Purpose: Practice discovering the epic themes of the warrior hero, good and evil, and mortality by considering a major epic, Shahnameh or the Epic of Kings. This discussion should build your critical reading and analysis skills, as well as help prepare you for your essays later in the

course. Keep in mind that, your central concern is to understand what the evidence about these themes reveals about the relationship between the epic heroes and their own cultures as well as the relationship between epic heroes and heroic elements common to human society in all

times. Tasks: Use the steps below to write a 500+ word response connected to the purpose and overarching themes in the readings for this unit. Pick Option 1, 2, or 3 below, and follow the steps outlined. Option 2: Human mortality: Rustem is helpless against circumstances that cause the deaths of those whom he cares for. What do the betrayals of Rustem and Saiawush and the deaths of Sorab and Saiawush indicate about the

Persian culture, or how do they express Zoroastrian beliefs? Choose a passage that speaks to these questions. Then, consider these questions in relation to your passage: How does your passage illustrate a conclusion about the view of death within this culture or more generally?

Once you have done this, structure and revise your initial thoughts into 2-3 robust, well-developed paragraphs of at least 500 words, using the passage you have selected as evidence to support your ideas, and post them in the discussion