Gilgamesh

Context:
- Poem from Ancient Mesopotamia
- Written as hymnic praise poem in 5 quatrains
- Orally passed on evidenced by the constant repetition, until written down by
scholars who added bits and pieces to the original story.
Characters:
- Gilgamesh
- Semi-mythic King of Uruk
- Unparalleled strength
- god, man
- Intimate friend of Enkidu
- Enkidu
- Companion deliberately made for Gilgamesh
- Made of clay by the Goddess Creation, Aruru
- Was animal-like before he was tamed and civilized by the harlot
- Harlot
- The one who tamed Enkidu
- By tamed we mean, teaching enkidu culture, customs, tradition, and
especially food. Sex is included but it is just a means to awaken
enkidu.
- Ninsun
- Mother of Gilgamesh
- Goddess of Wisdom
- Humbaba
- Ferocious Giant
- Protector of the Country of the Living: cedar forest
- Gilgamesh vowed to slay as part of his legacy
- The defender of the Cedar
- Utnapishtim
- Faraway, the Immortal who survived the Great Flood
- Urshanabi
- The ferryman
Setting/Places:
Uruk
- Mesopotamia was between the two rivers of Euphrates and Tigris
Important Notes:
- First literature to be written
- Gilgameshs quest for immortality
- What it means to be set in stone.
- Importance of building stone walls
- Hero Archetype
- The old will be young again
- Temper of the epic is that it is Raw, Primal, Wild

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

Stages of Monomyth:
1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is
introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or
dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and
personal history. Some kind of polarity in the heros life is pulling in different
directions and causing stress.
2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from
external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must
face the beginnings of change.
3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to
turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may
express the uncertainty and danger ahead.
4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of
the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the
journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.
5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to
leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar
rules and values.
6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in
the Special World.
7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the
Special world.
8. THE ORDEAL. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the
Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the
moment of death comes a new life.
9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death.
There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.
10. THE ROAD BACK. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is
driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is
brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.
11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on
the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of
death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the heros action, the
polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.
12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey,
bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the
hero has been transformed.

The Art Of War by Sun Tzu

Context:
- A treatise made to address the need of SunTzus army who had limited men and
resources.
Chapters:
I. Laying Plans
II. Waging War
III. Attack by Stratagem
IV. Tactical Disposition
V. Energy
VI. Weak and Strong Points
VII. Maneuvering
VIII. Variation in Tactics
IX. The Army on the March
X. Terrain
XI. The Nine Situations
XII. The Attack by Fire
XIII. Spies

Analects

- Confucianism - acts as a guide, a code of conduct/ morals, how to handle relationships

- Different relationships:
- Ruler to subjects
- Father to Son
- Older Friend to Younger Friend
- Husband to Wife
- Older Brother to younger brother
- Basic Chinese values
- Li - commitment to rituals, institutions
- Jen - human-ness
- Te - virtue
- Zhi - wisdom
- Xiao - filial piety

Ramayana
by Valmiki

Context
- Indias heroic age (Golden Age of India)
- Heavily influenced by Hindu religion
- Written in Sanskrit language
- Author Valmiki (adivaki, first poet) first created sloka
- Reflects the traditions of the politically powerful people who lived in Northern India
between 1200 and 1000 B.C.
Themes
- Utopian kingdom (Ayodhya)
- The Ideal (ideal man, ideal wife, ideal brother, etc)
- Dharma (truth/duty): central purpose of being
- Belief in reincarnation (hinduism)

