A roughly chronological list of the worlds greatest epics

Explore a roughly chronological list of the world's greatest epics, from ancient classics to modern masterpieces. Discover timeless stories that shaped literature and culture across the ages.

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Iliad and Odyssey Boxed Set Cover
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Iliad and Odyssey Boxed Set

by Robert Fagles

This beautiful gift set of Robert Fagles' award-winning translations of Homer brings the energy of contemporary language to these enduring heroic epics.
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ID: 0520227042
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The Ramayana Cover
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The Ramayana

by Vālmīki

One of the ancient world's great verse epics is retold in energetic English prose in this sparkling volume.
The Voyage of Argo Cover
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The Voyage of Argo

by Apollonius (Rhodius.)

The full account of Jason's voyage in the quest of the Golden Fleece.
The Aeneid Cover
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The Aeneid

by Virgil

Recounts the adventures of the Trojan prince Aeneas, who helped found Rome, after the fall of Troy.
The Metamorphoses of Ovid Cover
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The Metamorphoses of Ovid

by Ovid

Through Mandelbaum's poetic artistry, this gloriously entertaining achievement of literature-classical myths filtered through the worldly and far from reverent sensibility of the Roman poet Ovid-is revealed anew. " An] extraordinary translation...brilliant" (Booklist). With an Introduction by the Translator.
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ID: 0801886368
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ID: 0801879655
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ID: 0192803735
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Beowulf Cover
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Beowulf

by Seamus Heaney

Presents a new translation of the Anglo-Saxon epic chronicling the heroic adventures of Beowulf, the Scandinavian warrior who saves his people from the ravages of the monster Grendel and Grendel's mother.
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ID: 0670034851
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The Saga of the Volsungs Cover
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The Saga of the Volsungs

by Jesse L. Byock

One of the great books of world literature--an unforgettable tale of jealousy, unrequited love, greed, and vengeance. Based on Viking Age poems and composed in thirteenth-century Iceland, The Saga of the Volsungs combines mythology, legend, and sheer human drama in telling of the heroic deeds of Sigurd the dragon slayer, who acquires runic knowledge from one of Odin's Valkyries. Yet the saga is set in a very human world, incorporating oral memories of the fourth and fifth centuries, when Attila the Hun and other warriors fought on the northern frontiers of the Roman empire. In his illuminating Introduction Jesse L. Byock links the historical Huns, Burgundians, and Goths with the extraordinary events of this Icelandic saga. With its ill-fated Rhinegold, the sword reforged, and the magic ring of power, the saga resembles the Nibelungenlied and has been a primary source for such fantasy writers as J. R. R. Tolkien and for Richard Wagner's Ring cycle. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Njal's Saga

 

An Icelandic family saga, probably from the 13th century, in a modern translation.
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ID: 081431192X
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Three Kingdoms Cover
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Three Kingdoms

by Guanzhong Luo

A Chinese classic, portraying human ambition against a background of adventure and intrigue and set against historical events of the third century.
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ID: 0393044726
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The Canterbury Tales Cover
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The Canterbury Tales

by Geoffrey Chaucer

Nevill Coghill’s masterly and vivid modern English verse translation with all the vigor and poetry of Chaucer’s fourteenth-century Middle English A Penguin Classic In The Canterbury Tales Chaucer created one of the great touchstones of English literature, a masterly collection of chivalric romances, moral allegories and low farce. A story-telling competition between a group of pilgrims from all walks of life is the occasion for a series of tales that range from the Knight’s account of courtly love and the ebullient Wife of Bath’s Arthurian legend, to the ribald anecdotes of the Miller and the Cook. Rich and diverse, The Canterbury Tales offer us an unrivalled glimpse into the life and mind of medieval England. For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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ID: 0140442391
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Orlando Furioso Cover
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Orlando Furioso

by Lodovico Ariosto

"Ariosto's Orlando Furioso (1532) is the culmination of the chivalric legends of Charlemagne and the Saracen invasion of France, a brilliantly witty parody of the medieval romances, and a fitting monument to the court society of the Italian Renaissance which gave it birth. In a kaleidoscope of scenes and emotions, three principal stories are developed: the love of Orlando for Angelica; the war between the Franks and the Saracens; and the love of Ruggiero, a Saracen, for Bradamant, a Christian. Enlivening and unifying the whole work is the vital personality of the author, endlessly teasing his readers and dropping casual asides about his contemporaries. Though highly serious in purpose and sophisticated in design, Orlando Furioso displays to the full Ariostro's remarkable sense of the absurd. This unabridged prose translation faithfully captures the narrative entire and renders meaning in its lightest shadings."--Back cover
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ID: 0801863236
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Paradise Lost Cover
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Paradise Lost

by John Milton

This Norton Critical Edition is designed to make Paradise Lost accessible for student readers, providing invaluable contextual and biographical information and the tools students need to think critically about this landmark epic.
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Idylls of the King (Penguin Classics) Cover
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Idylls of the King (Penguin Classics)

 

No summary available.
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Aniara Cover
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Aniara

by Harry Martinson

The great Swedish writer Harry Martinson published his masterpiece, Aniara, during the height of the Cold War -- right after the Soviet Union announced that it had exploded the hydrogen bomb. Aniara is the story of a luxurious space ship, loaded with 8,000 evacuees, fleeing an Earth made uninhabitable by Man's technological arrogance. A malfunction knocks the craft off course, taking these would-be Mars colonists on an irreversible journey into deep space. Aniara is a book of prophecy, a panoramic view of humanity's possible fate. It has been translated into seven languages and adapted into a popular avant-garde opera. This volume is the first complete English language version and received the prestigious American Scandinavian Foundation Award.
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