Thus, the classical Roman author Virgil systematically called his main hero pius Aeneas, the epithet being pius, meaning religiously observant, humble and wholesome, as well as calling the armsbearer of Aeneas fidus Achates, the epithet being fidus, which means faithful or loyal.
The Greek term antonomasia, in rhetoric, means substituting any epithet or phrase for a proper name, as "Pelides", signifying the "son of Peleus", to identify Achilles.
In William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, epithets are used in the prologue, such as "star-cross'd lovers" and "death-mark'd love."
Epithets were in layman's terms glorified nicknames that could be used to represent one's style, artistic nature, or even geographical reference.
[8] It from there went to something that could be very significant assigned by elders or counterparts to represent one's position in the community, or it could be a representation of whomever one wanted to be or thought he was.
[9] The elegance of this movement was used throughout history and even modern day, with many examples ranging from "Aphrodite the Heavenly & Zeus the Protector of Guests" all the way to "Johnny Football & King James".
[8] American comic books tend to give epithets to superheroes, such as The Phantom being "The Ghost Who Walks", Superman called "The Man of Steel", and "The Dynamic Duo" Batman and Robin, who are individually known as "The Dark Knight" and "The Boy Wonder".
"Athena protects the city as polias, oversees handicrafts as ergane, joins battle as promachos and grants victory as nike.
Poseidon Erechtheus and Artemis Orthia reflect intercultural equations of a divinity with an older one that is generally considered its pendan.
Price notes[15] that the nurturing power of Kourotrophos might be invoked in sacrifices and recorded in inscription, without specifically identifying Hera or Demeter.
Some epithets were applied to several deities of the same pantheon rather accidentally if they had a common characteristic, or deliberately, emphasizing their blood or other ties.
"It will generally happen, that the Epithets employed by a skillful orator, will be found to be, in fact, so many abridged arguments, the force of which is sufficiently conveyed by a mere hint; e.g., if any one says, 'We ought to take warning from the bloody revolution of France,' the Epithet suggests one of the reasons for our being warned; and that, not less clearly, and more forcibly, than if the argument had been stated at length.
This is supported in Bryan Short's article when he states, "The New Rhetoric derives its empiricist flavor from a pervasive respect for clarity and directness of language.
"[17] Rhetoricians use epithets to direct their audience to see their point of view, using verbal forms of imagery as a persuasive tactic.
In the past century, [epithet] blossomed as 'a word of abuse,' today gleefully seized upon to describe political smears.