A projector includes a solid-state light source that emits linearly polarized light, a birefringence element that converts the linearly polarized light emitted from the solid-state light source into circularly or elliptically polarized light, a diffusion element that diffuses the light having exited from the birefringence element, and a polarization conversion element that separates the diffused light having exited from the diffusion element into first polarized light polarized in a first polarization direction and second polarized light polarized in a second polarization direction, converts the polarization direction of the first polarized light into the second polarization direction, and outputs the resultant first and second polarized light.