It will always be based around a central heroic figure, contain grandiose speeches and have as its background a hugely important event, take Homer's "Iliad" set against the remarkable backdrop of the Trojan War, for example. ... This is reminiscent of the intervention of Aphrodite in Book V of Homer's "Iliad" to remove her son Aeneas from the battlefield. ... They are described, for example, as "the light militia of lower sky" , an obvious reference to military formations that would have been a common feature of the classic epic genre. We see them also in their role as follower...

• Word Count: 2068
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

This essay aims to identify some of the factors which have combined to generate this reproducibility, by trying to clarify what is meant by a classic and how and why these texts should be elevated to the ranks of the literary canon. ... Reproducibility in print suggests a popular consumption of the text and therefore a necessity to produce further editions, thus The Iliad and The Odyssey live on centuries and centuries later. ...

• Word Count: 2215
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate