What Elements Will You Find

in Epics and Myths?

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Epic Literature Myths

Elements of Epics Purposes of Myths
Oral Tradition Mythic Characters
Epic Characters Your Turn
Character Foils
 Epic Literature

Epics are long narrative poems that tell of the

adventures of heroes.

In some way, epic heroes

embody the values of their
civilizations.

For example, a hero may

demonstrate values of
strength, bravery, or
intelligence.
[End of Section]
 Elements of Epics

Epics are found in many cultures and share the

following characteristics:
• a physically impressive hero of
national or historical importance
• a vast setting
• a quest or journey in search of
something of value
• the involvement of supernatural
forces
• a basis in a specific culture or
society
• characters struggling against fate
 Elements of Epics

Read the following passage from the Odyssey,

which is based in Greek culture.

Now Zeus the lord of cloud roused in the north

a storm against the ships, and driving veils
of squall moved down like night on land and sea.
The bows went plunging at the gust; sails
cracked and lashed out strips in the big wind.

How do supernatural forces play

The god, Zeus, stirs up aa role in this
storm.
passage?
 Elements of Epics

Quick Check
“What of my sailing, then, from Troy?
How does this
What of those years
of rough adventure, weathered under Zeus? passage show
The wind that carried west from Ilion the Odyssey’s
brought me to Ismaros, on the far shore, vast setting?
a strongpoint on the coast of the Cicones.
...
I might have made it safely home, that time,
but as I came round Malea the current
took me out to sea, and from the north
a fresh gale drove me on, past Cythera.
Nine days I drifted on the teeming sea. . . .”
from the Odyssey by Homer,
translated by Robert Fitzgerald
[End of Section]
 Oral Tradition

Many ancient epics were sung or spoken by

generations of anonymous storytellers.

As a result, the epics

changed slightly with each
retelling.

Literary epics, however,

were created by individuals.
 Oral Tradition

Most epics include poetic elements, such as

figurative language.
Figurative language puts aside literal meanings
in favor of imaginative connections.
His mind was a well-oiled machine.

His mind isn’t literally a machine, but this figure of

speech expresses his intelligence.
 Oral Tradition

Epics may also repeat certain images and phrases.

Read the following selections from the Odyssey.

When the young Dawn with fingertips of rose
lit up the world, the Cyclops built a fire
and milked his handsome ewes, all in due order. . . .
When Dawn spread out her fingertips of rose
the rams began to stir, moving for pasture,
and peals of bleating echoed round the pens. . . .

What is the repeated image?

 Oral Tradition

Quick Check
“Neither reply nor pity came from him, How does this
but in one stride he clutched at my passage about the
companions Cyclops use
and caught two in his hands like squirming figurative language?
puppies
to beat their brains out, spattering the floor.
Then he dismembered them and made his
meal,
gaping and crunching like a mountain lion—
everything: innards, flesh, and marrow
bones.”
from the Odyssey by Homer,
translated by Robert Fitzgerald

[End of Section]
 Epic Characters

The epic hero, who represents the values of a

society, is at the center of every epic.

Epic heroes are exceptional people who

undertake difficult quests or journeys.

Through the journey, heroes

aim to achieve something of
value to themselves or their
people.
 Epic Characters

Epic heroes may experience many obstacles, or

conflicts, along the way.

These conflicts are sometimes

external, created by forces of
nature or, as in many epics
and myths, the gods.
 Epic Characters

Epic heroes also experience internal conflict.

Faced with an internal conflict, the heroes struggle

to overcome their own feelings or fears.

[End of Section]
 Character Foils

Most epic heroes have a foil.

A foil is a character that

stands in stark contrast
to another character.

For example, Superman’s

foil is Lex Luthor, a villain
whose evil contrasts with
Superman’s goodness.

[End of Section]
 Epic Characters

Quick Check
Identify the conflict
“I might have made it safely home, that
time, Odysseus faces in
but as I came round Malea the current this passage. Is
took me out to sea, and from the north the conflict internal
a fresh gale drove me on, past Cythera. or external?
Nine days I drifted on the teeming sea
before dangerous high winds.”
from the Odyssey by Homer,
translated by Robert Fitzgerald
 Myths

Myths are stories that are nearly always religious.

They often include gods and other supernatural

beings, and sometimes attempt to explain natural
forces.

Often, myths were passed

on by word of mouth.

