One way in which the epic of gilgamesh, the
odyssey, and the mah¯ abh¯
arata are similar is that
they are
(1) sets of written legal principles that spell out
the rights of citizens
(2) stories that are tied to monotheistic religious
beliefs
(3) paintings that depict heroes and cultural
values
(4) works of literature that give historians
information about early civilizations