Epic
57 books available
An extended narrative poem or prose composition recounting the deeds of exemplary figures and foundational events. Its structure often employs formulaic language and episodes suited to performance or recitation.
The Iliad
Homer
750-700 BCE
Greek
The Odyssey
Homer
700-600 BCE
Greek
Epic of Gilgamesh
Sin-leqi-unninni
1200-1000 BCE
Mesopotamian, Akkadian
Mahabharata
Vyasa
200 BCE-400 CE
Indian, Hindu
Ramayana
Valmiki
300-100 BCE
Indian, Hindu
Enuma Elish
Anonymous
1100-1000 BCE
Mesopotamian, Babylonian
Metamorphoses
Ovid
1 BCE-8 CE
Roman
The Aeneid
Virgil
29-19 BCE
Roman
Beowulf
Anonymous
1000-1025 CE
Germanic, Anglo-Saxon
Journey to the West
Wu Cheng'en
1592 CE
East Asian, Chinese
Atrahasis
Anonymous
1700 BCE
Mesopotamian, Akkadian
Shahnameh
Ferdowsi
977-1010 CE
Persian
The Song of Roland
Anonymous
1100-1150 CE
Germanic, Old French
Nibelungenlied
Anonymous
1200-1210 CE
Germanic
Epic of Sundiata
Anonymous
1900-2000 CE
African, Mandinka
Táin Bó Cúailnge
Anonymous
1100-1200 CE
Celtic, Irish
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
Anonymous
1300-1400 CE
Germanic, English
Argonautica
Apollonius of Rhodes
200-100 BCE
Greek
Kalevala
Elias Lönnrot
1835-1849 CE
Slavic, Finnish
Epic of King Geser
Anonymous
1700-1900 CE
East Asian, Tibetan
Parzival
Wolfram von Eschenbach
1200-1210 CE
Germanic
Harivamsa
Vyasa
100-300 CE
Indian, Hindu
Kumarasambhava
Kalidasa
400-500 CE
Indian, Hindu
The Tale of Igor's Campaign
Anonymous
1185-1200 CE
Slavic