Epic poems

The Iliad (; , ; ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. Like the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in dactylic hexameter. It contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version. The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature and is a central part of the Epic Cycle.

The Odyssey (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the Iliad, the Odyssey is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his

epic poem from Mesopotamia, is amongst the earliest surviving works of literature

thumb|Plate with a hunting scene from the tale of Bahram V|Bahram Gur and Azadeh. The imagery on this plate represents the earliest known depiction of a well-known episode from the story of Bahram Gur, which seems to have been popular for centuries, but was only recorded in the Shahnameh, centuries after this plate was created. Iran, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]

thumb|300px|Aeneas Flees Burning Troy, by Federico Barocci (1598). [[Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy]] right|thumb|300px|Map of Aeneas' fictional journey

The Kalevala () is a 19th-century compilation of epic poetry, compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish, Karelian and Ingrian folklore and mythology, telling a story about the Creation of the Earth, describing the controversies and retaliatory voyages between the peoples of the land of Kalevala called Väinölä and the land of Pohjola and their various protagonists and antagonists, as well as the construction and robbery of the mythical wealth-making machine Sampo.

Old East Slavic heroic poem

collection of Old Norse poems

Georgia's national epic poem

ancient Egyptian literary work

work of epic literature of Tibet and greater Central Asia

North Caucasus epic poem

Lāčplēsis ("The Bear-Slayer") is an epic poem by Andrejs Pumpurs, a Latvian poet, who wrote it between 1872 and 1887 based on local legends. It is set during the Livonian Crusades telling the story of the mythical hero Lāčplēsis "the Bear Slayer". Lāčplēsis is regarded as the Latvian national epic.

thumb|Sadko, Palekh miniature

Armenian folk epic

Mastorava () is an Erzya epic poem compiled based on Erzya mythology and folklore by Aleksandr Sharonov, published in 1994 in the Erzya language, with a Moksha language version announced.

traditional oral epic poem of the Mongols

epic poem in Vietnamese written by Nguyễn Du (1766–1820)

16th century literary work

Atra-Hasis () is an 18th-century BC Akkadian epic, recorded in various versions on clay tablets and named for one of its protagonists, the priest Atra-Hasis ('exceedingly wise'). The narrative has four focal points: An organisation of allied upper and lower gods shaping Mesopotamia agriculturally; a political conflict between them, pacified by creating the first human couples; the mass reproduction of these; and a great deluge linked to the intention of the upper gods to destroy their imperfect artificial creatures, as handed down in a remarkably similar manner in various other flood myths of

book by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš

ancient song genre

Padmavat (or Padmawat) is an epic poem written in 1540 by Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, who wrote it in the Awadhi language, and originally in the Persian Nastaʿlīq script. It is the oldest extant text among the important works in Awadhi. A famous piece of Sufi literature from the period, it relates an allegorical fictional story about Delhi Sultan Alauddin Khalji's desire for the titular Padmavati, the Queen of Chittor based on historic conquest of chittor. Alauddin Khalji and Padmavati's husband Ratan Sen are historical figures, whereas Padmavati may have been a fictional character.

epic poem of the Malinke people, telling the story of the hero Sundiata Keita, the founder of the Mali Empire

Araṇya-Kāṇḍa, or The Forest Episode, is the third book of the epic poem of Ramayana. It is also found in the Rāmcharitmānas. It follows the legend of Rama through his fourteen-year exile in the forest, joined by his wife and his brother. Rama overcomes challenges and demons by upholding standards of behavior. Nearing the end of his exile, Rama's wife Sita is kidnapped by the king Ravana, and Rama learns what happened. The story continues in the next book, Kiśkindhā Kāṇḍa.

Hero from the epic poem "Daredevils of Sassoun"

Zadonshchina (; could be translated as "the region beyond the Don River") is a Russian literary monument of the late 14th century, which tells of the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

epic poem by William of Tudela

Balinese palm-leaf manuscript

Aniara () is a book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson from 1953 to 1956. It narrates the tragedy of a large passenger spacecraft carrying a cargo of colonists escaping destruction on Earth veering off course, leaving the Solar System and entering into an existential struggle. The style is symbolic, sweeping and innovative for its time, with creative use of neologisms to suggest the science fictional setting. It was published in its final form on 13October 1956.

Bṛhatkathā (बृहत्कथा) (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Guṇāḍhya (गुणाढ्य) in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the Kathāsaritsāgara (कथासरित्सागर), Bṛhatkathāmañjarī (बृहत्कथामंजरी) and Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha (बृहत्कथाश्लोकसंग्रह) in Sanskrit, as well as the Peruṅkatai and Vasudevahiṃḍi in vernaculars — make commentary on the piece.

epic poem written by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen

epic poem by Johan Ludvig Runeberg

literary work

1841 epic poem by Taras Shevchenko

Old Babylonian poem

epic poem in the Swahili language, dated 1728

1765 poem written by Kristijonas Donelaitis

legendary Tulu heroes

Lao epic poem

thumb|Gizur challenging the Huns according to the Hlöðskviða (Hunnenschlachtlied) [[File:Chernyakhov.PNG|right|upright=1.35|thumb|

Extant Sumerian language work

unfinished poem by Nikolay Nekrasov

The Pasyón () is a Philippine epic narrative of the life of Jesus Christ, focused on his Passion, Death, and Resurrection. In stanzas of five lines of eight syllables each, the standard elements of epic poetry are interwoven with a colourful, dramatic theme.

narrative

thumb|250px|Old publication of Karel ende Van Elegast. Elegast (elf spirit) is the hero and noble robber in the poem Karel ende Elegast, an early Middle Dutch epic poem that has been translated into English as Charlemagne and Elbegast. In the poem, he possibly represents the King of the Elves. He appears as a knight on a black horse, an outcast vassal of Charlemagne living in the forest. The original Dutch poem uses the name Elegast, while translated versions of the poem commonly use the name Elbegast in German and English, or Alegast in the Scandinavian ballad.

epic poem by Bonvesin de la Riva

The Ibonia is an epic poem that has been told in various forms across the island of Madagascar for at least several hundred years. The Ibonia predates the introduction of the printing press in Madagascar in the early part of the 19th century and as such has long been part of the poetic and storytelling oral traditions of the island. The first known transcription of the story was recorded in the 1870s and rapidly gained canonical status in the African literary tradition, being reprinted in numerous collections across Europe.

Congolese epic. Belonging first to oral literature,

Poem in cycle of Serbian epic poetry

book by Francisco Balagtas

book by Thomas Stephens

The Siribhoovalaya () is a work of multi-lingual literature written by Kumudendu Muni, a Jain monk. The work is unique in that it employs not letters, but is composed entirely in Kannada numerals. The Saangathya metre of Kannada poetry is employed in the work. It uses numerals 1 through 64 and employs various patterns or bandhas in a frame of 729 (27×27) squares to represent alphabets in nearly 18 scripts and over 700 languages.

Darangen is a Maranao epic poem from the Lake Lanao region of Mindanao, Philippines. It consists of 17 cycles with 72,000 lines in iambic tetrameter or catalectic trochaic tetrameter. Each cycle pertains to a different self-contained story. The most notable of which deals with the exploits of the hero Bantugan.

Tulu epic poem