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 117
... represents the creative realization of parts of himself previously untapped . But there is a difficulty in pushing ... representing something we are now used to describing in the language of psychology , the confronta- tion of submerged ...
... represents the creative realization of parts of himself previously untapped . But there is a difficulty in pushing ... representing something we are now used to describing in the language of psychology , the confronta- tion of submerged ...
Page 118
... represents before Mercury arrives , then we have a significant departure from the dynamic of the second self as we have been defining it . In previous versions , there is a central paradox : the second self must die before the qualities ...
... represents before Mercury arrives , then we have a significant departure from the dynamic of the second self as we have been defining it . In previous versions , there is a central paradox : the second self must die before the qualities ...
Page 193
... represents the costs of being coopted by larger forces , of not balancing this with attention to one's own soul . I also argue , albeit somewhat more tentatively , that gender is a more prominent topic in the story of the hero's ...
... represents the costs of being coopted by larger forces , of not balancing this with attention to one's own soul . I also argue , albeit somewhat more tentatively , that gender is a more prominent topic in the story of the hero's ...
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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