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| Tristan and Isolde by John Duncan (1912) (Wikipedia) |
Note: This is one of the great love stories of all time, with traces of Guinevere and Lancelot--and Romeo and Juliet.
Get Ready: Can we ever blame our actions on an external influence (like a "love potion"), or ought we to take responsibility for everything we do?
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| Saint Francis and a Wolf (Wikimedia) |
Note: No Christian saint has captured the world's heart like Francis of Assisi. Here are two early legends of the saint's connection to "God's creation."
Get Ready: In most Christian stories, how important is the natural world to the "spiritual interests" of the believer? Why do you think Francis was different?
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| A Green Man disgorging foliage (Wikipedia) |
Note: This charming legend personifies nature and gives an ancient basis to the modern push for ecological awareness.
Get Ready: Do you think it's important to be "good stewards" of the earth and its occupants? Why or why not?
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| Susannah and the Elders by Chiari (c. 1700-1727) (Wikipedia) |
Note: Some Bibles have extra books or passages, called "Apocrypha," which contain "extra" materials. Nevertheless, some of these are of great interest. Here's one such story.
Get Ready: If someone tells a lie about you, how can you prove it?
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| Queen Esther in the palace of King Ahasuerus (Wikimedia) |
Note: Despite her lack of historical status, Queen Esther has been held up as a model Jewish hero for generations, and her act is commemorated in a holiday even today.
Get Ready: Does a person need to be "real" to have a major impact on her or his culture?
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| "Setanta Slays the Hound of Culain" (Wikipedia) |
Note: Setanta, better known as Cu Chulainn or "The Hound of Chulainn," may be the most important hero you've never heard of. Lend an ear.
Get Ready: If you were a soldier, would you rather fight in a troop or in single combat?
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| An ancient depiction of Enkidu (Wikipedia) |
Note: Gilgamesh goes on a quest to find the secret of immortality--with mixed results.
Get Ready: Are you afraid to die?
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| A man holding a snake and a lion is believed to be Gilgamesh (Wikipedia) |
Note: The oldest known epic is a cracking good "buddy movie," one which explores friendship, love, loss, death, and immortality.
Get Ready: Should a person be punished for wrongs committed in a moment of exuberance?
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| Gelert by Charles Burton Barber (c.1894) (Wikipedia) |
Note: We are all suckers for a good story--true or not. Here's a whole category of them!
Get Ready: Have you ever heard one of those exciting but unlikely stories that always seems to happen to "a friend of a friend"?
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| Jason and Medea by John William Waterhouse (1907); she is concocting a potion to enable Jason to complete his tasks. (Wikipedia) |
Note: Greek playwrights like Euripides were drawing on a much larger body of traditional literature. While Medea's cruelty is infamous, there's more to her story than that. Let's find out!
Get Ready: What are the limits to what a person would do for love? Should one to harm or even kill others in the name of love?
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| "A passage was dug into the grave..." This mound is the modern tomb of Confucius (Wikipedia) |
Note: This story teaches us that even an emperor should not trifle with the powers of a great scholar!
Get Ready: Do you believe in ghosts, or in curses from beyond the grave? Do you feel that the burial places of our ancestors should be treated with special respect?
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| Robin Hood meets Little John (Wikipedia) |
Note: How the famous outlaw met his "right-hand man."
Get Ready: Do you have any friends who were at first rivals, and only became friends later?
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| From the cover of a Burmese comic about Pauk Kyaing |
Note: How a poor student followed his teacher's advice and became the founder of a great Burmese dynasty.
Get Ready: Why isn't "history" enough? Why do so many culture need to attach legends to their founding heroes (like George Washington and the cherry tree)?
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