Friday, April 18, 2014

Homeric Epithets

Soooo today we're going over the fascinating topic of epithets.

This was inspired by the fact that we're holding the last quest in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign that has lasted almost two years, and my character has developed a lot. When she started the quest, she was a 19-year-old bard.  Now she's a 22-year-old bard/ sorcerer/ fire elemental with a raven familiar named Casca and... well...
When she first introduced herself, she basically said, "I'm Ana of Danger Fief." Her full name is technically Rowan Anaïs.
Now, if I want to refer to her full name and title, it would be Rowan Anaïs of Danger Fief, Queen of the Dead Kingdom, Single Half-Sybaran, Daughter of the Avatar of Chaos and Evil.

How does this relate to Homeric epithets?
Well, Homer does a little of that as well, depending on how many beats he has left in a line and whether he wants to start a new statement in the middle of it. Because of this, Achilles is called swift-footed even when sitting down; Circe and Calypso both have well-braided hair; Odysseus is ever-seeking or cunning; Athena is grey-eyed or wise; there are a bunch of others.

It's kind of interesting to think about what Homer would call Anaïs. Anaïs of the Fire-Hair? The One Born of Darkness? Singer of Tales? The One Doomed to Darkness? The Girl Who Is Really On Fire and Not Metaphorically On Fire Like Katniss Everdeen? 

What would you call your favorite character?

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