03/12 3. Myth, Epic, and Oral Traditions Free Online FlashCards

What is a myth in literary study?

A culturally significant narrative that explains fundamental beliefs, origins, values, or relationships among humans, nature, and the divine.

What defines an epic?

A long narrative, usually in verse, centered on heroic action with broad cultural or historical significance.

What is an oral tradition?

Stories, poems, songs, genealogies, rituals, histories, and proverbs transmitted through performance and memory.

How does the Enūma Eliš connect creation and political authority?

It presents cosmic order as emerging from conflict among divine powers; Marduk’s victory over Tiamat also elevates Babylon’s patron deity.

What does the Popol Vuh connect to cosmic origins?

It connects cosmic origins with communal identity, ancestry, and claims to land through creation stories, the Hero Twins, and K’iche’ genealogies.

What sequence commonly structures an epic hero’s journey?

Departure, trials, crisis or descent, return or restoration, and the costs or consequences of victory.

What is the function of a trickster archetype?

A boundary-crossing figure who challenges authority, exposes weaknesses in rules, and may create disorder, knowledge, or resources.

What does Odysseus’s quest test?

Odysseus’s journey tests endurance, intelligence, loyalty, and the meaning of home.

What does Gilgamesh learn from seeking immortality?

Gilgamesh’s search for immortality leads him to recognize human mortality and the importance of mortal achievement.

What major themes does the Iliad examine?

It examines wrath, honor, mortality, grief, and the destructive glory of war.

What does dharma mean in studying the Rāmāyaṇa?

Dharma is a complex concept involving duty, moral order, social responsibility, and righteous conduct.

How does the Mahābhārata portray war?

It presents war as a crisis in which every available action carries consequences, rather than as a simple contest between good and evil.