Poetry Kaleidoscope: Guide to Poetry

World Folk-epics

World folk-epics are those epics which are not just literary masterpieces but also an integral part of the weltanschauung of a people. They were originally oral literatures, which were later written down by either single author or several writers.

List of world folk-epics

African languages

Lianja a central African epic
Silamaka a Western African epic
Soundiata an African epic

American languages

Tunkashila an American Indian epic

Asian languages

Bidasari a Malay epic
Biag ti Lam-Ang(Life of Lam-Ang) an epic of the Ilocanos of Northern Luzon,Philippines
Darangen an epic from the Maranao people of Mindanao, Philippines
Epic of King Gesar, a Tibetan epic, generally considered the longest in the world.
Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest epic from Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean world
Heike Monogatari a Japanese epic
Hinilawod an epic of the Panay-Bukidnons of the Visayas, Central Philippines.
Mahabharatha an epic from North India, also known as Bharathayudha in Indonesia
Manas an epic from Kyrgyzstan
Nagarakertagama an Indonesian epic
On Jerusalem an epic written in Greek based on the Old Testament characters of Abraham, Isaac and Joseph
Sepha Khun Chang Khun Phaen, a Thai epic
Shahnama a Persian epic
Silappadhikaram a South Indian epic
Arabian Nights an epic from the Mediterranean Arab world
Journey to the West (also known as "Monkey"), a Chinese epic

European languages

Aeneid a Roman epic
Beowulf an Anglo-Saxon epic written in Old English
Bylina a Russian epic A bylina is analogous to a short saga, not an epic. Furthermore it the word for a kind of story rather than a title.
Edda a collection of Icelandic poems
Iliad a Greek epic
Kalevala a Finnish epic
Kalevipoeg an Estonian epic
Lāčplēsis a Latvian epic
Nibelungenlied a German epic poem
Njál's saga an Icelandic epic
Odyssey an epic from Greece
Prince Marko a Serbian epic
Táin Bó Cúailnge Irish epic
The Tale of Igor's Campaign a Slavic epic
Z O R A J E a Slovene epic
Volsunga saga, a Scandinavian epic