We can learn a lot about a

culture or society from its
myths.
[End of Section]
 Purposes of Myths

Most cultures have myths that explain natural

phenomena, such as

• seasonal changes
• fire
• lightning
• drought
• floods
• death
 Purposes of Myths

Myths also

• teach moral lessons

• explain history
• express the deepest fears
and hopes of the human
race
 Purposes of Myths

Some myths describe rivalries among the gods.

They also describe
the consequences of
disobeying higher
powers.
 Purposes of Myths

Quick Check
King Priam sulked on hearing the From this opening
paragraph, what
envoys’ account of their visit to
seems to be this
Salamis, and when his own son Paris
myth’s purpose?
ran away with Queen Helen of
Sparta and brought her to Troy, the
king refused to send her back. It
was this decision that provoked the
long, calamitous Trojan War, which
benefited nobody, not even the
conquerors.
from “Paris and Queen Helen”
retold by Robert Graves [End of Section]
 Mythic Characters

In some myths, the characters have notable

characteristics, or traits.

For example, in Native

American myths, Coyote is a
trickster who is always causing
trouble.
 Mythic Characters

Several myths also feature horrible animals and

monsters with terrifying strength.

These animals and monsters are difficult to escape

from or subdue.
 Mythic Characters

As in epics, many myths tell about gods and

goddesses.

These gods and goddesses

often interact with humans,
sometimes testing or playing
with humans as if they were
chess pieces on a board.
Zeus
Athena Poseidon
 Mythic Characters

Quick Check
The goddesses arrived together, each in turn How do the
unveiling her beauty and each in turn offering goddesses interact
a bribe. Hera undertook to make Paris with the human,
Emperor of Asia. Athena undertook to make
Paris?
him the wisest man alive and victorious in all
his battles. But Aphrodite sidled up, saying:
“. . . You deserve to marry a woman almost
as beautiful as myself—let me suggest Queen
Helen of Sparta. One look at you, and I’ll
make her fall so deep in love that she won’t
mind leaving . . . everything, for your sake!”

from “Paris and Queen Helen”

retold by Robert Graves

[End of Section]
 Analyze Elements of Epics and Myths

Your Turn
Read the following excerpt from Virgil’s Aeneid, a story of the
founding of ancient Rome. Then, answer the questions.
1. What qualities of the epic hero does Aeneas possess?
Passing escaped
Aeneas Sicily, where
fromlived
the flames
the monster
of Troy,
bearing his old
Polyphemus, whofather
shouted
on histerrible
back .threats
..
accompanied
after them from by the
a few
shore,
friends
they
andwere
his met
littleby
son
a fearful
Ascanius.
stormHe sent
hadbybeen
[thetold
goddess]
in a dream
Hera,
that it
who hated
was all
histhe
destiny
Trojans
to found
but especially
a nation
in a country
Aeneas, and lying
had resolved
far to thethat
west,
he Italy,
shouldto
which reach
never divine Italy.
guidance would eventually
bring them. . . . Many years of wandering lay
before them, at the end of which they would
Reach their new home.
 Analyze Elements of Epics and Myths

Your Turn
2. In this excerpt, which kind of conflict—external or
internal—does Aeneas face?
Passing escaped
Aeneas Sicily, where
fromlived
the flames
the monster
of Troy,
bearing his old
Polyphemus, whofather
shouted
on histerrible
back .threats
..
accompanied
after them from by the
a few
shore,
friends
they
andwere
his met
littleby
son
a fearful
Ascanius.
stormHe sent
hadbybeen
[thetold
goddess]
in a dream
Hera,
that it
who hated
was all
histhe
destiny
Trojans
to found
but especially
a nation
in a country
Aeneas, and lying
had resolved
far to thethat
west,
he Italy,
shouldto
which reach
never divine Italy.
guidance would eventually
bring them. . . . Many years of wandering lay
before them, at the end of which they would
Reach their new home.
 Analyze Elements of Epics and Myths

Your Turn
3. What role do the gods play in this excerpt?
Passing escaped
Aeneas Sicily, where
fromlived
the flames
the monster
of Troy,
bearing his old
Polyphemus, whofather
shouted
on histerrible
back .threats
..
accompanied
after them from by the
a few
shore,
friends
they
andwere
his met
littleby
son
a fearful
Ascanius.
stormHe sent
hadbybeen
[thetold
goddess]
in a dream
Hera,
that it
who hated
was all
histhe
destiny
Trojans
to found
but especially
a nation
in a country
Aeneas, and lying
had resolved
far to thethat
west,
he Italy,
shouldto
which reach
never divine Italy.
guidance would eventually
bring them. . . . Many years of wandering lay
before them, at the end of which they would
Reach their new home.
The End