The category of religious epic comprises all large-scale poetic works of the genus mixtum (“mixed species/stylistic level”) in which “experienced encounters with the sacred and responsible action by a person directed by the sacred” are articulated [11. 18 f.]. Distancing itself programmatically from mythological epic, which began to be regarded as frivolous and mendacious in late antiquity, its aim was to edify the reader (Edificatory literature), strengthen faith, and give moral instruction […