The account of the hero is often depicted as a narratological journey which, with reference to the ground-breaking work of Campbell, is referred to as the monomyth. The basic outline of all monomyths is an account of how a hero embarks on a journey, meets a major crisis and then returns back home altered in some way. This change does not only benefit the hero but is also to the advantage of the community that he or she hails from. This (...) study examines the possibility that the story of Esther fits the prerequisites of a monomyth and argues that the additions to LXX-Esther give emphasis to and reinforce the impression of the hero-myth underlying the story. The therapeutic and transforming qualities of the hero story, narrated in LXX-Esther, are examined in more detail. It is concluded that this hero story fulfils two basic human functions: an epistemic function and a restorative function.Contribution: This article contributes to HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies’s’ contested Historical Thought and Source Interpretation by focusing on textual and hermeneutical studies, and narratives behind the Abrahamic religion as expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and the Septuagint. (shrink)

The account of the hero is often depicted as a narratological journey which, with reference to the ground-breaking work of Campbell, is referred to as the monomyth. The basic outline of all monomyths is an account of how a hero embarks on a journey, meets a major crisis and then returns back home altered in some way. This change does not only benefit the hero but is also to the advantage of the community that he or she hails from. This (...) study examines the possibility that the story of Esther fits the prerequisites of a monomyth and argues that the additions to LXX-Esther give emphasis to and reinforce the impression of the hero-myth underlying the story. The therapeutic and transforming qualities of the hero story, narrated in LXX-Esther, are examined in more detail. It is concluded that this hero story fulfils two basic human functions: an epistemic function and a restorative function.CONTRIBUTION: This article contributes to HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies's' contested Historical Thought and Source Interpretation by focusing on textual and hermeneutical studies, and narratives behind the Abrahamic religion as expressed in the Hebrew Scriptures, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and the Septuagint. (shrink)

This article seeks to develop theoretical convergences between the science of nostalgia and the science of heroism. We take four approaches in forging a conceptual relationship between these two phenomena. First, we examine the definitions of nostalgia and heroism from scholars, laypeople, and across cultures, noting how the history of defining the two phenomena has shaped current conceptualizations. Second, we demonstrate how nostalgic experiences consist of reminiscences about our own personal heroism and about cultural role models and heroes. A review (...) of heroism research, moreover, shows also that our recall of our heroes and of heroism is tinged with nostalgia. Third, we make linkages between heroism and nostalgia research focusing on functions, inspiration, sociality, and motivation. Nostalgia researchers have illuminated the functions of nostalgia implicating the self, existential concerns, goal pursuit, and sociality. Our review shows that heroism researchers invoke similar categories of hero functionality. Finally, we propose three areas of future research that can profit from the merging of nostalgia and heroism science, involving the mechanisms by which heroism can fuel nostalgia, nostalgia can promote heroic action, and wisdom results from nostalgic reverie. (shrink)