Analysis of Travels of People from The Past on The Example of Ancient Literature Works

Throughout history, humanity has always traveled. From prehistoric nomads to modern-day migrants and vacationers, there have always been various types of travelers who journey for different reasons. By examining ancient texts and observing the world today, it is evident that travelers of all types are rooted in a sense of betterment, and their travels have the power to teach all kinds of lessons. People travel for many reasons, including the search for a better life, gaining power, earning wealth, or expanding their knowledge. However, not all travelers have such positive motivators.

Examination of Historical Journeys Through Ancient Literary Texts

Travel as a Result of Exile

The Jewish scriptures of Ezekiel show travel as a result of exile, which is a rather negative motivation. The Jewish temple was overthrown by the flourishing Babylonian empire, thus sending the Jewish people into exile (Ezekiel, 597 B.C.). The prophet Ezekiel was prophesying in the midst of this exile, as the people needed some direction in this time of uncertainty. From the Jewish perspective, the loss of their temple, God's home, was detrimental and caused them to question if God was even still present on this earth. Although the Jewish people were forced into this exile against their own will, they searched for a new home in hopes of a better life. Ezekiel discusses the experience of the Jewish people's exile but doesn’t mention anything about the motivations of the Babylonians. Most ancient sources dealing with conquest are extremely biased and one-sided. Ezekiel only speaks of the Jewish people and gives no mention to their "bad guys," the Babylonians. Ezekiel would be considered more of a lament since it is from the perspective of those who were conquered or sent into exile. In contrast, heroic stories like Homer’s The Odyssey come from the perspective of the attackers. In order to fully understand any situation, it must be viewed from all angles.

Single-Sided Sources and Modern Parallels

Single-sided sources are still an issue in the recording of present-day events, resulting in the polarization of opposing sides. This polarization is most evident in American politics. Many information outlets are biased towards one political belief. Although there are efforts being made to combat this issue, social media is hindering these efforts. Typically, sites like Facebook and Twitter use algorithms to show users more content similar to what they have already shown interest in (Pariser, 2011). This concept may seem harmless when it comes to showing dog lovers more videos of dogs. But, only seeing opinions of like-minded people leads individuals to have more radical beliefs. In turn, this makes people less open to compromise and not fully informed on important issues. In order to make rational (not radical) opinions, people must look at both sides of a situation and make their own judgments to understand the whole picture. Once both sides of a story are heard, horrific events like bombings and mass shootings start to follow a pattern of logic that can be used to prevent more tragedies. For example, the school shooting epidemic is partly driven by people in schools not taking bullying and mental health issues seriously enough. Typically, student shooters were mistreated in school and/or dealt with mental health issues. If these issues are addressed sooner and taken more seriously, fewer people will reach the detrimental point of seriously considering homicide. Looking at the perspective of “the bad guys” is something that helps make sense of any situation, even seemingly unthinkable ones.

The Babylonian Perspective

In the case of the Babylonian exile, Jewish accounts like Ezekiel only see the Babylonians as the bad guys and don’t say much about their motives. Although exiling people isn’t the most noble thing to do, at the time, that was how empires were born and able to flourish. From a Babylonian perspective, exiling the Jewish people was merely a step on their road to success. In the grand scheme of history, the Babylonians were actually very successful and made many cultural and educational advances. They created one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Dalley, 2013). Under the rule of King Hammurabi, who united Mesopotamia through conquest, they made his new laws more accessible to people. He created the Code of Hammurabi and displayed his laws to all citizens by writing them on large stone posts around his empire. By looking at the whole story, different inferences can be made about various events, both historical and fictional.

Heroic Perspectives in Ancient Literature

Homer’s epic The Odyssey takes a more heroic standpoint. From this perspective, the thoughts and feelings of those victimized are completely ignored. In The Odyssey, Odysseus conquers and pillages towns with no remorse for the people living there. He openly admits when he “sacked the town and killed the men…took their wives and shared their riches equally” with his men (Homer, trans. 1996, p. 9). His story of destruction is something Odysseus views as a heroic feat and shows no remorse for what he did to the innocent Cicones on his travels back home from Troy. Odysseus mistreats people in his travels for personal gain, and in the case of the Trojan war, for his own country to gain more power. Conquering other lands isn’t the only way people use travel to become more powerful.

Peaceful Motivations for Travel

In the classic Middle Eastern tale The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights, travel has more peaceful motivations. Sinbad the Sailor is a merchant who travels “…to trade and make a profit” among other more honorable reasons (Haddawy, 1990, p. 550). He travels to other lands selling goods to make a profit and spreading knowledge across the world. As a merchant, Sinbad was able to make “…a great deal of money and…became a man of importance in the city” (Haddawy, 1990, p. 552). Sinbad showed the power trading and traveling can have when he introduced horse saddles to the king. Sinbad’s saddles crossed many borders, including social borders by receiving a higher status and cultural borders through spreading innovative technologies from other lands. Both Sinbad and the lands he visited benefited from his travels. While traveling, Sinbad was fulfilling desires beyond simply earning a living as a merchant. Sinbad longed for adventure; he “felt a pretentious urge to travel to foreign parts, to associate with different races…” (Haddawy, 1990, p. 553). He not only traveled for wealth but also to learn.

Conclusion

I personally believe Sinbad had the right mindset in accepting and embracing the beauty of the world through experiencing other cultures and ways of life. This sense of adventure and the desire to immerse oneself in other cultures is a concept still embraced by people today. Students today expand their knowledge about other cultures like Sinbad did through studying abroad. Students spend a few weeks in a different country not only to learn through their academic courses but also by immersing themselves in a different culture. Learning about other cultures helps to expand people's understanding of the world and makes them more tolerant of others. Although traveling is the best hands-on experience to learn about other cultures, studying the history of other cultures has similar effects.

Through studying the travels of people and characters from the past, understandings about our world today can be made. Although these travelers had different motivations, they all show valuable lessons. By examining both ancient and modern narratives, we can better comprehend the diverse motives behind human journeys and the profound impact they have on both individuals and societies.

References

• Dalley, S. (2013). The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon: An Elusive World Wonder Traced. Oxford University Press.
• Ezekiel. (597 B.C.). The Book of Ezekiel.
• Haddawy, H. (Trans.). (1990). The Arabian Nights. W.W. Norton & Company.
• Homer. (Trans. 1996). The Odyssey. Penguin Classics.
• Pariser, E. (2011). The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You. Penguin Press.