
If you still want to make a shake-up of them three phrases, first of all you should avoid any redundant information.
My choice would be:
"Homer was a great poet and his place of birth is unknown."
Also:
"Homer was a great poet
but/and we don't know/nobody knows where he was born
"Where Homer, the great poet, was born, nobody knows (for sure)."
I hope you find it useful, mate.
