Note 111 — Fabre d’Olivet

The word Epopœia is taken from the Greek ἐπο-ποιός which designates alike a poet and an epic poem. It is derived from the Phœnician words אפא (apho) an impassioned transport, a vortex, an impulse, an enthusiasm; and פאה (phohe), a mouth, a discourse. One can observe that the Latin word versus, which is applied also to a thing which turns, which is borne along, and to a poetic verse, translates exactly the Greek word ἔπος, whose root אוף (aôph) expresses a vortex. The Hebrew אופן (aôphon) signifies properly a wheel.