A Companion to Ancient Epic presents for the first time a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of ancient Near Eastern, Greek and Roman epic. It offers a multi-disciplinary discussion of both longstanding ideas and newer perspectives.

• A Companion to the Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman epic traditions
• Considers the interrelation between these different traditions
• Provides a balanced overview of longstanding ideas and newer perspectives in the study of epic
• Shows how scholarship over the last forty years has transformed the ways that we conceive of and understand the genre
• Covers recently introduced topics, such as the role of women, the history of reception, and comparison with living analogues from oral tradition
• The editor and contributors are leading scholars in the field
• Includes a detailed index of poems, poets, technical terms, and important figures and events

John Miles Foley is the Curators’ and Byler Professor of Classical Studies and English at the University of Missouri. He is the founder and Director of the Center for Studies in Oral Tradition. He is the author of The Theory of Oral Composition (1988), The Singer of Tales in Performance (1995), Homer’s Traditional Art (1999), and How to Read an Oral Poem (2002).