Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Ian Hutchesson <mc2499 AT mclink.it>]

Dear Bryan,

You wrote:

>to take an example
>in the extreme, both the heroes Gilgamesh and Gawain (14th
>century C.E. England) make noble journeys into the
>mysterious forest to meet their destinies before seemingly
>invincible creatures.  Are we to suggest that Gawain is the
>grandchild of Gilgamesh?

Actually, yes! Although Gilgamesh might not have been available for Jessie
L. Weston, whose classic work "From Ritual to Romance" was written showing
the connections from classical literature leading to the Grail stories of
the late middle ages of which the journey motif figues strongly --
especially that of Sir Gawain --, the connections between Gilgamesh and
other literature is now perceived, both with Greek and Arab. Perhaps,
"great-grandfather" might be better.

This is not necessarily a comment on the basic consideration of your post
though.


Cheers,


Ian