15th to 18th centuries
“Each achievement–the control of our own bestial nature, the mastering of other species, the exploration of the planet, the transcendence of the family or tribal unit, the creation of language, the recognition of our own special nature, the bloody political struggle to create cities and nations, the emergence of law and ethics, the survival of natural disasters, the development of technology and trade, the preservation of history–was a desperately heroic adventure, achieved in the teeth of huge unknown dangers, pathetically short lifetimes, and tragic misunderstandings. Epics tell that story, the greatest story in the world.”
Frederick Turner, Epic: Form, Content, and History