Characters
- Rama
- The son of King Dasaratha and Queen Kausalya, Rama is the prince of
Ayodya. He is an avatara of Vishnu, the Blue God and the sustainer of worlds.
He is also a virtuous, strong, and just man in his own right. He is married to
Sita, whom he loves deeply. He has a strong bond with his brother Lakshmana
as well.
- Sita
- Sita's father, King Janak, found her lying in a furrow on sanctified ground and
decided to raise her as his daughter. She marries Rama, and loves him so much
 that she follows him into exile. She is famed for her virtue and beauty, and is
regarded as an avatara of the goddess Lakshmi, Vishnu's consort.
- Ravana
- Ravana is a rakshasa who performed penance for the God Siva for many years,
and in return received a great blessing from the God: he cannot be killed by
any God, demon, or other divine being. His arrogance combined, with great
intelligence and power, has led him to rule over much of the earth, spreading
terrible evil everywhere he goes.
- Lakshmana
- Son of King Dasaratha, and brother of Rama. He is deeply devoted to his
brother, whom he follows through many dangerous adventures and quests. He
is married to Sita's younger sister, Urmila.
- King Dasaratha
- King of Ayodhya, father of Rama, Lakshmana, Bharata, and Shatrughna. Of
all his three sons, he loves Rama most deeply, and tries to shelter the boy from
any danger. He is a good king: kind, just and well-liked by his people.
- Viswamitra
- Viswamitra is a great sage and wise man who was once a king. Through long
meditation, he gained a number of magical powers. He takes Rama on a quest
to defeat a demon and to lift the bow of Siva, the first step in the future king's
great journey.
- Ganga
- Ganga is a goddess, the daughter of Himavan. Because of her incomparable
beauty, she was given to the Devas, and she became the Milky Way. Later,
Siva brought her down to earth and she became the river Ganges.
- Siva
- Siva is part of the great trinity in Hinduism, along with Vishnu and Brahma.
He is a great ascetic, and often sits in meditation. He is able to tame the power
of other gods, devas, and supernatural beings, and he often grants blessings
and wishes to those who sit in dedication meditation ('tapasya'). His wife is
Parvati.
- Lava
- Along with Kusha, one of the youths to whom Valmiki taught theRamayana
that he received from Narada. He is one of the sons of Rama, but he does not
know this.
- Kusha
- Along with Lava, one of the youths to whom Valmiki taught the Ramayana
that he received from Narada. He is one of the sons of Rama, but he does not
know this.
- Vasishta
- Guru to King Dasaratha, he offers religious advice to the king and the royal
family.
- Rishyaringa
- A great rishi; he presides over the sacrifice that King Dasaratha offers in order
to get a son. He is sometimes depicted as a combination of a deer and a man.
- Tataka
- A beautiful woman who was transformed into a demon (rakshasi) when she
tried to seduce the rishi Agastya. As a demon, she drinks the blood of living
creatures and kills anything she can see. In one of his first great acts, Rama
breaks her curse by slaying her.
 - Kaikeyi
- The third and youngest wife of King Dasaratha, and mother of Bharata. She is
famed for her beauty. After she saved the life of Dasaratha in battle, he offered
to grant anything she would ask of him. She later calls in this favor to have
Bharata crowned king and Rama sent into the forest, inspired by the worlds of
her maid, Manthara.
- Sumitra
- Second wife of Dasaratha. She is the mother of Lakshmana and Shatrughna.
- Kausalya
- The first wife of Dasaratha and mother of Rama. She is the oldest wife, and
very kind and wise. She does not have a close relationship with her husband,
but she loves her son Rama very deeply.
- Manthara
- An old maid of Kaikeyi's. She is a wicked woman, and gives Kaikeyi the idea
to ask Dasaratha to exile Rama and crown Bharata king instead.
- Guha
- King of the hunters, he rules near the wilderness in Shringiberapura. He is
fiercely loyal to Rama.
- Kausalya
- Wife of Dasaratha, mother of Rama. She is wise and kind, but she is not close
with her husband; the greatest joy in her life is Rama.

Setting/Place
- Ayodhya
- Ceylon
- Mithila

Koran

Characters
- Allah
- Muhammad
- Angel Gabriel (Jibril)
- Noah (Nuh)
- Mary (Maryam)
- Joseph (Yusuf)
Themes
- Monotheism
- Virtue
- Heaven and hell
- Satan
- Islamic Values

The Shahname
by Abu l-Qasim Ferdowsi
The Tragedy of Rostam and Sohrab
Context
Book of Persian Kings
Mix
 Zoroastrianism - belief of a World Maker

Characters
- Rostam
- The Giver of the Crown
- Father of Sohrab
- Tahmine
- Moon-faced maid
- Mother of Sohrab
- Sohrab
- Son of Rostam
- Afrasiyab
- Hojir
- Gordafarid
- Kay Kavus
Setting/Place
- Persia
- Turan