Essays on Epics

Homer and Hesiod are famous for their work concerning poetry. This paper compares them as poets. To begin with, Hesiod was a well-known Greek poet, who was identified as a hard worker throughout his work between the 750 and 650 BC. He wrote his story in the first European poetry using the similar words used by the ancient writers. During this period, Hesiod was trying to establish a relationship with the Greek religious clients. Viewing the scholars’ arguments, they pointed out Hesiod as the main source of the Greek mythology, knowledge on farming, and a great timekeeper. He analyzes ...

Gilgamesh and Odysseus are well-known heroes from old epics of Mesopotamian and Greek cultures, correspondingly. The two characters have similar traits, such as courage and physical strength. However, there are also differences between the two of them. Each hero’s traits divulge fascinating information about their cultural ideals. Additionally, cross-referencing fictional individuals with real-life cultural ideals is worthwhile when examining any culture, at any point in history. Contemporary American culture, for example, appears to value physical attributes and attractiveness, more than anything. Examining Gilgamesh and Odysseus can be helpful not only in revealing details about the different cultural ideals ...

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The question of why a work deserves inclusion in the literary canon is especially interesting when it comes to world literature. Many of the world’s earliest texts arose out of an oral rather than a written tradition, giving them a form and tone very different than modern works considered to have literary merit. With these works, literary value is determined less by the words themselves and more by the ideas and themes that are developed and their relationship to the culture. In the case of The Epic of Gilgamesh, is inclusion in the canon is due to ...

Greeks and Mesopotamians are well known for their myths about gods and how they affect the human existence and can determine your fate. Shared amongst them also are epic tales of heroic demigods and mortals who with great courage, help from the gods and bravery defeat many obstacles. The aim of this study is to examine the heroic qualities of two characters of Greek and Mesopotamian mythology; Gilgamesh and Odysseus. Special attention will be taken to ascertain how alike and different they were and what these heroic exploits teaches us about the ideals and expectations of Greek and Mesopotamian ...

Griots hold a significant place in epics. According to the T’heydinn epic, griots perform the epic and they are aided by traditional instruments like the lute and harp. The argument is that griots “preserve the collective memory of society through poems, passing down knowledge and skills from father to son, with young griots first learning the instrumental skills before being initiated to into the poetic tradition” UNESCO n. p.). Here the role that griots play in society is said to be indispensable. To say that they are responsible for the memory of the whole society amounts to some ...

Everyone likes to be a hero, but being a hero is not a simple process. It is a journey of life from simple to complex; from simplicity to hardship and from ignorance to knowledge. For gaining real knowledge and enlightenment, the hero has to undergo many situations in which his physical abilities, his morals, values and principles are tried by the destiny. The hero’s hardship and ultimate success are portrayed in Western and Eastern Epics. Ramayana is one of the heroic epics in Sanskrit composed by ancient sage Valmiki. It is a story of high idealism and the ...