Epic

Picture: The picture I chose to represent an epic is a picture that relates to Homer's Iliad. This is a picture of the warlord Agamemnon and Apollo's priest Chryses. Chryses is begging Agamemnon to give him his daughter back.


My Example: An epic is a poem or story that portrays the journeys/experiences/deeds of heroes in a exaggerated writing style.

3 Characteristics of an Epic:

1. The gods and lesser divinities play an active role in the outcome of actions: Because epic's are usually centered on "larger than life heroes" and gods, this is a common characteristic and can be found several times in the Iliad.
   ex: Lines 217- 224: "Now come on drop this quarrel, don't draw your sword. Tell him off instead." - Athena is telling Achilles not to kill Agamemnon. Athena (a goddess) has changed the outcome of the story in this passage because she keeps Achilles from killing Agamemnon which could have drastically changed the story.
   


2. Long, formal speeches are given by important characters- ex: Lines 263-300 "And when I talked in council, they took my advice. So should you two now: Taking advice is a good thing. Agamemnon for all your nobility don't take his girl... Nor should you, son of Peleus, want to lock horns with a king."- Nestor gives Agamemnon and Achilles a speech about all his experience with great people, and the advice he has given them and the advice his now giving to Agamemnon and Achilles.
   ex: Lines 236-260 "You bloated drunk with a dog's eyes and a rabbit's heart!" Achilles is is telling off Agamemnon like Athena told him to, and he is calling him a coward.
   


3. The action, often in battle, reveals more than human strength of the heroes as they engage in acts of heroism and courage: You will find this in the Iliad because the author uses metaphors, smilies and impossible tales to describe characters backgrounds, and hero's deeds. Many of the characters are part god, so this ads on to the story, and their "deeds" and experiences. Examples of this below: ex: Lines 279-283: "Caineus and Exadius and godlike Polyphemus, And Aegeus' son, Theseus, who could have passed for a god, The strongest men who ever lived on earth, the strongest, And they fought with the strongest, the wild thing, From the mountains, and beat the daylights out of them." This is a great example because it is said that these men single handedly beat and killed wild animals from the mountains and were "the strongest men on earth". ex: Lines 59-61 :"But aimed his needle-tipped arrows at the men and shot until death-fires crowded the beach. Nine days the god's arrows rained death on the camp." In these lines the author is explaining how Apollo is killing all these soldiers but when he says "shooting arrows" he means he was sending a fast spreading plague across the war camp.
   

1. gh


2. jhj