A number of formal qualities are traditionally associated with the epic usually because they appeared in Homer and have been imitated since. In both Greek and latin, the most common epic meter was dactylic hexameter. The epic simile is a feature of homer s verse (see Simile for an example). Most epics begin with an invocation to the muse The visit to the underworld in the eleventh book of the iliad is imitated in the sixth book of the aeneid◼ A number of formal qualities are traditionally associated with the epic, usually because they appeared in Homer and have been imitated since. In both Greek and Latin, the most common epic meter was dactylic hexameter. The epic simile is a feature of Homer's verse (see Simile for an example). Most epics begin with an invocation to the Muse. The visit to the underworld in the eleventh book of the Iliad is imitated in the sixth book of the Aeneid