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"an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or thing mentioned." Some epithets are negative. But certai
by dasmoth 9y ago
"an adjective or phrase expressing a quality or attribute regarded as characteristic of the person or thing mentioned."
Some epithets are negative. But certainly not all.
- wavefunction 9y agoAt least in the Homeric epics epithets were used as mnemonic devices for oral story-tellers and their audience to keep track of who was who, like 'swift-footed Achilles': https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithets_in_Homer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epithets_in_Homer Apparently the Greeks got this from earlier Indo-European traditions.