Unravelling The Evolutionary Trajectory Of Epic Heroes: A Theoretical Exploration
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Date
2023
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Ankara Üniversitesi
Abstract
The scholarly investigation of epic heroes encompasses a complex and multifaceted realm,
engaging researchers in grappling with the intricate task of dening and categorising
these gures, while also endeavouring to comprehend their evolutionary trajectory.
Academic discourse on epic heroes has yielded two distinctive approaches. The rst
group, denoted as the “ubiquitous fallacy group” within this article, employs
anthropological, psychoanalytical, historical, and literary perspectives to argue for the
temporal and spatial ubiquity of epic heroes at their core, accentuating shared patterns
and recurring themes. This article provides a thorough critique of the rst group,
highlighting the inherent methodological and contextual problems in their analytical
frameworks, and revealing their limitations, particularly in terms of selective data and
potential oversimplication of complex phenomena. The second group, while
acknowledging some generic inuences over time, emphasises the impossibility of
ascribing a single, stable, or universal form to the concept of epic hero. Although leaning
towards favouring the latter approach, this article aims to identify the problems inherent in
this group as well. This approach's categorisation of epic heroes, creating heroic models or
types to differentiate heroes, is also problematic, given the uid boundaries between these
categories and the potential inadequacy of models in capturing the full complexity and
diversity of epic heroism they represent. This article further delves into two distinct
analytical frameworks in this group, Doris Cecilia Werner's socio-political reading and
John Steadman's “image and ideal” hypothesis, offering potential solutions to address
gaps in their theoretical approaches. Accordingly, this article, while presenting fresh
criticism on the theories of the evolution of epic heroes, argues that the ever-changing
nature of epic heroes dees a uniform ubiquitous denition or categorizations, and offers
solutions to ll the gaps in the latest scholarly analytical frameworks.
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Keywords
Epic Hero, Epic Theory, Evolution of Epic Heroes, Ubiquitous Fallacy