The correct answer is B) Digression.
The passage is an example of the Epic convention called Digression.
When the narrative contains some interruptions that distract the reader. It is a stylistic device that writers use to deviate from the main theme or subject of the story. It can be used to explain something that happened before the present time of the story or describing the personalities of the characters.
In this case, the author does so when he writes “Melampus, who lived in Pylos, mother of flocks, some years ago”. Or in the case of “…Neleus, most imperious man alive, who commandeered his vast state and held it down by force for one entire year…”
The other options of the question were, a) lengthy speech, c) epic smile, and d) divine intervention.
