Settings of most stories revolve around human characters that interact with each other over time. Characters used for longer times in texts may change at one time to cop up with the system. Most literal works that cover ancient histories are recognized as one of the literature originating back to the existence of prevalent occurrences of society. Other writers are likely to take the same work and rewrite different versions due to the clarity of such literature. All versions of each work express an extended narrative poem in a formal or elevated language based on a series of events but contain the same plot. This essay explores how characteristic of an epic is evidence and comparable in Odyssey, Gilgamesh, Sundiata, and Ramayana.
Even though many versions have published Gilgamesh, each of them contains the same plot that expresses the personal and physical journey of a powerful leader or a flawed man. Gilgamesh is the epic poem whose name is the same as a typical king in Uruk of Mesopotamia. The king faces a journey throughout his leadership because people of the city are unhappy about him. The king is disliked because he sexually exploits women and murders men at his will. Consequently, the gods create an artificial man named Enkidu to companion Gilgamesh to transform him into a better leader. Although Gilgamesh understands his roles as a king, he fails and succeeds many times throughout his journey of leading people. Gilgamesh’s unethical behaviours are part of significant obstacles in his journey to leadership, and he struggles to avoid them for many years. Gilgamesh’s journey is also evident with various physical success such as when he built an “outer wall [that]/ shines in the sun like brightest copper; the inner wall/ is beyond the imaginings of kings” (Mitchell, 48) to protect his people from external forces.
Both Gilgamesh and Odyssey epic express a moral genealogy in literature from Uruk to Classical Greece. These epics progress chronological order to reflect the culture which the author belongs. For instance, Gilgamesh expresses the chronological order from the ancient days of human civilization, by the early Mesopotamian city-state Uruk. In contrary, Odyssey was written to reflect the journey of what happened during ancient Greece around the 8th century. It describes the period termed by cultural historians as the classical antiquity ensues. These epics also demonstrate how the elements of a favourable attitude toward sexuality, an amoral attitude toward manipulation, and the embrace of power were common in early civilization within the great literature (Homer, 596). Gilgamesh shares some aspects of Odyssey’s moral, only that Odyssey’s ethical message focus on human civilization and classical Greece. Gilgamesh and Odyssey demonstrate a cultural transition from power and life to control of emotions through stories in such order.
Moreover, the epical journey of Ramayana and Gilgamesh express the plot shows a journey of domination indicating how the power shifts from women to men and sustenance of old tradition where men are considered as natural heads or ruler over women. Historical civilizations and cities ever put men in authority showing how men are given power and dominance in society. However, the plot shows a direct contrary to this because ancient Sumeria was a refreshing sight. Literal and mythical evidence of the plot reinforces the long-term idea that describes Sumeria as a matriarchal society because women were the ruling sex instead of men. Even though a goddess named Inanna ruled over animals, other gods, and the humans in Sumeria, the journey seems harsh because other societies want to change the situation to give men power (Narayan, 17). Ramayana serves as a role model for women by motivating them to lead in a society like Sumeria. However, the journey shifts when androcratic ideas started to blend into the Sumerian culture. The long-serving history of ancient Sumeria transformed into patriarchic like the history of the world. Ramayana shows the fall of female leadership as the beginning of a drastic shift from a society dominated by female leaders to an androcratic one. Finally, since the fall of Ramayana’s female leadership due to influential powers, the power gradually fell in the hands of men so that it gains a similar plot as Gilgamesh, in which a king dominates his society.
Lastly, both Sundia and Ramayana prominently show how leadership is a journey in the epic of Old Mali. Literature shows that leaders go through a journey of transformation to hold qualities of traits and skills that differentiate him or her from others. Literature indicates that Sundiata and Ramayana express qualities of a leader such as altruism, the ability to form lasting alliances, and honour. Sundiata and Ramayana’s journeys show altruism towards enemies that distinguish them from others. For example, Ramayana accepts Vibishana in his camp when banished from Ravana’s kingdom and provides him with protection. Similarly, Sundiata expresses his kind heart by compelling witches to pick from the garden whatever they are short of condemnations (Niane, 46). Ramayana and Sundiata’s journeys contribute to them becoming more influential leaders and achieve their destiny.