Epic and ancient epic:
1. An epic in general is a long narrative poem, on a grand scale, about the deeds of warriors
or heroes, incorporating myth, legend, folk tale and history.
2. Ancient epic in particular: The word epic is originally Greek and refers to a long poem
narrating important historical or cosmic event in elevated language and involving a
panoramic sweep of action and a cast of protagonist who straddle the human and divine
world.
The epic of Gilgamesh:
1. The epic of Gilgamesh belongs to the Sumerian civilization.
2. The earliest story of Gilgamesh was written in Sumerian. It was written in form of clay
tablets, shaped characters incised in clay or stone.
The next version of the Gilgamesh epic was written by the Babylonians in the Akkan
language.
The definitive revision of the epic is attributed to a Babylonian priest and scholar
named Sin-leqi-unninni. His version is divided into 11 chapters recorded on 11 clay
tables.
3. The main protagonist of Gilgamesh is Gilgamesh, his companion is Enkidu.
Summary: The story discusses Gilgamesh-a king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild man
created by the Gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing the people of Uruk. After Enkidu
becomes civilized through sexual initiation with Shamhat-a harlot (prostitute), he travels
to Uruk in order to challenge Gilgamesh to a test of strength. Him and Gilgamesh become
friends after being defeated, then make a 6-day journey to the legendary Cedar Forest to
slay Humbaba – its’ guardian and cut down the sacred Cedar. They also kill the Bull of
Heaven sent down as a punishment by the goddess Ishtar, which angry the gods, making
them sentence Enkidu to death by receiving a fatal illness. Upon seeing his friend’s death,
Gilgamesh journey to discover the secret of immortality caused by distress over his
friend’s death. He then meets Utnapishtim – the survivor of the Flood triggered by the
gods, learning that “he will eventually die and can attain immortality only by making a
name for himself.
The Hebrew Bible:
1. Things God created:
Heaven and earth
Light, day, night, land, sea
The great light for dominion of day and small light for dominion of night and the stars
The great sea monsters and every living creature that crawls, swarmed and the winged
fowl, beasts, cattle, crawling.
Human, both male and female.
2. Cain is the murderer and Abel is the murdered one in the story “The murder of Abel”.
The punishment God did on the killer was: “cursed shall you be by the soil that gaped
with its mouth to take your brother’s blood from your hand. If you till the soil, it will no
longer give you its strength. A restless wanderer shall you be on the earth” and “and
whoever kills Cain shall suffer sevenfold vengeance”
Homer. The Iliad. The Odyssey:
1. Homer was once said to have been an illiterate singer from the island of Chios and the
author of the Ilad and the Odyssey. There can be so many Homers because there are so
many performances of Homer's works that can last up to 20 hours. This makes it difficult
for poets to compose at this length without words. They thus represent a collaboration
between one and many oral poets.
2. Achilles comes into conflict with his comrade – Agamemnon. Achilles’s anger at
Agamemnon is roused by a quarrel about who owns Briseis, a young woman Achilles has
seized as a prize of war but whom Agamemnon takes as recompense for the loss of his
own captive woman, Chryseis.
3. Apollo is the son of Leto, Zeus is a king, and Hera is the goddess of the white arms
“Apollo, son of Leto and Zeus; who is in his rage at the king raised a virulent plague
through the army” and “the goddess of the white arms, Hera”
4. Achilles’s mother is Thetis, she advices him to stay by his ships, nurse his wrath at the
Achaeans, and leave off the war entirely.
5. The Odyssey follows the Greek hero Odysseus as he struggles to return home after the
Trojan War. Facing storms, monsters, and divine wrath, he journeys for 10 years while
his wife, Penelope, fends off suitors. In the end, Odysseus overcomes all trials and
reclaims his home and family in Ithaca.
