Epic Characteristics
Epic Writing
Definitions
Authors
Genres
100
Epic heroes display great valor and strength through these.
What are deeds?
100
A prayer to these spirits asks for inspiration and an accurate retelling of the epic.
Who are the Muses?
100
Prayer to ask for an accurate retelling of the epic
What is an invocation?
100
The unknown authors of "Theseus", "The Apple of Discord," and "Daedalus and Icarus"?
What are anonymous authors?
100
Tales like "Theseus," "The Apple of Discord," or "Daedalus and Icarus" with humans interacting with gods.
What are myths?
200
This covers many lands or countries in epic tales.
What is the setting?
200
Most epics begin in this part of the story.
What is "en media res" or the middle?
200
Excessive pride often seen in epic heroes.
What is hubris?
200
Author of The Iliad and The Odyssey
Who is Homer?
200
Short intense poems with a single idea, like those of Sappho.
What is lyric poetry?
300
This person is widely known.
What is the epic hero?
300
Bards, like Homer, use these to connect with listeners by using everyday comparisons.
What are epic similes?
300
The act of someone like Thetis kneeling before Zeus, clinging to his knees, begging for a favor for her son.
What is supplication?
300
This Roman poet wrote The Aeneid, told from Aeneas' point of view.
Who is Virgil?
300
An oft-retold story in an elevated style of a hero that represents a nation or people, like The Iliad and The Aeneid.
What is an epic?
400
The storyteller of an epic needs to report in this style.
What is objective reporting?
400
A phrase used to describe a characteristic or quality, such as "white-armed Hera."
What is an epithet?
400
Traditional stories, not necessarily factual, which discuss gods, behaviors, or phenomenon.
What are myths?
400
This historian wrote "The Burning of Rome."
Who is Tacitus?
400
A drama which follows a strong person who experiences a downfall through fate, overpowering force, or unyielding society, like Antigone.
What is a tragedy?
500
This intervenes in the epic characters' lives.
What are supernatural forces?
500
When scholars debate if Homer wrote both "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey"
What is the Homeric Question?
500
Short intensive poems, expressing strong emotions.
What is lyric poetry?
500
The greatest tragedy writer ever who wrote Antigone.
Who is Sophocles?
500
The nonfiction story of "The Burning of Rome" falls under this genre.
What is a history?
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