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Hero Myths and Epics

Hero Myths and Epics. Heroic Myths and Epics. Meant to teach its members of society the appropriate attitudes, behavior, and values of the culture Examine the relationship between individual desires and his or her responsibilities to society.

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Hero Myths and Epics

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  1. Hero Myths and Epics

  2. Heroic Myths and Epics • Meant to teach its members of society the appropriate attitudes, behavior, and values of the culture • Examine the relationship between individual desires and his or her responsibilities to society. • When a leader places his or her own desires before the needs of the community, both the individual and the community suffer.

  3. Heroic Myths and Epics • Begins in in medias res, “in the middle of things”

  4. Heroes • Models of human behavior for their society • They earn lasting fame- the only kind of immortality for human beings- by performing great deeds of valor or winning an inner battle against their desires. • Overcome massive obstacles and trials and emerge as more sensitive and thoughtful human beings. • External characteristics of the epic hero: an immortal parent, unusual birth, aristocratic social position, divine sponsorship.

  5. Heroes (cont.) • No hero is perfect- their imperfections allow ordinary people to identify with them.

  6. Epic of Gilgamesh • Written on clay tablets in cuneiform at least 1300 years before Homer wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey. • Discovered during excavations in Ninevah (near Mosul, Iraq) in 1845. • Existed in the oral traditions of the Sumer and were written down approx. 2100 BCE.

  7. Epic of Gilgamesh (cont.) • Gilgamesh was a real king of Uruk in southern Mesopotamia sometime between 2700-2500 BCE. • Matriarchal religion • Major quest is the acquisition of knowledge.

  8. Epic of Gilgamesh Writing Prompts • Analyze the role of women in the text. • Analyze the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Does this type of relationship mirror any others in literature? • Discuss Gilgamesh and whether or not he fits into the mold of "epic hero".

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