While composed nearly five thousand years ago (2500-1500 BCE), Gilgamesh strikes me as very contemporary in its thematic concerns as it is alien in many of its cultural practices. Many of these themes emerge from a lost mythological tradition and a culture that is equally non-extant, the bonds of friendship, fear of death, and the quest for worldly renown still strike chords with us even in the twenty-first century.

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Book XI of the Odyssey shows Odysseus’ symbolic death and rebirth: a journey into the psyche of Odysseus in which he learns both about his past and future and comes to terms with his responsibilities as a leader, a father, a husband, and a hero. Perhaps most importantly Odysseus learns from the shades of his past the wisdom he needs to return home safely — to defeat his own selfish desires and those of his enemies. This descent is a personal one for Odysseus; though his crew joins him, they do not make it home, and they seem to represent an aspect of Odysseus’ psyche that he cannot control — free radicals that will eventually have to be dealt with in one way or another. While Odysseus meets many figures from his past and his culture, there are a few that hold key lessons for Odysseus.

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