What is the difference between myths and epic poems?

Answer 1

If a tale is an epic, it focuses on heroes involved in the beginning, end, or major transformation of a specific people. For example, Homer's Iliad is epic because it chronicles the end of the Trojan people, and the King Arthur tales are epic when they focus on the creation of the British people (rather than scattered tribes with no shared identity). The literary work Lord of the Rings has been called epic because it focuses on the end of Middle Earth and its transformation into a world without elves, dwarves, hobbits, or magic. Beowulf is an epic in that it tells about both Beowulf's initiation of his own kingdom (through his defeat of Grendel and Grendel's dam) and the end of his kingdom (through his death by the dragon). If a tale is a myth, it focuses on entities of spiritual/magical force, such as gods and monsters and nymphs, either among themselves or in interaction with mortals. While a few myths explain natural phenomena, such as the sun's movement across the skies or why there is a winter, most myths deal more with helping people grapple with emotional, social, and spiritual issues through metaphor, such as coping with death in real life through myths about death anthropomorphized into the Grim Reaper or Thanatos or the Angel of Death. That metaphoric function is why myths remain popular even though we cease to believe in the sciences within them. Myths are linked to religions or to "religions of nation". Examples of myth include the Greek tale of Theseus and the Minotaur, which reminds us about the labyrinthine efforts to face our own inner "monsters", and the Judaeo-Christian tale of David and Goliath, which reminds us that faith, courage, and skill can defeat even a giant. Myths can be based on real life people when the tales about those people are used to help people grapple with emotional, social, and/or spiritual issues. For example, President Kennedy has been mythologized into almost an avatar for the sense of adolescent enthusiasm and optimism of the 1960s. People who belong to a particular religion consider their religion's myths to be non-fictional tales, whereas people who belong to a different religion might consider those myths to be fictional tales. Fairytales are now recognized as a type of myth; they are myths which exist outside any religion and which involve ordinary people instead of Great Heroes and Gods.

If a tale involves BOTH the end, beginning, or transformation of a people AND entities of spiritual/magical force, it is both an epic and a myth.

Answer 2

Myths are traditional stories that often explain the origin of a phenomenon, while epic poems are long narrative poems that recount heroic deeds or adventures of a legendary figure. Epic poems are a specific form of storytelling that can incorporate mythical elements, but myths encompass a wider range of stories and themes.

Answer 3

An epic is a long narrative poem that the heroes are aided with supernatural powers and/or a god. A legend is a long story that the hero has quest bigger than himself. The hero will also change history.

Answer 4

The diffenences between myths are, in my opinon, have 3 primary bases.

First, is the type of mythologies of which myths came from ,and how the mythologies got there beginnings, for examples, the myths of hercules, percesus, and thesus, all came from greek mythology, and greek mythology begin when a space called Chaos created four main godly being, which made other godly beings as in the Titans and the Olympians.

Second, is the cultures and beliefs, for examples, the Australian's aborigines beliefs are that of the Dreamtimes and reverence of their land.

Finally, is the people and places which myths came from, for examples, Norses myths came from the Vikings, Norsemans, and Norse pagans, and they all came from Germany and Scandinavia.

Answer 5

A myth is a story that is intended to convey some traditional belief of a culture; it can be expressed in a variety of ways. An epic poem can be used to express a myth, although it can be used for other purposes as well. Epic poetry follows a certain pattern of rhyme and meter.

Answer 6

5 + 5 = 9 :D

Answer 7

lugaringi iton