The origin of the epic is in Ancient Greece. The epic is about a long poem, usually written in verse. Normally it narrates heroic events linked to a culture, such as the epic of Gilgamesh or that of Achilles.
The epic derives from the word epos, which was formerly applied to works or contents in hexameters. The oldest records of the epic are found in Mesopotamia in the years 2200 BC with the work entitled Poem of Gigamesh.
In its beginnings, the epic was not properly a written text, rather they were stories that were told orally and recited publicly. These stories were faithfully passed down from generation to generation. The aedos were poets who sang the exploits of heroes.
This type of oral epic was displaced from the fourteenth century by the later called classical epic. This shows a more sophisticated model than in ancient times and was told by the rhapsodies.
The epic in history
It is clear that the epic has been present since the ancient literatures linked to the history or mythology of the peoples in which it originated. Generally focusing on wars or travel and where gods and fantastic elements intervene.
The epic can claim as his own some of the great stories of all time such as The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Homer is considered as the father of the epic with his work The Iliad, who as far as is known was written in 730 BC Homer was an aedo who used many works that circulated orally to give life to these works.
The Greco-Latin classics were shown as role models. The epic underwent transformations over time.
During the Middle Ages, the epic had an important evolution, however, it is worth mentioning that in other parts of the world there were also representations of this literary genre.
The peoples of the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia and the rest of Asia have also developed the epic. Epic texts of already extinct civilizations have even been found in America and Africa.
In Europe, the origins of the epic occurred mainly in the Germanic peoples who occupied the territory of the Roman Empire.
In the Renaissance the epic underwent a radical change. Oral and Middle Ages traditions were left behind and it became the ultimate literary narrative.
This is how we can get an idea of the extension that the epic reached through the times before Christ.
The origin of the epic goes back to the oldest expressions of literature that have been produced.
The epic offers a unique model in terms of the way of narrating, the conformation of the characters and stylistic resources that remain in force until modern times.
Although the epic began to lose strength in the 18th century due to the presence of the novel, this literary genre is still in force today in the form of films, comics, video games and more.
References
- The Epic Literature. Monografias.com www.monografias.com
- Epic: European Literature www.literaturaeuropea.es
- Literature 1. Volume 1. books.google.com.mx
- Block 3. Difference between the Fable and the Epic cemsa.edu.mx.