Fairy tale does not deny the existence of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance. It denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat…giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy; Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.
The Epic of Gilgamesh (Mesopotamia) – author unknown
Iliad (Greece) – ascribed to Homer
Odyssey (Greece) – ascribed to Homer
Aeneid (Rome) – Virgil
Metamorphoses (Rome) – Ovid
Beowulf (Britain) – author unknown
Both Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (Britain) – John Milton
Of course there are loads of more amazing epic poems and stories to read, but these are for me some that are must reads. Enjoy.
Prefer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim
The legend John Williams
Acerbity [əˈsɜːbɪtɪ] 