Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: The Second Self and the Hero's Journey in Ancient EpicExploring the hero's journey as a metaphor for spiritual evolution in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer's Iliad, and Virgil's Aeneid, and focusing in particular on the relationship of the hero to one or more "second selves," or alter egos, Van Nortwick demonstrates how the poems address central and enduring truths about human life: that the exertion of heroic will in pursuit of glory can lead to alienation from one's own deepest self and that spiritual wholeness can only be achieved through confrontation with what appears at first to be the very negation of the self. Though addressing issues of interest to classical scholars the book offers an interpretation of the poems which is accessible to students and to others interested in how imaginative constructs reflect life. Because the hero's journey forms the backbone of each poem, the discussion also serves as an introduction to the central themes and historical evolution of ancient epic. An extensive annotated list of sources suggests avenues for further exploration of the ideas raised in the book, and a bibliographical essay aimed at scholars discusses relationship of the book's argument to previous scholarship on the poems. |
From inside the book
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Page 60
... already moving beyond Sarpedon : So they swarmed over the dead man , nor did Zeus ever turn the glaring of his eyes from the strong encounter , but kept gazing forever upon them , in spirit reflective , and pondered hard over many ways ...
... already moving beyond Sarpedon : So they swarmed over the dead man , nor did Zeus ever turn the glaring of his eyes from the strong encounter , but kept gazing forever upon them , in spirit reflective , and pondered hard over many ways ...
Page 110
... already lost : With this she left me weeping , Wishing that I could say so many things , And faded on the tenuous air . Three times I tried to put my arms around her neck , Three times enfolded nothing , as the wraith Slipped through my ...
... already lost : With this she left me weeping , Wishing that I could say so many things , And faded on the tenuous air . Three times I tried to put my arms around her neck , Three times enfolded nothing , as the wraith Slipped through my ...
Page 135
... already been associated with Ajax in her death scene , but now Virgil pushes the implications further . Ajax em- bodies the self - destructive aspect of Greek heroism in an especially stark form . In contrast to the mercurial Achilles ...
... already been associated with Ajax in her death scene , but now Virgil pushes the implications further . Ajax em- bodies the self - destructive aspect of Greek heroism in an especially stark form . In contrast to the mercurial Achilles ...
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Common terms and phrases
accept Achaians Achates Achilles and Patroclus Achilleus Aeneas Aeneid Aeneid 12 Agamemnon Anchises anger appears Ascanius battle beginning bring Briseis Camilla Carthage comes companion context corpse culture dark dead denial destiny Dido Dido's divine drive Enkidu Enkidu's death Epic of Gilgamesh episode Euryalus fate father fight finally further Gilgamesh epic give goddess gods Greek grief grieving heart Hector hero story hero's heroic heroism Homer human Humbaba Iliad 11 Iliad 22 Ishtar issues journey Juno Juno's Jupiter katabasis killing kind king Latinus Latium literature look male metaphor mission mortals mother nature Ninsun Nisus Odysseus Pallas particular Patroklos Peleus perspective poem Priam qualities reintegration relationship role Roman Rome scene second-self motif seems sense sexual ships Sibyl simile spiritual suggests tell Thetis things tion traditional Trojans Troy turn Turnus underworld Uruk Utnapishtim Venus Virgil wild Zeus