KMT 2018 nr 3 Download PDF

The Difficult happiness of a Heros

Cite: , Trudne szczęście Herosa, "Kultura - Media - Teologia", 2018( 34) nr 3, s. 8-27.

DOI: 10.21697/kmt.34.1

The article illustrates the various stages of the Sumerian-Babylonian and greek hero’s pursuit of supernatural happiness and their existential meaning. These were described using symbols whose interpretation reveals the knowledge of the ancients regarding the possibilities of obtaining supernatural happiness. The Epic of Gilgamesh shows that achieving supernatural happiness is extremely difficult, and that even chosen ones may experience defeat. In the figure of Heracles, we see a very strong anthropological dualism of the sprit and the body. The most important task of the hero is to bring about internal peace resulting from reconciliation of these spheres. He manages this after exceptional hardships. These are symbolically described in twelve parts, during which the hero is aided by the Olympian gods. In Christian culture, the heroic myths became legends about knights fighting against monsters symbolising evil. In the early modern period, these legends transformed into fairy tales, yet their primary message was preserved.

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Andrzej Korczak

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