An epic is a long narrative poem in an elevated style that deals with the trials and achievements of a great hero or heroes. The epic celebrates virtues of national, military, religious, political, or historical significance. The word “epic” itself comes from the Greek épos, originally meaning “word” but later “oration” or “song.” Like all art, an epic may grow out of a limited context but achieves greatness in relation to its universality. It typically emphasizes heroic action as well as the struggle between the hero’s ethos and his human failings or mortality.
Increasingly, scholars distinguish between two types of epic. The first, the primary epic, evolves from the mores, legends, or folk tales of a people and is initially developed in an oral tradition of storytelling. Secondary epics, on the other hand, are literary. They are written from their inception and designed to appear as whole stories.
Note: References throughout are to Robert Fagles’ poetic translation, Homer: The Odyssey (New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 1996). Citations are by book and line; for example, line 47 in Book 3 is represented as (3.47).
