Chapter Twelve, Lecture One

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Chapter Twelve, Lecture One

• Introduction to Heroic Myth

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Introduction to Heroic Myth

• Humans are the protagonists, not gods
• Narrative about events in the human, not divine,
  past
• Hero
• Homer noble-born male whos alive
• Later noble figure from the distant past.

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Tomb of Heroes
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Tomb of Heroes

• Object of Hero cults
• heroa (heroö)
• Bronze Age earthen mounds
• sêma
• Cults and tumuli of Alyattes, Achilles, Theseus .
  . .

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Epic of Gilagmesh
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Epic of Gilgamesh

• Tumuli cults date from the Iron Age
• Associated with the popularization of heroic myth
  via writing
• But not heroes in Egyptian or Semitic myth
• The great hero of Mesopotamia is Gilgamesh

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Epic of Gilgamesh

• Comes to us as a written exercise, not as the
  dictation of what an oral poet was saying. A
  literate myth
• Scribal exercises
• Strong indications of influence from the Epic of
  Gilgamesh and Greek heroic myth
• Gilgamesh an historical king of Uruk in
  Mesopotamia (2600 BC)

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Gilgamesh and Enkidu
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Gilgamesh and Enkidu

• Opening lines like that of Homers Odyssey.
• The one who saw all Sha nagba imuru I will
  declare to the world,The one who knew all I will
  tell aboutline missingHe saw the great
  Mystery, he knew the HiddenHe recovered the
  knowledge of all the times before the Flood.He
  journeyed beyond the distant, he journeyed beyond
  exhaustion,And then carved his story on stone.

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Gilgamesh and Enkidu

• Gilgamesh abused his royal power
• Aruru sent a rival, Enkidu
• Lived in nature
• Gilgamesh sent out a whore to make him fall
• Enkidu comes to Uruk to prevent Gilgamesh from
  abusing a virgin
• After the draw in the wrestling match, they
  become friends

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Gilgamesh and Humbaba
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Gilgamesh and Humbaba

• The Land of the Living (Land of Cedars)
• Shamash
• Humbaba

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Gilgamesh and Ishtar
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Gilgamesh and Ishtar

• Ishtar
• Gilgamesh rebuffs and reviles her
• Anu
• The Bull of Heaven
• Enkidus dream
• Enkidus death from illness

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End