A long narrative poem, traditionally elevated in style, recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero on whom the fate of a people or an age turns. The oldest epics, the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Homeric poems among them, arose from oral performance traditions long before they were fixed in writing, which is part of why their own authorship and composition history is often genuinely unsettled. Epic conventions, the invocation of a muse, the in medias res opening, the extended simile, recur across otherwise unrelated traditions from ancient Greece to classical India to medieval Europe, suggesting the form answers a need common to many literary cultures rather than a single point of origin.
Facts
Place of OriginPredates the invention of writing; primary epics, such as those attributed to Homer, were composed by bards using complex rhetorical and metrical schemes before ever being written down. 1 Notable ExampleThe Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2500-1300 BCE), the oldest epic recognized, recorded in ancient Sumer during the Neo-Sumerian Empire. 1 Defining TraitA lengthy narrative poem, typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters, told on a grand scale. 1 Epic
Filter Results27 entries
FAQs
What is the oldest epic that survives?
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest epic recognized.
The oldest epic recognized is the Epic of Gilgamesh, dated to about 2500 to 1300 BCE and recorded in ancient Sumer during the Neo-Sumerian Empire.
Connections
Associated With
Homer, Authors Primary epics such as those of Homer are the genre's founding, oral-tradition examples.
Source Epic Poetry (Wikipedia)
Encompasses Form
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Byliny, Forms Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Features Author
Source Wikipedia: Cantar de mio Cid
Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Source Epic of Gilgamesh (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Epic of Manas
Source Epic of Sundiata (Wikipedia)
Source Eugene Onegin (Wikipedia)
Source Ferdowsi (Wikipedia)
Homer, Authors Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
Source Kalevala (Wikipedia)
Source Les Miserables (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Ludovico Ariosto
Source Wikidata: Luis de Camoes
Additional Source Wikipedia: Luís de CamõesInfobox: genre
Source Wikipedia: Mahabharata
Source Metamorphoses (Wikipedia)
Source Moby-Dick (Wikipedia)
Source Nibelungenlied (Wikipedia)
Source Wikidata: Os Lusíadas
Additional Source Wikipedia: Os LusíadasInfobox: genre
Source Pan Tadeusz (Wikipedia)
Source Paradise Lost (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Ramayana
Source Shahnameh (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: The Aeneid
Source The Cantos (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Song of Roland
Source The Tale of Kieu - Wikipedia
Source The Tale of the Heike (Wikipedia)
Source Tristan Tzara (Wikipedia)
The Aeneid already in-genre Epic; Virgil himself carried no in-genre edge to it.
Source Virgil (Wikipedia)
Source War and Peace (Wikipedia)
Form Of Genre
Sources
1. Epic Poetry (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationOverview section
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters. The oldest epic recognized is the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2500-1300 BCE), recorded in ancient Sumer during the Neo-Sumerian Empire. Originating before the invention of writing, primary epics, such as those of Homer, were composed by bards who used complex rhetorical and metrical schemes.
Associated With: Homer
Primary epics, such as those of Homer, were composed by bards who used complex rhetorical and metrical schemes.
In Group: Epic and Heroic Poetry Traditions, Lead section
In poetry, an epic is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants.
View the Source The Norton Anthology of World Literature
W. W. Norton & Company
The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press- s.v. Epic
- Encompasses Form: Blank Verse, s.v. Blank Verse
- Encompasses Form: Terza Rima, Long associated with sustained narrative and epic verse, most famously Dante's Divine Comedy.
- Encompasses Form: Eddic Verse
- Encompasses Form: The Chanson de Geste
- Encompasses Form: The Masnavi
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.- Encompasses Form: Ottava Rima, s.v. Ottava rima
- Encompasses Form: Luc Bat
- Encompasses Form: Byliny
- Encompasses Form: The Griot Epic
View the Source The Cantos (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Features Author: The Cantos, Infobox, Genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Cantos, Infobox, Genre field
Modernist epic
Wikipedia: The Aeneid
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: The Aeneid, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: The Aeneid, Lead section
epic poem
Virgil (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Virgil, Works section, three famous poems
He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid.
Features Author: Virgil, Opening paragraph, the epic Aeneid
He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid.
