The epic characteristics found in this excerpt from the Illiad by Homer are <em>epic simile and starting in media res</em>.
An epic simile is often known as Homeric simile, used in epic poetry. It is used to augment the heroic moment or level of a character or a situation.
In media res is a Latin sentence that means "in the middle of". It is used when the plot has a situation that is part of other events and will continue in further scenes. When this happens, previous events are included as flashbacks.
