This week, I decided I should write about the story of David and Goliath. Being raised a Christian, I had obviously heard this story many times when I was younger. However, of course, many details were left out of those retellings. I guess I never really thought of the whole story taking place in a battlefield setting. I also never thought about the weaponry and armor that the soldiers would have, which were similar to those wielded by soldiers in the Trojan War. I was surprised to find that David didn’t actually kill Goliath with the stone from the sling, as I had been told before, but he simply knocked the giant out with the stone and then slew him with his own sword. Obviously, this is much more violent than anybody would dare tell a child. I guess I never really realized just how intense the stories of the Bible were!
The stories are so violent, in fact, that they can almost remind me of the Iliad at times. One story that sticks out as being very similar to that of David and Goliath is Nestor and Ereuthalion. Ereuthalion was the tallest of all the Trojan warriors and wielded an enormous club. He was slain by Nestor, a Greek soldier. Now, Nestor was a formidable warrior already so it wasn’t implausible for him to kill Ereuthalion. However, it is somewhat striking how similar the two stories are. The endings of the two battles are also somewhat similar as well: David’s army conquers Goliath’s, as Nestor’s conquers Ereuthalion. Obviously, the theme of small defeating large was quite common in ancient text.
The stories are so violent, in fact, that they can almost remind me of the Iliad at times. One story that sticks out as being very similar to that of David and Goliath is Nestor and Ereuthalion. Ereuthalion was the tallest of all the Trojan warriors and wielded an enormous club. He was slain by Nestor, a Greek soldier. Now, Nestor was a formidable warrior already so it wasn’t implausible for him to kill Ereuthalion. However, it is somewhat striking how similar the two stories are. The endings of the two battles are also somewhat similar as well: David’s army conquers Goliath’s, as Nestor’s conquers Ereuthalion. Obviously, the theme of small defeating large was quite common in ancient text.