epics comparison

[Laurie L. Patton]

See Gregory Alles, The Iliad, the Ramayana, and the Work of Religion:
Failed Persuasion and Religious Mystification (University Park, PA: Penn
State University Press, 1994).  His biblio would also be helpful for your
interests.

Also, on comparative epics more generally, Masaki Mori, Epic Grandeur:
Toward a Comparative Poetics of the Epic (Albany: SUNY Press, 1997)

You're probably already quite familiar with Felix Oinas' work (Heroic Epic
and Saga, ed. by Felix Oinas and intro by Richard Dorson, Bloomingtom:
Indiana University Press, 1978). I've found it a helpful teaching
tool, even though old.

Laurie L. Patton
Emory University
Dept. of Religion
Atlanta, GA 30322
FAX: 404-727-7597


On Wed, 4 Jun 1997, J. Randall Groves wrote:

> Dear Indologists: I have been reading a translation of the Ramayana
> lately, and I am quite familiar with the Greek epics, THe Illiad and
> Odyssey. Has anyone done much in the way of a serious comparison of the
> two sets of epics? (Ramayana and Mahabarata vs. Illiad and Odyssey). I
> know Toynbee sees epics as the result of a certain stage in the
> distintegration of a civilization, but I am thinking more about a more
> specific comparison of the two sets of epics. I came across a reference
> to a bow that was difficult to bend in the Ramayana (Shiva's bow), and
> got to thinking of Odysseus' bow, and then to the comparison in
> general.Any thoughts or r eferences? Thanks in advance.  Randy Groves,
> Associate Prof. Of Humanities, Ferris State University
>