The History of Epic Fantasy

It is the first genre and the most important. The oldest book known to man is the Epic of Gilgamesh and it was written on stone tablets a thousand years before the Iliad was written.

Even though many of the stories in the genre are hundreds of years old, some even thousands of years old, they persist. They stay with us not because they are good entertainment but because they pose riddles and possible solutions to what this epic adventure we call life means.

I have outlined the four major changes in the history of Epic Fantasy. These chages take us from the very beginning of the written word to the present day. It's amazing how the genre has grown over time and changed yet it still addresses the same questions about the meaning of life.e Four stages

1. The Earliest Epic Fantasy

Epic fantasy is as old as the human race itself. Since the beginning of time humans have had a fascination with the singular hero who rises up against all odds to conquer or unite a kingdom or who embarks on an epic quest. The fascination with this kind of story is so strong that it has withstood the ultimate test -the test of time. The oldest known version of any story is that of the epic fantasy called Gilgamesh.

The Epic of Gilgamesh was inscribed on stone tablets a thousand years before the Iliad was written.

About Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh was a king who embarked on a quest to slay the beast Grendel and find immortality. It is generally considered by scholars that Gilgamesh did in fact exist and that he was a king of Uruk in about the 26th Century BC.

If you want to understand and learn about epic fantasy right from its beginning this is the place to start. There is good reason for this story having survived so long.

This epic has been recently released in an easy to read and well translated version and for a story like this that was probably told verbally for many generations you may want to consider getting the audio version -To hear this story rather than read it brings a sense of tribal connection.

(If you like the epic fantasy from this period you may want to try The First Heroes a collection of stories written today but that take place in the Bronze Age.)

2. Ancient Greece

The ancient greeks elevated the epic fantasy to new heights and the predominat theme in these epics was that of the boy who was rightfully king but through deceit of others was not allowed to take the throne. The hero must embark on a quest to overcome this and often times the gods themselves were obstacles to this quest.

When we think about epic heroes few come to mind as quickly as these ancient Greek heroes. Literature is full of examples. Jason and the Argonauts is an epic tale where Jason, in order to claim the kingdom that was rightfully his, embarked on a quest to find the golden fleece. This story was also made into a motion picture (Jason and the Argonauts).

The Odyssey is another great epic of ancient Greece which many consider to be the greatest epic ever to be written or told. It takes place around the 12th or 13th century bc and tells the story of a ten year journey that Odysseus makes in returning to his home after the Trojan War. In the Odysses he faces obstacles like the Sirens of the Sea, a cyclops, giants, and many others. He overcomes these obstacles through luck, wit and strength.

Perseus is another epic hero who faces and slays the Medusa on his path to claiming his kingdom. The Movie Clash of the Titans was based on the story of Perseus. This movie was acclaimed for it's amazing special effects created by Ray Harryhausen.

3. The Middle Ages

The epics of the Greek period focused on a single man battling the gods and the creatures of the world but the epic fantasy of the middle ages, although still replete with bad creatures, leaves out the gods and instead turns the focus of our hero toward the inside of himself. In a sense the power of the gods was turned over to mortals.

This is the age of epic fantasy where chivaly and morals take center stage. Our hero who still has to accomplish great quests and overcome huge obstacles has to do this through the lens of his own moral compass. The quest becomes one of internal journey along with external accomplishment. Our hero is not guided strictly by the desire for a kingdom but is also guided by the rule of what is right.

The foremost epic is that of King Arthur which takes place around the 5th - 6th century and the story has evolved over the centuries to include the Knights of the round table, excalibur and Lancelot. King Arthur and his knights journeyed on fantastic quests including the quest for the holy grail.

One the earliest works about King Arthur was Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur which was written in the 15th century. It contains the story lines of Guinevere, Lancelot, and the quest for the holy grail. This story was rewritten and retold and updated by T.H White in his 1958 modern classic The Once and Future King.

The epic of King Arthur has been brought to the silver screen many times and in many ways but one of the absolutely finest renditions of the story is in the movie Excalibur. It is a masterpiece.

One of the most noted changes to epic fantasy of this period is the use of magic. It changed from a power of the gods to one that could be mastered by wise humans. This is epitomized in Merlin. With Merlin and the mastery of magic man is no longer subject to the whims and the power of the gods. He is developed into a new being that is more god like.

4. The Modern era

Epic Fantasy in the modern era has its roots in all the epic fantasy of the past but it has evolved. Many of the elements are the same; The hero struggles with seemingly insurmountable obstacles both within and without, but the setting for the story has changed.

In epic fantasy of the past the world we live in was an unknown and mysterious place. A person could be expected to live their whole life within a few miles of the same village or town. So what lay beyond this was a topic of much speculation. Jungles, forests, oceans and exotic creatures couldn't be seen in pictures, zoos or television. They could only be told about in stories.

Today we all have access to much of the wonder that the world has to offer and although it still remains a strange and mysterious place it doesn't have the same sense of unknown that it held for people in the past.

So the epic fantasy story has evolved to reach new worlds of fantastic and epic proportions. This satisfies the basic tenet that in order for the hero to grow he must reach out into a place that has never been explored before.

This is illustrated well in the modern epic fantasy TheLord of the Rings (also made into movies). The main character, as all the epic fantasy heroes before him, embarks on a quest where the whole of the world is at stake and along the way he overcomes many obstacles both internal and external.

In the modern epic fantasy the world itself is changed. It follows different rules, has different, and more formidable creatures and enemies. Through this the sense of epic is brought even higher and the sense of fantasy is deepened. And even though the setting has changed the core of the epic fantasy adventure (seeking meaning in our existence) still remains the same.