Question

How do writers of epics typically start their poems?

Answer 1

Answer:

Writers of epics typically start their poems with an invocation to the Muse.

Explanation:

In Greek mythology, there were nine Muses. The Muses were the goddesses of the arts, including poetry. The Muses themselves were skilled in their art and, through it, were able to have mankind forget their troubles. Writers of epic poems, such as Homer, the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, would begin their work by invoking the Muse of poetry. They would ask the Muse to inspire them, to give them the necessary knowledge to complete their work. The invocation below was taken from The Odyssey:

“Tell me, Muse, of the man of many ways, who was driven

far journeys, after he had sacked Troy’s sacred citadel.

many were they whose cities he saw, whose minds he learned of,

many the pains he suffered in his spirit on the wide sea,

struggling for his own life and the homecoming of his companions.

Even so he could not save his companions, hard though

he strove to; they were destroyed by their own wild recklessness,

fools, who devoured the oxen of Helios, the Sun God,

and he took away the day of their homecoming.  From some point

here, goddess, daughter of Zeus, speak, and begin our story.”

Answer 2

Answer:  They often start with an invocation to their muse.

Explanation: The narrative poem style known as epic poem focuses on the maneuvers of a hero, they often start with an invocation to their muse, such mused being a god or goddess which inspired them.  For example the famous epic poem known as "The Iliad," opens with a request for the goddess of poetry to sing.