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 coherent overview from such a perspective.



Jörg Rüpke was Professor of Classical Philology at the University of Potsdam from 1995 to 1999 and Professor of Comparative Religious Studies at the University of Erfurt from 1999 to 2008. Since 2008 he has been Fellow of Religious Studies at the Max Weber Centre in Erfurt.



Sofia Bianchi Mancini studied Classics at the University of Wales Trinity St David and completed her doctorate at the University of Erfurt in 2021. Since 2021 she is a postdoctoral researcher, working on 'Divine Property: Late Antiquity and Medieval Solutions' at the Max Weber Centre in Erfurt.