Valuations of Truth in Indo-European Epic

This research project puts ancient Indian and Greek epics in dialogue, surveying the similarities and differences between the two oral poetry traditions on their respective conceptions of truth, falsehood, and deception from both a historical and philosophical point of view. The selected epics for this comparative analysis are the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Iliad, and the Odyssey. These epics, derived from the Proto-Indo-European language family, are renowned for their influence on the development of Eastern and Western civilizations. An understanding can be attained of these cultures’ linguistic and ideological connections by making such a comparison related to their philosophical foundations, offering a perspective on the common cultural origins on the valuations of truth. This research, then, interprets the instances of truth, falsehood, and deception within the literature to compare the nuances of these cultures’ views on these subjects, with these views being suggestive of the connection points between these ancient world cultures.