A journey is what makes a person a hero. However it is the transformation of the warrior within that defines the hero. By using Joseph Campbell’s model the hero’s journey, and Carl Gustav Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious I will compare the transformations and identify the archetypes of the mythological Kings Gilgamesh and Oedipus. Both Kings have went through a tremendous ordeal in order to change their perceptions of themselves and the world around them. These men both have angered the gods and deities, while interfering with their fate, free will and destiny. Gilgamesh and Oedipus are both thought to be godlike and each journey through a progression of physical, emotional and psychological changes.
Background Information
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first recorded work of literature. It was found to be written in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC on twelve clay tablets written in Ancient Sumerian Cuneiform. (Thury and Devinney 192-227) It is about King Gilgamesh of his strong walled city of Uruk, and his adventures as he looks for immortality. Oedipus Rex (Oedipus the King) was written by Sophocles in Ancient Greece around 420 B.C.E. It is centered on the myth of “Oedipus and the Sphinx” It was written to be depicted and performed in the Greek Theater of Athens. (Thury and Devinney 305-353) It is part of a trilogy consisting also of Antigone and Oedipus at Colonus. Oedipus is the King of Thebes, who is dealing with a life of irony and anguish over his fate of a prophecy.
Mythological Theories
Joseph Campbell’s model of a hero’s journey is a theoretical approach to describe the narration of mythology, specifically one of a mythic hero. The Monomyth is present in many types of myths, not mattering where the culture of the my...
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...welry, when he consciously realizes and confirms the truth of his fulfilled prophecy.
Initiation of Gilgamesh
After King Gilgamesh and Enkidu brutally fight, they are considered equals. They have developed a relationship of companions and love each other equivalently. Gilgamesh wants to test their abilities as a team by wanting to go to the pine forest and destroy Humbaba. This begins the role of Trials and victories in his heroic journey, along with the meeting of more characters of Jungian archetypes. The restless Gilgamesh and “tamed” Enkidu depart to find the beast Humbaba with the help of a supernatural aid, forged weapons and blessing from the elders. The mother archetype is evident with Gilgamesh’s own mother Ninsun. She considers Enkidu a son also. Enkidu becomes the Dreamer archetype before they leave to fight the beast.
Works Cited
Thury and Devinney
MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Mayes, C. (2010). The archetypal hero’s journey: A study in Jungian
The overarching stages of these steps defines the important trilogy of the departure, the initiation, and the return of the hero in the spiritual, physical, and emotional changes that are experienced in this mythic cycle. Campbell’s insightful evaluation of the ten stages of the hero’s journey define the initial reluctance of the hero to follow his destiny, yet he or she slowly walks through the various obstacles and the awakening of consciousness through the death and rebirth of their identity. Finally, the return of hero to “home” reveals the liberation from previous prejudices and limitations of the mind, soul, and body that were present before they partook in the adventure. Surely, Campbell’s’ heroic cycle defines the overarching challenges of selfhood that the hero must endure to raise his or her consciousness to a higher level of understanding and realization. These are the important aspects of the ten stages of Campbell’s heroic journey that define the transformative nature of the journey and the hero’s initiation into the mysteries of life in this mythic theory of the heroic
The mold of the heroic template is evident throughout various types of media. Within movies, novels, and poems the hero’s journey is present. Of course, not every piece of literature or movie follows the cycle. However, the idea of the monomyth arose from Joseph Campbell. He wrote his own book, The Hero of a Thousand Faces, within his writing he describes that heroes’ follow the same basic procedure throughout their quest(s). This is where the idea of the hero monomyth arose. In Michael Lewis’s novel, The Blind Side, he portrays “The heroic monomyth.” The Blind Side consists of the basic characters and archetypes that accurately reflect the heroic template.
Many cultures in the ancient and medieval worlds found courage as a value and virtue associated with warriors. To a great extent, western cultures also find courage as an attribute of warriors. This courageous cultural tendency gets its imaginative manifestation in literature of heroic societies such as The Epic of Gilgamesh, homer’s Iliad and Beowulf. These Epic heroes which show human conditions are Gilgamesh, Achilles from Homer's Iliad and Beowulf. Although, the actions and lives of these warriors occurred at different times in history, their stories are passed on from generations to generations and they share a lot of commonalities but with some discrepancies based on their lives, their choices, ideals and beliefs.
Gilgamesh and Odysseus are two heroes from two different time periods that were both in search of the meaning of life. The epics that the two characters are featured in Gilgamesh, was developed from early Mesopotamia and the Odyssey in early Greece. Gilgamesh was a very popular and it was very valuable to the historian of Mesopotamian culture because it reveals much about the religious world, such as their attitudes toward the gods, how a hero was defined and regarded, views about death and friendship.
