Ancient Epic Poetry

Epics are the oldest written long texts in many languages. They claim to recount fundamental events and seek to give validity to their version through formal composition. This volume provides an overview of Greek and Latin epic poetry from Homer to Late Antiquity. But above all it asks: How were they made audible? Who wanted to read or listen to them? And how did this change the texts? The professionalisation of such great works also led to competition, outbidding, but also to parody or condensation of the texts. This book is the first to provide a broad and consistent overview from such a perspective.