2022, Volume 18, Issue 1
The theme of struggle in European epics: agonological aspects from the perspective of possible prevention and therapy
Justyna Bagińska1, Leon Andrzej Krzemieniecki2
1Wroclaw Business University of Applied Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
2Polish Bibliotherapy Association, Wroclaw, Poland
Author for correspondence: Justyna Bagińska; Wroclaw Business University of Applied Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland; email: justabaginska@gmail.com
Full text
Abstract
Reflecting on the epic, a genre that is surrounded by an atmosphere of the sacred and nowadays already outdated, with a lineage belonging to the distant past, we draw attention to those of its qualities and aspects that have a universal (timeless) dimension. Its lineage begins in the world with the ancient Babylonian epic about Gilgamesh – the brave king of the Sumerian city of Uruk. In pre-literate Greece, oral tales depicted individual battles of heroes. The genesis of epics was usually associated with the chivalric culture they served, affirming fame and the ethos of warriors. The action took place in two worlds: the divine and the human. Although humans fight to the end, their ultimate fates are decided by the gods, whose personalities and characters are as humane as possible. Fighting is undeniably one of the most important elements of Greek civilization.
The purpose of this narrative review is to synthesize the knowledge of struggle in European epics from the perspective of possible prevention and therapy in terms of innovative agonology.
It may soon become apparent that combining seemingly only distant activities such as geography of combat sports, martial arts bibliotherapy, music prevention and therapy with elements of martial arts or self-defence art, cultivation of the ancient model and specific nationals of wrestling struggles, fun forms of martial arts, specific motoric simulations, etc. will yield unexpected preventive and therapeutic results documented by public health indicators.
Meanwhile, the results of research using modern technology, including artificial intelligence, provide evidence of the preventive effectiveness of innovative agonology methods. Retirement age, from the perspective of a creative individual, does not have to be associated with an increased risk of bodily injury or death due to a fall and collision with a hard ground or with a vertical obstacle, or even with a moving object.
Key words: geography of combat sports, martial arts bibliotherapy, modern technology, music prevention and therapy, neo-gladiatorism
