Greek Epic Cycle

Literary/ Cultural Context Essay

Alberto Bernabé (Universidad Complutense)
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1. The Epic Cycle

Of all Archaic Greek epics only two poems by Homer and two by Hesiod have survived in full. However, that era saw the creation of many other poems on greatly varied topics; they survive mainly in fragments or in late prose summaries.

Of all Archaic Greek epics only two poems by Homer and two by Hesiod have survived in full. However, that era saw the creation of many other poems on greatly varied topics; they survive mainly in fragments or in late prose summaries.

The so-called Epic Cycle was a series of poems on heroic themes, particularly the large sagas that surpassed the limits of local poems and were composed independently by different authors at different times and in various places. Their common aim was either to fill out the gaps left in Homeric poems or to develop

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Citation: Bernabé, Alberto. "Greek Epic Cycle". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 25 August 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=13865, accessed 28 March 2024.]

13865 Greek Epic Cycle 2 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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