A characteristic of Homer's style is the use of epithets, as in "swift-footed" Achilles or "rosy-fingered" Eos (the personification of dawn). Epithets are used because of the constraints of the dactylic hexameter (i.e., it is convenient to have a stockpile of metrically fitting phrases to add to a name) and because of the oral transmission of the poems; they are mnemonic aids to the singer and the audience alike.Parry 1928: 5-10
Formulae in epic poetry from various Indo-European traditions may be traced to a common tradition. For example, the phrase for "everlasting glory" or "undying fame" can be found in the Homeric Greek as / and Vedic Sanskrit as / . These two phrases were, in terms of historical linguistics, equivalent in phonology, accentuation, and quantity (syllable length). In other words, they descend from a fragment of poetic diction (reconstructable as Proto-Indo-European ) which was handed down in parallel over many centuries, in continually diverging forms, by generations of singers whose ultimate ancestors shared an archetypal repertoire of poetic formulae and narrative themes.John Curtis Franklin, Structural Sympathies in Ancient Greek and South-Slavic Heroic Singing.
In contrast to the more general term 'epithet' (), which is used in poetic contexts, for the ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis (, , literally ) was used as the surname that was associated with a deity during religious invocations.
Epithets alter the meaning of each noun to which they are attached. They specify the existential nature of a noun; that is to say, Achilles is not called "swift-footed" only when he runs; it is a marker of a quality that does not change. Special epithets, such as patronymics, are used exclusively for particular subjects and distinguish them from others, while generic epithets are used of many subjects and speak less to their individual characters. In these examples, the epithet can be contradictory to the present state of the subject: in Odyssey VI.74, for instance, Nausicaa takes her "radiant clothing" () to be washed; since it is dirty, it is unlikely to be radiant.Parry 1971: 121
List
General General epithets are applied to common nouns, or the people or things that fall under such a noun. For example, Odysseus, Achilles, and Agamemnon are all referred to as "brilliant" (a general epithet for men) at various points. men shining, divine (, ) born from Zeus (, ) god-like (, ; , ) high-hearted brilliant (dios) leaders lord of men (, ) women (incl. goddesses) white-armed (, ) lovely-haired (, ) ox eyed (, ) goddesses of the golden distaff with (, ) day the day of return (, — nostalgia also comes from ) earth life-giving (, ) sea loud-roaring () grey wine-colored, wine-dark () ships well-balanced swift black lions eating raw flesh () mountain-bred () fiery () spears sharp (ὀξύς) long-shadowed (δολιχόσκιος) brazen (χαλκηρής)
Nations Abantes swift (, ) sporting long hair (, ) Achaeans hairy-headed (, ) bronzed-armored (, ) strong-greaved (, ) glancing-eyed (, ) with hollow ships Carians who spoke a foreign tongue (, ) Trojans tamers of horses (, ) Phaeacians oar-loving
Individuals Achilles son of Peleus ( ) swift-footed ( ; ; ) breaking through men ( ) lion-hearted ( ) like to the gods ( ) shepherd of the people ( ) Aeneas son of Anchises ( ) counselor of the Trojans ( ) lord of the Trojans ( ) great-hearted ( ) great-minded ( ) king of men ( ) great ( ) Agamede fair-haired, red-haired, flaming-haired (, ) Agamemnon breaker of horses, horse-tamer ( ) son of Atreus ( : also transliterated ) wide-ruling lord ( ) the lord marshal powerful shepherd of the people ( ) lord of men ( ) Aias/Ajax Son of Telamon ( ) swift gigantic ( ) the mighty Alcinous the hallowed prince great Andromache daughter of Eetion ( ) white-armed (, ) Antilochus a man of good judgement ( ) Aphrodite Cytherean () laughter-loving ( ) daughter of Zeus ( ) goddess of love fair ( ) Apollo Phoebus, i.e. the Bright or Pure, ( ) with unshorn hair; i.e., ever-young ( ) destroyer of mice ( ) distant deadly Archer ( ) far-aiming lord ( ) Lycian-born () rouser of armies son of Zeus ( ) of the silver bow ( ) famous with the bow ( ) whom the sleek-haired Leto has born ( ) Ares slayer of men ( ) sacker of cities (πτολι-πόρθιος ptoli-pórthios) bronzen ( ) furious ( ) destroyer of city walls ( ) of the glinting helmet Ariadne lovely-haired ( ) Artemis the archer-goddess shooter of arrows ( ) Athena Pallas ( ) gray-, bright-eyed ( ) daughter of Zeus third-born of the gods Tritogeneia () whose shield is thunder hope of soldiers tireless one ( ) who gathers the spoils ( ) Briseis beautiful-, fair-cheeked ( ) fair-haired ( ) Calypso beautiful nymph softly-braided nymph