In every culture, there are stories that get past down from generation to generation (Campbell 1). Tales of knights who slay dragons and princesses who kissed frogs are a part of every culture. All over the world, stories share comment characteristic. Joseph Campbell introduces a theory based on this idea called the monomyth, the idea that stories all share the same narrative pattern, in the book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Overall, this theory shows the same narrative pattern in stories throughout the world, which symbolically reveals all humans must tackle difficulties and overcome them many times throughout life (5). Specifically, Campbell’s hero’s journey is comprised of six steps, which, collectively
In many literary works we see significant transitions in the hero's character as the story is developed. This is also true in the Epic of Gilgamesh with its hero, Gilgamesh. In this narrative poem, we get glimpses of who Gilgamesh is and what his purposes and goals are. We see Gilgamesh act in many different ways -- as an overbearing ruler resented by his people, a courageous and strong fighter, a deflated, depressed man, and finally as a man who seems content with what he's accomplished. Through all of these transitions, we see Gilgamesh's attitude toward life change. The goals he has for his own life alter dramatically, and it is in these goals that we see Gilgamesh's transition from being a shallow, ruthless ruler to being an introspective, content man.
'No two men are alike in the way they act, the way they think, or the way they look. However, every man has a little something from the other. Although Oedipus and Gilgamesh are entirely different people, they are still very similar. Each one, in their own way, is exceptionally brave, heroically tragic, and both encompass diverse strengths and weaknesses. One is strictly a victim of fate and the other is entirely responsible for his own plight.
The idea of fate has baffled mankind for centuries. Can humans control what happens to them, or is everyone placed in a predestined world designed by a higher power? The Epic of Gilgamesh and Oedipus The King highlight on the notion that no matter what, people cannot control what is destined to occur. Interestingly enough, many other distantly connected cultures had, and have similar gods or goddesses who play a role in the fate of individuals. Oedipus, King of Thebes, was told by the Oracle at Delphi that he would one day kill his father and marry his mother. Determined not to let this prophecy verify his fears, Oedipus does all in his power to prevent this from happening, yet fails. Similarly, Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, attempts to obtain immortality, but fails as well. Gilgamesh's and Oedipus's intense fear and ignorance cause them to try to interfere with their fates, leading to their failures and realization of the futility of trying to control destiny.
Myths have been a great example of the hero’s journey. Many heroes have journeys and trials to face throughout their life. Most of their journeys start out with their origin and end with the return. However, the hero’s role remains identical to every other hero. Most heroes like Gilgamesh has heroic traits because of the stages in the hero's journey. Gilgamesh is a man who can turn into a hero by changing himself, even when he has unusual circumstances surrounding his birth. Gilgamesh is viewed as a hero due to the stages of the hero's journey.
Sophocles wrote the play, Oedipus the King. Oedipus the King was written around 420 BC, has been noted as the most powerful expression of Greek tragic drama (Hyesso). Oedipus, who was a stranger to Thebes, became king of the city after the murder of the city’s king, Laius, about fifteen or sixteen years before the start of the play. He was offered the throne because he was successful in saving the city from the Sphinx, an event referred to repeatedly in the text of the play. He did so by solving a riddle in which killed the Sphinx. He married Laius’ widow, Jocasta, and had four children with her. When Oedipus was born, there was a prophecy that said Oedipus was destined to kill his father and marry his mother. In order to prevent this, his parents pierced and bind Oedipus’s ankles and abandoned him in the mountain. They believe that Oedipus’s fate was in the God’s hands. When Oedipus grew up, he heard about this prophecy, and decided to flea town in order to avoid the possible outcome. What he did not know was that the parents who raised him, had ...
Destiny & Character - Discuss in relation to the stories of Gilamesh. Oedipus the King, and The Tragedy of Sohrab and Rostam. Destiny can be defined as a predetermined course of events that is beyond human power or control. It is considered a force which creates, shapes, guides, rewards, and afflicts human life.
After Campbell studied a lot of the great myths and realized this pattern, he published his findings in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Ever since then, authors have used “The Hero’s Journey” as an outline to tell their stories. “It is important to note that not all of these individual steps are present in every hero’s tale, nor is it important that they be in this exact order” (Vogler 20). The Hero with a Thousand Faces gives a sense of significance as it looks into the inner mind and soul. The author, Joseph Campbell, performs two extraordinary accomplishments: compelling his readers that myth and dream, those are the most effective and everlasting forces in life and a unification of mythology and psychoanalysis with a gripping narrative.
The epic begins with Gilgamesh terrorizing the people of Uruk. They call out to the sky god Anu for help. In response Anu tells the goddess of creation, Aruru, to make an equal for Gilgamesh. Thus Aruru created Enkidu, a brute with the strength of dozens of wild animals. After being seduced by a harlot from the temple of love in Uruk, Enkidu loses his strength and wildness yet gains wisdom and understanding. The harlot offers to take him into Uruk where Gilgamesh lives, the only man worthy of Enkidu's friendship. After a brief brawl the two become devoted friends.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.