БЕБЕ АЛИ ХЕРОЈИ: СЛУЧАЈ ХЕРАКЛА И МАРКА КРАЉЕВИЋА1
BABIES BUT HEROES: THE CASE OF HERKULES AND MARKO KRALJEVIĆ

Summary/Abstract: Almost every culturally significant nations, such as Babylonians, Egyptians, Israelites, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Germans, Slavs and many others started glorifying and celebrating thier heroes very early on, as well as their kings and knights, religious patriarchs, dynasty founders, builders of cities and empires. Long story short, they wrote praises to their national heroes in numerous works of poetry, legends and sagas. Stories of their birth were especially fantastical and that mysticism was emphasized (Rank 2007 – 70). Similarities between Herkules and Marko Kraljevic are so prominent that they often ovelap. Their status of youngest amongst heroes contains all the clasical characteristics of a fabula; both Herkules and Marko Kraljevic are the children of parents that belong to high society, and they are of divine and/or royal descent. Their conception was complicated in both cases (secret relationship between Zeus and pious Alkmene). During the pregnancies, mothers were warned that the births of their children represent geat dangeour in socieaty, i.e. change. As a result of those prophecies, baby heroes were destined to perish by exposure to elements, usually because the father or some other figure demanded so. But baby heroes are always rescued and treated in special manner. Primal food, mother’s milk, which is cosnidered to have magical properties even from the breasts of a mortal women, is not the right nurishment for a baby hero. Their extraordinarity is emphasized through ultimate protection that this milk gives them – immortality, a gift that only succling the goddes i.e fairy can bestowe. The very act of naming the baby heroes ties them once again with deities with an unbreakable bond. Proverb Nomen est omen, which translates to „Name is a symbol“, is completely approprite for them, because they carry it through life as a sign of divinity, symbol of distinction that separates them from the mortal people.

• Details
• Contents