Semantic Relationships of Epithets in Ancient Epic Poetry and ‘The Knght in the Panther’s Skin’ by Rustaveli

Abstract

Numerous works can be found on the relations between ancient epic poetry and Rustaveli's "The Knight in the Panther’s Skin", which highlight the issue of similarities and differences between the mentioned texts in different directions. Our interest in the interrelationships between the epithets given by three representatives of ancient epic poetry and by Rustaveli was caused by the rarity of searching the issue in Georgian scientific literature. We study the relations between ancient epic poetry and Rustaveli's poem by contrasting the similarities and differences between the epithets presented in the studied texts - by the comparative method. The following research gives us an idea of ​​the relations that can be used as an argument to prove the "kinship" between Rustaveli and ancient epic poetry. The similarities between the epithets presented in Rustaveli’s epic and the ancient epic poetry ("The Iliad", "Odyssey", "Argonautica", "Aeneid") give us grounds to believe that the ancient epic poetry, authored by Homer, Apollonius and Virgil, found an important reflection in the work by the Georgian epic writer.