View the Source Les Miserables (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Les Misérables, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Les Misérables, Lead section, genre
is a French epic historical novel by Victor Hugo
Masnavi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Masnavi, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Masnavi, Lead section, genre
It is a series of six books of poetry that together amount to around 25,000 verses or 50,000 lines
Eugene Onegin (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Eugene Onegin, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Eugene Onegin, Lead section, genre
Almost the entire work is made up of 389 fourteen-line stanzas (5,446 lines in all) of iambic tetrameter
Moby-Dick (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Moby-Dick, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Moby-Dick, Lead section, genre
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is an 1851 epic novel by American writer Herman Melville
Paradise Lost (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Paradise Lost, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: Paradise Lost, Lead section, genre
is an epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton
War and Peace (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: War and Peace, Lead section, genreQuote, Features Author: War and Peace, Lead section, genre
an epic novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy
Metamorphoses (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Metamorphoses, Infobox, Genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Metamorphoses, Infobox, Genre field
Narrative poetry, epic, elegy, tragedy, pastoral
Ferdowsi (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Ferdowsi, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Ferdowsi, Lead section
Abu al-Qasim Mansur bin Hasan Tosi (940-1025), better known by his pen name Ferdowsi, was a Persian poet who is notable for being the author of the Shahnameh ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poems created by a single poet, and the greatest epic of the Persian-speaking countries.
Wikipedia: Mahabharata
WikipediaFeatures Author: Mahabharata, LeadQuote, Features Author: Mahabharata, Lead
one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India
Shahnameh (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Shahnameh, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Shahnameh, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Epic poem
Kalevala (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Kalevala, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Kalevala, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Epic poetry, National epic
Pan Tadeusz (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Pan Tadeusz, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Pan Tadeusz, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Epic poem
The Tale of Kieu - Wikipedia
Features Author: The Tale of Kieu, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: The Tale of Kieu, Infobox, genre field
Genre: epic poem
Wikipedia: Epic of Manas
WikipediaFeatures Author: Epic of Manas, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Epic of Manas, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Epic poem
Tristan Tzara (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Tristan Tzara, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Tristan Tzara, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Lyric poetry, epic poetry, free verse, prose poetry, parody, satire, utopian fiction
Ovid (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Ovid, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Ovid, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Elegy, epic, drama
Wikipedia: Ludovico Ariosto
Features Author: Ludovico Ariosto, Infobox, genre fieldQuote, Features Author: Ludovico Ariosto, Infobox, genre field
Genre: Epic poetry
Wikipedia: Os Lusíadas
WikipediaFeatures Author: Os Lusíadas, Infobox: genreQuote, Features Author: Os Lusíadas, Infobox: genre
Epic poetry
Wikipedia: Luís de Camões
Features Author: Luís de Camões, Infobox: genreQuote, Features Author: Luís de Camões, Infobox: genre
Epic poetry
Epic of Gilgamesh (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Epic of Gilgamesh, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Epic of Gilgamesh, Lead section
The Epic of Gilgamesh () is an epic from ancient Mesopotamia that is the world's oldest surviving example of narrative literature.
Beowulf (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Beowulf, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Beowulf, Lead section
Beowulf ( ; Old English: Bēowulf [ˈbeːo.wuɫf]) is an Old English poem, an epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines, contained in the Nowell Codex.
Nibelungenlied (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationFeatures Author: Nibelungenlied, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Nibelungenlied, Lead section
The Nibelungenlied (German pronunciation: [ˈniːbəlʊŋən-], [ˈnɪbəlʊŋən-] or [ˌniːbəˈlʊŋənˌliːt] ; Middle High German: Der Nibelunge liet or Der Nibelunge nôt), translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German.
Wikipedia: Ramayana
WikipediaFeatures Author: Ramayana, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Ramayana, Lead section
The Ramayana (; Sanskrit: रामायणम्, romanized: Rāmāyaṇam), also known as the Valmiki Ramayana, as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a Hindu smriti epic poem (also described as a Sanskrit epic) from ancient India.
Wikipedia: Cantar de mio Cid
Features Author: Cantar de Mio Cid, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Cantar de Mio Cid, Lead section
El Cantar de mio Cid, or El Poema de mio Cid ("The Song of My Cid"; "The Poem of My Cid"), is an anonymous 12th-century cantar de gesta and the oldest preserved Castilian epic poem.
The Tale of the Heike (Wikipedia)
Features Author: The Tale of the Heike, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: The Tale of the Heike, Lead section
The Tale of the Heike (平家物語, Heike Monogatari) is an epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180-1185).
Epic of Sundiata (Wikipedia)
Features Author: Epic of Sundiata, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: Epic of Sundiata, Lead section
The Epic of Sundiata (; Manding languages: ߛߏ߲߬ߖߘߊ߬ Sònjàdà, also referred to as Sundiata or Son-Jara; Arabic: ملحمة سوندياتا; French: L'épopée de Soundjata) is an epic poem of the Malinke people that tells the story of Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa, who ruled from 1235 C.E. until his death in 1255 C.E.
Wikipedia: Song of Roland
Features Author: The Song of Roland, Lead sectionQuote, Features Author: The Song of Roland, Lead section
It is an epic poem written in Old French and is the first example of the chanson de geste, a literary form that flourished between the 11th and 16th centuries in Medieval Europe and celebrated legendary deeds.
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