Meaning of Epic

The word Epic conjures up an image of a great hero, usually after taking a long journey, wrought with knowledge come to truly know himself.

We too are embarking on an epic. We journey everyday in the pursuit of knowledge and right actions. We are taking up the task of understanding our world in terms of what has come before us. We are taking steps to communicate outside our everyday interactions to examine the history of known human governance through an online classroom. We are attempting to make connections to ancient cultures and understand how the decisions that people made then affect us and how we think now. When we understand the why and how of early governance we can attempt to understand our systems of governance and how to better provide for the needs of a diverse population.

As we explore earlier civilization’s rules and ways of life we are also engaged in a community we experience the “rules of engagement” for online, academic interaction.

This quote from the Epic of Gilgamesh sums up the concept of an Epic very well.

  “He who has seen everything, I will make known (?) to the lands.

I will teach (?) about him who experienced all things,

... alike,

Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all.”- Epic of Gigamesh

The above passage was about Gilgamesh specifically but it means the same for people today. If we work hard in our lives and gain knowledge and help others in turn our names will be known to others. We must journey to gain knowledge so that we too can make a difference for those that come after us.

If we as a nation started thinking about the epic that our action and lack of action is leaving for the next generation I think we would start paying closer attention to our governing body’s actions.

Epic of Gilgamesh full text available at: http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/