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==Historical examples== An early quest story tells the tale of [[Gilgamesh]], who seeks the secret to eternal life after the death of his friend [[Enkidu]]. Another ancient quest tale, [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', tells of [[Odysseus]], whom the gods have cursed to wander and suffer for many years before [[Athena]] persuades the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympians]] to allow him to return home. Recovering the [[Golden Fleece]] is the object of the travels of [[Jason]] and the [[Argonauts]] in the ''[[Argonautica]]''. [[Cupid and Psyche|Psyche]], having lost Cupid, hunted through the world for him, and was set tasks by [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], including a descent into the [[underworld]]. Many [[fairy tale]]s depict the hero or heroine setting out on a quest, such as: * ''[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]'' where the heroine seeks her husband * ''[[The Seven Ravens]]'' where the heroine seeks her transformed brothers * ''[[The Story of the Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was]]'' * ''[[The Golden Bird]]'' where the prince sets out to find the golden bird for his father Other characters may set out with no more definite aim than to "seek their fortune", or even be cast out instead of voluntarily leaving, but learn of something that could aid them along the way and so have their journey transformed from aimless wandering into a quest.<ref>Maria Tatar, ''The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales'', p63, {{ISBN|0-691-06722-8}}</ref> Other characters can also set forth on quests — the hero's older brothers commonly do — but the hero is distinguished by their success. [[File:Galahad grail.jpg|left|360px|thumb|''Vision of the Holy Grail'' (1890) by [[William Morris]]]] Many medieval [[Romance (heroic literature)|romances]] sent knights out on quests. The term "[[knight-errant]]" sprang from this, as ''errant'' meant "roving" or "wandering". [[Thomas Malory]] included many in ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]''. The most famous—perhaps in all of western literature—centers on the Holy Grail in [[Arthurian legend]]. This story cycle recounts multiple quests, in multiple variants, telling stories both of the heroes who succeed, like [[Percival]] (in [[Wolfram von Eschenbach]]'s ''[[Parzival]]'') or Sir Galahad (in the [[Special:WhatLinksHere/Lancelot-Grail|''Lancelot-Grail'']]), and also the heroes who fail, like [[Lancelot|Sir Lancelot]]. This often sent them into a bewildering [[enchanted forest|forest]]. Despite many references to its pathlessness, the forest repeatedly confronts knights with forks and crossroads, of a labyrinthine complexity.<ref>Penelope Reed Doob, ''The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages'', p 177, {{ISBN|0-8014-8000-0}}</ref> The significance of their encounters is often explained to the knights—particularly those searching for the Holy Grail—by [[hermit]]s acting as [[wise old man|wise old people]].<ref>Penelope Reed Doob, ''The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages'', p 179-81, {{ISBN|0-8014-8000-0}}</ref> Still, despite their perils and chances of error, such forests, being the location where the knight can obtain the end of their quest, are places where the knights may become worthy; one romance has a maiden urging Sir Lancelot on his quest for the Holy Grail, "which quickens with life and greenness like the forest".<ref>Penelope Reed Doob, ''The Idea of the Labyrinth: from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages'', p 181, {{ISBN|0-8014-8000-0}}</ref> So consistently did knights quest that [[Miguel de Cervantes]] set his ''[[Don Quixote]]'' on mock quests in a parody of chivalric tales. Nevertheless, while Don Quixote was a fool, he was and remains a hero of chivalry.
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