Introduction
Literature as a discipline of the humanities reflects the universal human skill of story-
telling. Like the rich tradition of mythology, the literature of the great epics of the world
all began in oral traditions. Epics were first sung by poets and often accompanied by
music such as the lyre. The major genres of literature, such as poetry, the novel, and
short stories, invite the reader into the worlds of their writers and some works become
representative of the best of their time as classics or even masterpieces. A masterpiece
is admired for its style, execution, and resonance throughout the ages, but must wait for
this judgment from a future age. That is, it must stand the test of time and remain
relevant to the human condition.
Myth and the Epic
This tradition begins in oral story-telling or narrative poetry which was sung in
memorized verse. The epic genre emerges as a literary heritage of early cultures who
developed writing. Mesopotamia produced one of the earliest forms of writing for laws
and bookkeeping and also the first epic in world literature called Gilgamesh. The deeds
of this epic hero may have celebrated a real person from the city Uruk from 2750 BCE.
Over a millennium popular songs and poems of this hero were transformed into a single
epic poem by a Babylonian priest named Shin-eqi-unninni. Likewise the early Greek
masterpiece The Iliad recorded the heroic feats of an earlier age and were written by
Homer, who may have lived anytime between 1200 and 850 BCE. India produced its
great Sanskrit epic The Mahabharata. Similarly both China and Japan have literary
traditions that may have proceeded Homer’s masterpieces.
Epics
Homer’s The Iliad and its sequel The Odyssey represent true masterpieces in literature
and became classic models for much literature to follow, from epic, to poetry and into
the modern novel. Homer’s epic account of the 10-year Trojan War was narrated in
poetic language and reveals a humanization of its major characters. It includes an
empathy and respect for the Trojan hero, Hector, whose tragic fall becomes the central
focus of the epic. Homer’s epic reveals rich insights into human nature, which exceeds
other subsequent epics. Epics often become a form of national pride as seen in the
Roman poet, Virgil, who modeled The Aeneid on the Trojan War, but identified with
Trojans, as Aeneas becomes the perfect hero who founds a new city (Rome) after the
Literature as a discipline of the humanities reflects the universal human skill of story-
telling. Like the rich tradition of mythology, the literature of the great epics of the world
all began in oral traditions. Epics were first sung by poets and often accompanied by
music such as the lyre. The major genres of literature, such as poetry, the novel, and
short stories, invite the reader into the worlds of their writers and some works become
representative of the best of their time as classics or even masterpieces. A masterpiece
is admired for its style, execution, and resonance throughout the ages, but must wait for
this judgment from a future age. That is, it must stand the test of time and remain
relevant to the human condition.
Myth and the Epic
This tradition begins in oral story-telling or narrative poetry which was sung in
memorized verse. The epic genre emerges as a literary heritage of early cultures who
developed writing. Mesopotamia produced one of the earliest forms of writing for laws
and bookkeeping and also the first epic in world literature called Gilgamesh. The deeds
of this epic hero may have celebrated a real person from the city Uruk from 2750 BCE.
Over a millennium popular songs and poems of this hero were transformed into a single
epic poem by a Babylonian priest named Shin-eqi-unninni. Likewise the early Greek
masterpiece The Iliad recorded the heroic feats of an earlier age and were written by
Homer, who may have lived anytime between 1200 and 850 BCE. India produced its
great Sanskrit epic The Mahabharata. Similarly both China and Japan have literary
traditions that may have proceeded Homer’s masterpieces.
Epics
Homer’s The Iliad and its sequel The Odyssey represent true masterpieces in literature
and became classic models for much literature to follow, from epic, to poetry and into
the modern novel. Homer’s epic account of the 10-year Trojan War was narrated in
poetic language and reveals a humanization of its major characters. It includes an
empathy and respect for the Trojan hero, Hector, whose tragic fall becomes the central
focus of the epic. Homer’s epic reveals rich insights into human nature, which exceeds
other subsequent epics. Epics often become a form of national pride as seen in the
Roman poet, Virgil, who modeled The Aeneid on the Trojan War, but identified with
Trojans, as Aeneas becomes the perfect hero who founds a new city (Rome) after the
