Why “epigone” is a great word
EPIGONE — [Noun] An undistinguished or inferior imitator of a famous artist, writer, or thinker. From French épigone, from Latin epigonus, from Ancient Greek ἐπίγονος (epígonos, “offspring, descendant”), from ἐπιγίγνομαι (epigígnomai, “to come after”). First recorded in English use 1860–65. Unlike “disciple,” which implies devoted, reverent learning, or “innovator,” which denotes a true originator, an epigone is defined by derivative mediocrity. It is the minor poet whose verses echo only the meter of a master, the philosopher who repackages a grand system without its animating spark, or the painter whose technique is impeccable but whose soul is absent—the quiet tragedy of arriving after the light has gone out, bearing only a well-made but empty lantern.