9 | Storytelling, Mythology, and Gilgamesh

Nathan's website: https://nathantudor.com

Nathan's book "The Empire's Lion": https://amzn.to/3YgEKrf

 

What do ancient Sumerian poems have to do with my life in 2023?

When we think of "myths", we often think of primitive stories containing outdated themes and un-relatable characters. In this episode, Nathan shows us that mythology is powerfully relevant...and may actually be what society needs more than ever.

Drawing from his experience studying myths at Oxford, Nathan tells about how he came to see fantasy as a legitimate genre and how that shift influenced him as a writer and author. Nathan shares that we are first "narrative beings long before we are scientific beings" and how great storytelling will always captivate us as humans.

 

References:

- Epic of Gilgamesh (ancient Mesopotamian epic poem)

- Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (some sci-fi movie from the 80's)

- The BEMA Podcast (a podcast focusing on the Bible through the lens of historical context)

- The Iliad and The Odyssey (ancient Greek epic poems by Homer)

- Makoto Fujimura (what Pat references in this episode is from the book "Art + Faith" (https://amzn.to/3HPiXkZ))

- Ira Glass quote Nathan was referencing:

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good...But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."