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The epic it is a narrative story that is part of the epic genre. Epics address the actions that make up the tradition of a nation or a culture. For example: The Iliad, the Odyssey.
These texts are characterized by providing the community with a narrative of its origins, hence they are included in the founding stories.
In ancient times, these stories were spread orally. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first to have written records, on clay tablets, dating from the second millennium BC.
- See also: Song of deed
Characteristics of the epic
- The protagonists of these stories are characters with a heroic spirit, who represent the values admired by the population, and their stories always have supernatural elements.
- They tend to unfold in the middle of trips or wars
- They are structured in long verses (generally hexameters) or prose, and their narrator always places the action in a remote, idealized time, in which heroes and gods coexist.
- See also: Lyric Poems
Examples of epic
- Epic of Gilgamesh
Also known as the Gilgamesh Poem, this story is composed of five independent Sumerian poems and recounts the exploits of King Gilgamesh. For critics, it is the first literary work that addresses the mortality of men versus the immortality of the gods. Furthermore, the story of the universal flood appears for the first time in this work.
The poem narrates the life of the king of Uruk Gilgamesh who, as a consequence of his lust and mistreatment of women, is accused by his subjects before the gods. In response to these claims, the gods send a wild man, named Enkidu, to confront him. But, contrary to expectations, the two end up becoming friends and commit ruthless acts together.
As punishment, the gods kill Enkidu, prompting his friend to embark on a quest for immortality. On one of his travels, Gilgamesh meets the sage Utnapishtim and his wife, who have the gift that the king of Uruk longs for. Returning to his land, Gilgamesh follows the instructions of the wise man and finds the plant that restores youth to those who eat it. But before doing so, a snake steals it.
Thus, the king returns to his land empty-handed, with greater empathy for his people after the death of his friend and with the idea that immortality is the sole patrimony of the gods.
- The Iliad and The Odyssey
The Iliad is the oldest written work in Western literature and is estimated to have been written in the second half of the 8th century BC. C., in Ionian Greece.
This text, which is attributed to Homer, narrates a series of events that occurred during the Trojan War, in which the Greeks besieged this city after the abduction of the beautiful Helen. The battle ends up turning into a universal confrontation, in which the gods are also involved.
The text narrates the fury of Achilles, a Greek hero who feels offended by his commander, Agamemnon, and decides to abandon the fight. After their departure, the Trojans lead the battle. Among other events, the Trojan hero Hector causes the almost total destruction of the Greek fleet.
While Achilles is away from the confrontation, the death of his best friend, Patroclus, also occurs, so the hero decides to return to fight and thus manages to reverse the fate of the Greeks in his favor.
The Odyssey is another epic that is also attributed to Homer. It tells of the conquest of Troy by the Greeks and the cunning of Odysseus (or Ulysses) and the wooden horse with which he deceives the Trojans to enter the town. This work narrates the return of Ulysses home, after having fought in the war for ten years. His return to the island of Ithaca, where he held the title of king, takes another decade.
- The Aeneid
Of Roman origin, The Aeneid It was written by Publio Virgilio Marón (better known as Virgilio) in the 1st century BC. C., commissioned by the Emperor Augustus. The intention of this emperor was to write a work that gave a mythical origin to the empire that began with his government.
Virgil takes as a starting point the Trojan War and its destruction, which had already been narrated by Homer, and rewrites it, but adds the history of the founding of Rome to which he gives the touch of the legendary Greek myths.
The plot of this epic focuses on the journey of Aeneas and the Trojans to Italy and the struggles and triumphs that follow until they reach the promised land: Lazio.
The work is composed of twelve books. The first six tell of Aeneas' travels to Italy, while the second half focuses on the conquests that take place in Italy.
- The song of Mío Cid
The song of Mío Cid It is the first major work in Spanish literature written in a Romance language. Although it is considered anonymous, a current of specialists attribute its authorship to Per Abbat, although others consider that it was the work of a mere copyist. It is estimated that The song of Mío Cid It was written during the first 1200s.
The work narrates, with certain liberties on the part of the author, the heroic feats of the last years of life of the knight of Castilla Rodrigo Díaz, known as the Campeador, from his first exile (in 1081) until his death (in 1099).
The text, which consists of 3,735 verses of variable length, addresses two major themes. On the one hand, exile and what the Campeador must do to achieve real forgiveness and regain his social status. On the other, the honor of the Cid and his family, enhanced at the end to such an extent that his daughters marry the princes of Navarra and Aragon.
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