divine goddess most divinely made daughter of Atlas cunning goddess ( ) Charybdis dreaded Chryseis beautiful, fair-cheeked ( ) Circe enchantress shining among goddesses, bright among goddesses the dread goddess who talks with mortals Aeaean Cronus (Kronos) crooked-counselling, devious-devising ( ) all-powerful Demeter fair-haired Diomede of the beautiful cheeks (, ) Diomedes son of Tydeus great spearman master of the war cry god-like strong breaker of horses, horse-taming ( ) Eos Rosy-fingered ( ) Early-born (Erigeneia) Of the golden throne Eumaeus swineherd (, ) Hector tall shepherd of the people of the glinting helmet, of the shining helm ( ) man-killing breaker of horses, horse-taming ( ) dear to Zeus glorious (phaidimos) Helen daughter of a noble house Daughter of Zeus who holds the aegis long-dressed Helios who brings joy to mortals the sun god who sees all things and listens to all things, all seeing and all hearing brilliant Hyperion () Hera ox-eyed lady ( ) Hephaestus the famous craftsman the famous lame god of the strong arms Hermes messenger of the gods and conductor of men ( ) slayer of Argos ( ) son of Zeus giant-killer the strong one keen eyes emissary Icarius great-hearted ( ) Idomeneus loving manliness, manly (, ) Ino lovely-ankled ( ) Iphis of the lovely girdle (, ) Iris wind-footed Meleager fair-haired, red-haired, flaming-haired (, ) Menelaus fair-haired, red-haired, flaming-haired (, ) master of the war-cry son of Atreus ( ) spear-famed loved by Ares, war-like ( ) cherished by Zeus ( ) Naubolos great-hearted ( ) Nestor breaker of horses, horse-tamer ( ) Godly Gerenian charioteer son of Neleus ( ) Pylos born king sweet spoken wise old (γέρων) Odysseus resourceful, man of many resources, of many turns, man of twists and turns ( ) much-enduring, long suffering ( ) great-hearted ( ) sacker of cities, raider ( ) son of Laertes ( ) wise loved of Zeus great glory of the Achaeans master mariner mastermind of war hotheaded honored man of action the great teller of tales man of exploits man of pain that kingly man hero ( ) the great tactician cunning ( ) Onchestos sacred Pandaros son of Lykaon Patroclus son of Menoitius ( ) Zeus-born, sprung from Zeus () dear to Zeus () great-hearted ( ) horseman ( or ) peerless () peer to gods in counsel ( ) gentle () hero ( ) Paris Alexandros magnificent Penelope cautious careful circumspect (, ) daughter of Icarius discreet temperate wise self-obsessed Poseidon earth-shaker ( or ) earth-moving, earth-carrying ( ) Rhadamanthys fair-haired, red-haired, flaming-haired (, ) Sarpedon leader of the Lycians Suitors swaggering haughty Telemachus poised thoughtful prudent Thetis silver-footed Thersites of the endless speech Thyestes rich in flocks () Tiresias the blind prophet the Theban Tydeus driver of horses Zeus mighty son of Kronos ( ) wide-seeing cloud-gatherer, who marshals the thunderheads ( ) father of gods and men ( , Iliad 11.182) of the dazzling bolt ( ) loud-thundering ( ) delighting in thunder ( ) dark-clouded aegis-holding ( ) of the counsels (metieta) of the wide brows, wide browed (euryopa)
Shared Paris, Hector, Polites son of Priam ( ) Antilochus, Pisistratus son of Nestor ( ) Agamemnon, Menelaus son of Atreus ( ) Hector, Agamemnon, Atreus, Diomedes, Nestor breaker of horses, horse-tamer ( ) Agamemnon, Achilles, Diomedes best of the Achaeans Hector, Ares man-slaughtering Diomedes, Menelaus master of the war-cry Athena, Zeus aegis-holding ( ) Meleager, Menelaus, Rhadamanthys fair-haired, red-haired, flaming-haired (, )
See also Homeric simile – another common Homeric device List of kennings – kennings in Icelandic, Old Norse, and Old English Makurakotoba – epithets in classical Japanese
Notes
Sources Parry, Milman. "L'Épithète traditionnelle dans Homère: Essai sur un problème de style homérique." Paris: Société d'Éditions "Les Belles Lettres", 1928. Parry, Milman, ed. Adam Parry. "The Making of Homeric Verse: The Collected Papers of Milman Parry." Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1971. Edwards, Mark. "Homer and the Oral Tradition: The Formula (part one)." Oral Tradition 1 (1986) 171-230. Edwards, Mark. "Homer and the Oral Tradition: The Formula (part two)." Oral Tradition 3 (1988) 11-60. Reece, Steve. "Greek Epic Formulae," in Giorgios Giannakis (ed.), Encyclopedia of Ancient Greek Language and Linguistics (Leiden: Brill, 2014) 613-615. Greek_Epic_Formulas Reece, Steve. "Epithets," in Margalit Finkelberg (ed.), Homeric Encyclopedia (Oxford: Blackwell, 2011) 257-259. Epithets V.J. Howe, "Epithets in Homer." Available online at https://www.angelfire.com/art/archictecture/articles/008.htm. (Retrieved October 16, 2007.) Fagles, Robert. "The Odyssey." Penguin Books, 1996.