In fact, the ancient epic is famous nowadays mainly due to the fact that some of the works are considered as the first official mentioning of a hero. Moreover, these characters were given a special set of benefits and drawbacks since it would not be interesting to observe the adventures of an ideal person. A bright illustration of a provided theory might be the Odyssey’s and Gilgamesh’s traditions.
On the one hand, Odyssey, who is returning to his home island Itaka, is a great example of an epic hero. While rethinking his brave adventures before returning to Itaka, he returns to his memories concerning his competitive soul:
“…In that Trojan land, when Achaeans shot,
the only one who beat me with the bow
was Philoctetes.1 But of all the rest
I claim I’m far the best—of mortal men “(149).
This notion emphasizes that his living standards and quality measures depend on how risky and severe is the new challenge for him. Consequently, Odyssey is a challenge-oriented individual who finds motivation to “bet” all of his power to overtake the opponent.
On the other hand, Gilgamesh, who was a “spoiled” king due to the lack of qualitative parenting, did not realize his purpose of living until one day he lost his close friend Enkidu. The death of a close person significantly affected him and served as a “trigger” to active actions and the beginning of the new life. He settled the concrete goal of climbing the mountain Mashu and overcoming all of the obstacles to investigate the friend’s death. More specifically, when he observes the mountain’s guardian, he responds:
“’Although I should go in sorrow and in pain, with sighing and with weeping,
still, I must go. Open the gate of the mountain” (23).
As a result, Gilgamesh demonstrated not only his wish of competitiveness and willingness for new challenges, which is the Odyssey’s case, but the genuine motivation to suffer the pain for his friend. In fact, this challenge is the classical theme of friendship and mortality. Finally, it might be stated that ancient heroes have a “string” that interconnects them with contemporary heroes. More specifically, both hero types are goal-oriented, which is not always the case with the heroes from other time periods.
Works Cited
Homer, and I. Johnston. The Odyssey. Richer Resources Publications, 2007.
Kelley, R. L., and N. K. Sandars. The epic of gilgamesh. Assyrian International News Agency, 2014.