Epic (genre)

Epic is a genre of narrative defined by heroic or legendary adventures presented in a long format. Originating in the form of epic poetry, the genre also now applies to epic theatre, epic films, music, novels, stage play, television series, and video games. Scholars argue that 'the epic' has long since become "disembedded" from its origins in oral poetry. Providing a plethora of narrative tropes, the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, as the first recorded epic poem, would lay the foundation for the entire Western branch of the genre. Both the Old Testament and New Testament borrow many themes from Gilgamesh, which in turn has been found to draw from older Sumerian tradition. As such, some anthropologists identify Jesus as an embodiment of the same mythical archetype. Some similarities, among others, include stories of: the universal flood: Utnapishtim in the Mesopotamian story Noah in the Judeo-Christian story the 'tree of life' and the Garden of Eden: Enkidu and Shamhat in Gilgamesh. Adam and Eve in the Bible. the hero versus a divine assailant: Gilgamesh vs Enkidu Jacob vs the angel Just as it provided a blueprint for biblical traditions, many other pre-Christian mythos and religious epics have also shown to be influenced by Gilgamesh, including those of Buddha in Buddhist tradition; Krishna in Hindu tradition; Odysseus, Perseus, and Dionysus in Greek tradition; Ra, Horus, Osiris, and Amenhotep III in Ancient Egyptian tradition; Romulus in Roman tradition; and Zoroaster/Zarathustra and Mithra in Zoroastrian tradition. The Bible similarly extended its influence into existing epic literature such as the legend of King Arthur, which, as it exists in the modern day, has been interpreted to be loosely modeled upon the life of Jesus, however this was not always the case. Arthurian literature had originally been based on pre-Christian, Celtic folklore and may have been based on a British warrior (5th–6th century) who staved off invading Saxons. During the early christianization of the United Kingdom, the Church tolerated new converts observing their older, pagan traditions.