1) Hero Is a Figure of National Or Cosmic Importance

Characteristics of an EPIC POEM

1) Hero is a figure of national or cosmic importance.

2) Setting is on a large scale (the world, universe, etc.)

3) Action involves superhuman deeds and courage.

4) Supernatural beings are involved in the action of the story.

5) The Style of the poem is elevated—i.e.,

there’s no overt sex or potty humor.

Conventions of an EPIC POEM

1)  Poet opens Epic with his argument (a.k.a., Epic Theme)

2)  Narrative begins in medias res (“in the middle of things”). In Homer, this gave birth to the flashback. (The exposition comes later in story.)

3)  Catalogues are used: lists of warriors, ships, armies, etc.

4)  Poetic Features include: allusions, epithets, and epic similes.

5)  Hero undergoes a katabasis*

Epithet: a grand nickname—e.g: “The Sultan of Swat,” “The Greatest” “Smokin’ Joe” Frazier, “The goddess of the Flashing Eyes” (Athena), “The Thunderer” (Zeus).

Hospitality was a sacred duty in Ancient Greek culture.

Some Famous Epics

Homer(Greek): The Iliad, The Odyssey

Virgil(Roman): The Aeneid

Dante (Italian Renaissance): The Divine Comedy

John Milton (English Ren.): Paradise Lost

Homer is considered “The Father of Western Literature” because he wrote the first two epics—The Illiad and The Odyssey. Homer lived around 800 B.C., but the events in the epics took place around 400 years earlier. Very little is known about Homer, but one legend says he was blind.

The Iliad concerns the closing months of the Trojan War, climaxing with the victory of the Achaeans (“Greeks”) over the people of Troy. The Odyssey, on the other hand, is about a ten-year voyage home by the hero, King Odysseus of Ithaca.

Book Nine of The Odyssey includes an encounter on the Island of the Cyclopes. The adventure begins when Odysseus and twelve of his best warriors meet one of these one-eyed giants—a Cyclops named Polyphemus.