10 literary epics of mythic proportions

I really enjoy great sweeping historical epics that become the stuff of legend. Here are a selection of the best and most readable.

1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义).

Written in the 14th century AD by 罗贯中 (Luo Guanzhong), this epic describe the events in China at the end of the Han dynasty and during the Three Kingdoms era. Three warlords, Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Jian lead the kingdoms of Shu, Wei and Wu, allying and betraying each other as they vie to unify China once more. Each kingdom has many generals and strategists, and vast numbers of men under arms. It was highly Machiavellian before the word was even invented.

2. The Arthurian cycle.

Britain's national epic. It tells of Arthur Pendragon, his rise to the kingship of the British Isles, his founding of the chivalric order of the Knights of the Round Table, his court's search for the Holy Grail, his betrayal by his wife Guinevere and his death at the hands of his son Mordred, around about the 5th century AD. All around good clean fun, with just enough soap opera naughtiness to make it interesting. The definitive version is by Thomas Malory.


3. The Lord of the Rings.

Completely fictional - but then, some of the other ones on this list probably are too. Written by JRR Tolkien over 15 or so years, and published in 3 volumes in 1954 and 1955. It was meant to be a single book. It tells of Middle Earth and the struggle to defeat evil personified in Sauron ans his One Ring. Frodo, hobbit and Ringbearer, is tasked to carry the Ring to Mount Doom and drop it into the depths of a volcano. Obviously he succeeds, but not without cost. Tolkien's world appears particularly well-realised and detailed, probably because he made up a whole supporting mythology before he actually set pen to paper to write a word of the trilogy.

4. The Kalevala.

This is the Finnish national epic, and was compiled by Elias Lonnrot in the 19th century in verse form. It follows the adventures of Vainamoinen, a warrior-bard who is looking for a wife, Lemminkainen, a handsome rake who holds the source of all good fortune (something called the Sampo), and Ilmarinen, a blacksmith who can make anything (including the Sampo). The 3 heroes have to quest for the Sampo when Lemminkainen loses it. The story ends with a Christian allegory - a virgin birth occurs, and the baby judges Vainamoinen, causing him to leave the earthly world. The baby is then declared king of Karelia.

5. Beowulf.

Classic story of hero kills monster, and helped win Seamus Heaney a Nobel Prize in Literature. Beowulf is a thane of the Geats who helps King Hrothgar, king of the Spear Danes kill a monster called Grendel, for making a habit of eating Hrothgar's men. Beowulf battles Grendel alone, ripping off one of the monster's arms. Grendel flees back to the lake where he lives, and dies at his mother's feet. She then attempts to take revenge, but fails, and flees. Beowulf follows shortly after, and kills Grendel's mother. He then returns to Geatland, where he becomes a king, and after long life, fights and kills a third monster, a dragon. However, he dies of his injuries. Heaney provided a page of the epic in Old Anglo Saxon in his translation - it must have been some song when sung.

6. The Mahabharata.

This "poem" is 1.8 million words long, written in Sanskrit, in both verse and prose. It is divided into 18 parts, or parvas. Broadly, they describe a battle for the throne of Hastinapura between 2 branches (the Kaurava and the Pandava) of one family. The struggle takes the form of a vendetta initially, with the Kauravas trying to assassinate the Pandavas, and then escalates into a huge battle between 2 armies. The Pandavas win, and try to ascend to heaven, but fail, all except one, the purest in heart and mind.

7. The Ulster Cycle.

Describes the adventures of Cuchulainn, hero of Ulster. Cuchulainn is the son of two gods, and is the defender of Ulster. He's the forerunner of Superman (and perhaps Achilles), as he is invincible and goes into a battle frenzy when roused. His finest hour is when Medb, queen of Connacht, attacks Ulster to steal a prize bull. Cuchulainn enters the most severe battle frenzy of his life, and slaughters Medb's army singlehandedly. Cuchulainn is eventually betrayed by his enemies and killed (along with his horse and chariot driver) by 3 magic spears.

8. The Iliad and the Odyssey.

Written by Homer around the 7th or 8th century BC. The Iliad is about the re-entry of Achilles into the Trojan war, the conquest of Troy by the Greeks, after Menelaus King of Sparta is cuckolded by Paris, prince of Troy. Many Greek and Trojan heroes die during the decade-long war, but eventually the Trojans are defeated by the Trojan horse stratagem (although most of these events are not in the Iliad). The Odyssey is about one of the survivors, Odysseus, and his trials and travails during his (also) decade-long journey home to Ithaca and his wife, Penelope.

9. The Epic of Sundiata.

Got to have some cultural diversity - let's look for an African epic. This one is the national epic of Mali. Full disclaimer - I haven't read this one, only a couple of summaries, but it seems to fit all the criteria for inclusion into this list. It tells of the birth of Sundiata Keita, the Muslim founder of the Mali empire, how he was born crippled and learned to walk, how he was exiled from his kingdom by the dowager, and how he returned with an army to retake it. If it sounds a bit like The Lion King, that's because the movie and the musical are based on this story.

10. The Water Margin (水浒传).

Written by Shi Naian (施耐庵), whom some believe to be Luo Guanzhong, or at the very least a student or a teacher thereof, the Water Margin tells of a band of outlaws that slowly grows to number 108 heroes and leaders. These men are in revolt against the Emperor, but the Emperor offers an amnesty if the band will put down revolts within the kingdom, fighting in both the North and the South of China. The band succeeds, at the cost of most of its members. At the end, few survive.