Thank you for this thread Jackie.
Coincidentally I have been thinking of the points that you have touched upon - symbols, epics and also Gods of writing.
I have as wall paper on my desk top a picture of the Greek god of writing Thoth. It is an odd looking thing with ugly feet, a long beak, a very small head, wise eyes and a laid back attitude. It has wings but I don't think it can fly.
In the Indian pantheon the compatriot of Thoth would be the elephant God Ganesha - I think - only because he was the one who set down in words the epic Mahabharata (which I am currently reading - hence these thoughts). Ved Vyas was the sage who composed the epic poems of the Mahabharata and Ganesh wrote them down.