National Epics: A Study of Epics from Cultures Worldwide (Forgotten Books)

National Epics: A Study of Epics from Cultures Worldwide (Forgotten Books) Review

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National Epics: A Study of Epics from Cultures Worldwide (Forgotten Books) Feature

A national epic is an epic poem or similar work which seeks or is believed to capture and express the essence or spirit of a particular nation; not necessarily a nation-state, but at least an ethnic or linguistic group with aspirations to independence or autonomy. National epics frequently recount the origin of a nation, a part of its history, or a crucial event in the development of national identity such as other national symbols. In a broader sense, a national epic may simply be an epic in the national language which the people or government of that nation are particularly proud of. (Quote from wikipedia.org)

About the Author

John Stevens Cabot Abbott (September 19, 1805 - June 17, 1877), an American historian, pastor, and pedagogical writer, was born in Brunswick, Maine, in 1805.

He was a brother of Jacob Abbott, and was associated with him in the management of Abbott's Institute, New York City, and in the preparation of his series of brief historical biographies. Dr. Abbott graduated at Bowdoin College in 1825, prepared for the ministry at Andover Theological Seminary, and between 1830 and 1844, when he retired from the ministry in the Congregational Church, preached successively at Worcester, Roxbury and Nantucket, all in Massachusetts. Owing to the success of a little work, The Mother at Home, he devoted himself, from 1844 onwards, to literature. He was a voluminous writer of books on Christian ethics, and of popular histories, which were credited with cultivating a popular interest in history. He is best known as the author of the widely popular History of Napoleon Bonaparte (1855), in which the various elements and episodes in Napoleon's career are described. Abbott takes a very favourable view towards his subject throughout. Also among his principal works are: Hist

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The Fall of Troy (Forgotten Books)

The Fall of Troy (Forgotten Books) Review

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The Fall of Troy (Forgotten Books) Feature

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology, and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer. The Iliad relates a part of the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the Achaean leaders. Other parts of the war were told in a cycle of epic poems, which has only survived in fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets like Virgil and Ovid. (Quote from wikipedia.org)

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Quintus Smyrnaeus (or Quintus of Smyrna) was a Greek epic poet whose Posthomerica, following "after Homer" continues the narration of the Trojan War.

The dates of Smyrnaeus's life are controversial, but they are traditionally placed in the latter part of the fourth century. "His date is approximately settled by two passages in the poem, viz. vi. 531 sqq., in which occurs an illustration drawn from the man-and-beast fights of the amphitheatre, which were suppressed by Theodosius I. (379-395 A.D.); and xiii. 335 sqq., which contains a prophecy, the special particularity of which, it is maintained by Koechly, limits its applicability to the middle of the fourth century A.D."

Some scholars suggest an earlier date in the 3rd or even the 2nd century, arguing that his Posthomerica shows an influence from the "Second Sophistic", the school of Greek orators who flourished in the first and second centuries. According to his own account (xii. 310), he began composing poetry in his early youth while tending sheep near Smyrna (pr

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