The Epic Tradition In The Story of Samson

fits the pattern of the epic hero, who was featured in the many epics generated by the peoples of the Mediterranean world. How this is so will be developed and demonstrated in this study.

The epic genre consists of two basic types: folk and literary. The folk epic has no known single author and comes down through the oral tradition of a particular group of people. Various professional bards relate or sing the legend of a great epic protagonist. The Babylonian folk epic Gilgamesh or the ancient Greek Odyssey are appropriate examples of this type of. artistic endeavor. Although Homer may have been a single author, of a great some scholars believe that it is entirely possible that several persons were involved in creating The Iliad and The Odyssey over a period of many years. Very likely, an oral tradition preceded the actual composition of these two epics.

Concerning the literary epic, Virgil's Aeneid belongs to that classification. The Aeneid was written by a single author, Virgil, and was directed at highly literate, cultivated readers

mainly from the Roman aristocracy. The purpose of a literary epic was more of ten didactic, with a theme.

"The Story of Samson" is included folk epic; and as is true of many such philosophical and moral under the category of a

epics, it is based upon historical fact. However, the Hebrew scho

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safely on the journey from one level of life to the next, easing their anxieties and frustrations. Myths of a heroic person provide glamour and adventure to ordinary human lives, which are unexciting by comparison; and they allow individuals to participate in a life-cycle having a magnitude considerably beyond their own existence. Some of the characteristics of an epic hero include: (1) An unusual birth; (2) A mission or quest; (3) A fatal flaw; (4) Superhuman strength and powers; and (5) Favor with God. These are only a few of the qualities possessed by an epic hero. In some instances, rebirth is another characteristic, although with certain heroic personalities, regeneration is more obvious and a vital part of the heroic character. Samson's birth was not an ordinary one. Manoah, Samson's mother, is described as barren and she could not have children. However, this situation changed in this manner: "And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her. 'Behold, you are barren and have no children; but you shall conceive and bear a son . . . so then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a Nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death'" (Judges 12:3-7). From th
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1542
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)