Epic Poems



This is a selection of the most well known epic poetry or prose from before the 20th century.

1. The Iliad by Homer - It is the oldest work of literature in the ancient Greek language, making it the first work of European literature. The poem concerns events during the tenth and final year in the siege of the city of Ilion or Troy, by the Greeks.

2.Epic of Gilgamesh - Anonymous. This is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction.

3. The Odyssey by Homer - The poem is partly, a sequel to Homer’s Iliad and mainly centers on the Greek hero Odysseus and his long journey home to Ithaca following the fall of Troy.

4. Metamorphoses by Ovid. This is a narrative poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world. it is one of the most popular works of mythology, being the classical work best known to medieval writers and thus having a great deal of influence on medieval poetry.

5. Beowolf - Anonymous. Commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon Literature,

6. The Mahabharata is one of the longest epic poems in the world. It is of immense importance to the culture of the Indian subcontinent and is a major text of Hinduism.

7. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri This is widely considered the central epic poem of Italian literature and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature.

8. Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton The poem concerns the Judeo-Christian story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

9. Don Juan by Lord Byron. Byron’s masterpiece is based on the legend of Don Juan, which he reverses, portraying Juan not as a womaniser but someone easily seduced by women. It is a variation on the epic form.

10. Aeneid - Virgil The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem written by Virgil in the 1st century BC

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