SEXUAL CONFLICT IN THE EPICS

Sexual competition in the epics is looked at for examples of conflict between older or more powerful males and younger or subordinate males over fertile females, a pattern that would have characterized the huma n environment of evolutionary adaptation (EEA). In the Iliad and Odyss ey, the Old Testament, the Arthurian Cycle (and its Celtic originals), the Volsunga Saga, and El Cid, this pattern is found to be the frame or prime mover or a central feature of the narrative. It is suggested that changes through time in the literary treatment of the theme refle ct a progressive dilution of the traditional power of older males over mate choice.