Ancient epics are long narrative poems or prose works that remain important in many ways. Whether they’re myths and legends, spiritual texts, historical stories, folktales, or existential and philosophical dramas, all ancient epics offer lessons on the human condition in a wider context.
Anyone who has taken a literature class in high school or college has inevitably come across epics, or at least a mention of them. There, epics serve as great works of art: students analyze their writing style and word choices and study the main characters and their journeys.
Philosophy and history classes make good use of them, too. Through epics, students grapple with existential and moral questions, explore the power of the gods and fate over human choices, and learn about ancient societies and their values.
But outside of school, epics still offer modern benefits. Their lengthy narrative style forces the brain to slow down, ignore distractions, and follow complex ideas, tension, and character development over time. Universal themes, flawed heroes, and moral choices are all things you can relate to as the main character in your own life, even if your circumstances differ.
Explore a diverse, curated collection of Greek, Roman, Norse, Asian, MENA, Celtic, and English epics here, and find out why they’re interesting and meaningful enough to add to your to-read list.
The Odyssey by Homer
Ancient Greece’s influence on modern Western culture is obvious in The Odyssey, Homer’s philosophical epic poem. After the Trojan War, Odysseus struggles to return home, where everyone believes he’s dead. In his wanderings, he faces dangers, relies on his cunning (metis), chooses duty over temptation, encounters hospitality (xenia), and finally takes revenge. Note that this epic inspired the 2000 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Prose Edda: Norse Mythology by Snom Sturluson
Norse mythology is unique in that the ancient culture was harsh but had many lessons on loyalty, duty, honor, sacrifice, acceptance of fate, and the gods’ divine will. Compiled in the 13th century by the Icelandic chieftain and scholar Snorri Sturluson, this collection preserves the old pagan myths in remarkable detail.
The Sagas of Icelanders by Jane Smiley
The medieval Icelanders were a stoic people with dramatic, complicated daily lives. Told in clean, direct prose, these stories of stubborn, practical people living with the consequences of revenge feel strikingly modern while offering real historical insight. The collection also includes the Vinland Sagas, a crucial historical text.
Metamorphoses by Ovid
Ancient Roman culture was another huge influence on the modern Western world. Metamorphoses is a sweeping 15-book narrative poem that uses mythic transformations to tell the world’s history from the ancient Roman point of view. It starts with the creation of the universe, includes the legendary founding of Rome, and continues up to the deification of Julius Caesar.
The Arabian Nights by Anonymous
You might better recognize this epic by its other titles, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night or One Thousand and One Nights. The overarching frame story of a vizier’s clever daughter named Scheherazade unites this collection of Eastern folk tales from across South Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa (MENA).
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Anyone with a passing familiarity with English literature knows Hamlet. The revenge tragedy features the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father, who reveals that his own brother, Claudius, killed him. It is also Shakespeare’s longest play.
The Mabinogion
Ancient pre-Christian Celtic mythology combines with historical folklore and Arthurian romance in this compilation of Welsh oral traditions, whose title means something like “tales of youth.” The collection includes the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, set in a dreamlike version of Britain; several stand-alone tales of British folklore and politics; and three Arthurian romances that mirror French chivalric tales.
Njal’s Saga by Anonymous
Also titled Njala or The Story of Burnt Njal, this 13th-century work is the greatest and longest of the Sagas of Icelanders. Its dramatic storytelling draws on historical events to narrate a 50-year blood feud. A petty rivalry between the wives of two close friends, Njal and Gunnar, eventually escalates into uncontrollable community violence, fueled by pride, insults, and the deadly serious consequences of the inflexible Viking honor code.
The Bhagavad-Gita by Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
This spiritual and philosophical Hindu masterpiece features a battlefield dialogue between the warrior-prince Arjuna and the god Krishna, his charioteer. You get to read about navigating ethical crises, duty, and spiritual alignment while on the edge of a dynastic war.
The Saga of the Volsungs
This long prose narrative from ancient Norse oral traditions is an anonymous 13th-century compilation from Iceland. It makes for raw, immersive reading into the mythic roots of Germanic and Viking heroic legends. Trace the Volsung clan from its origins and glorious triumphs to its catastrophic downfall. Of note is the clan’s most famous member, Sigurd the dragon-slayer, a legend in his own right.
The Aeneid by Virgil
Roman poet Virgil modeled his epic on Homer’s, with its wanderings and battlefield conflicts, while adding themes of empire, personal sacrifice, and destiny’s heavy emotional toll. The Aeneid is a classic heroic epic that follows Aeneas, a Trojan survivor who flees the city of Troy and establishes the lineage that eventually founds Rome.
Find the best ancient epics on Audiobooks, Amazon/Audible, and Bookstores who are not Amazon.
You might also enjoy “The Best Books about Stoicism.”
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