Free Essays on Gilgamesh

Homer's The Illiad - Hector As The Epic Hero In Homer’s The Iliad there appears to be some controversy over who the true epic hero might be. We have heard many arguments supporting Achilles as the Epic Hero, and since The Iliad does indeed say â€Å"The Story of Achilles† I believe that Achilles is an easy character for people to associate as the epic hero. Although many people have cited Achilles as having superhuman strength and various other physical attributes, he appears to be lacking the qualities of a real Homeric Epic Hero. A Homeric Epic Hero must demonstrate all of the following three requirements in order for them to truly be considered an Epic Hero. A character must believe that men have to stand together in battle; men had to respect each other; and they had to refrain from excessive cruelty. This last condition was considered to be critically important for the Epic Hero. A true Epic Hero loathed deliberate acts of cruelty, defamation, and injustice. An Epic Hero believed that if they were to kill an opponent it must be done quickly. There was to be no mutilation of any kind because it reflected poorly upon the victor and the victor’s community. In the following paragraphs you will see how Achilles breaks all three rules/requirements of an epic hero, and upon doing so relinquishes any right he has to be called an Epic Hero. The first requirement of an Epic Hero is that he believes that men should stand together in battle. Achilles is a great warrior with superhuman strength, but when Briseis, Achilles war prize, is stripped from him by Agamemnon he proceeds to throw a temper tantrum. Achilles cares no more about standing alongside his fellow Greek warriors because he has been disrespected by Agamemnon. Homer does an excellent job of making most readers sympathize with Achilles, until around book nine when Patroklos is killed in battle. It is not until nine books of brooding and pouting passed for Achilles to realize h... Free Essays on Gilgamesh Free Essays on Gilgamesh The character that I choose from the book â€Å"The Epic of Gilgamesh† is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is a self-absorbed individual. He abuses his rights as king, as well as â€Å"leaves no virgin to her lover†. (13) Although readers may say that Gilgamesh stays the same throughout the whole story, it can easily be interpreted the other way. Throughout the book, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend names Enkidu. After killing Humbaba he makes a name for himself. He then tries to become immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through his many actions and tribulations his personality changes and he becomes a better person. Gilgamesh weakness and strengths are of equal throughout the whole story. He is â€Å"created with a perfect body, endowed with beauty, as well as courage.† (13) â€Å"He is as strong as a star from heaven.† (14) These are just some of his strengths. Weakness that Gilgamesh shows throughout the story are the following: â€Å"O Shamash, hear me, hear me, Shamash, let my voice be heard.† (18) â€Å"Bitterly he wept for his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness as a hunter, he roamed over the plains; in his bitterness he cried.† (31) These are two perfect examples of how Gilgamesh shows he weakness. The culture of this story is about friendship. Gilgamesh learns to become a best friend to Enkidu. He learns to make Enkidu happy who is his best friend. Gilgamesh has to change, and he does, throughout their relationship in order to keep their relationship. Friendship is valued in this story above all and it is shown throughout. I believed that a major issue within the Sumerian culture was friendship.... Free Essays on Gilgamesh The Babylonian author of The Epic of Gilgamesh reveals very much about the Sumerian culture especially through the use of the intervention of the gods is his tale of a hero and king fearing the inevitable stage of life; death. The gods and goddesses in the epic are written in their Akkadian forms, yet they did originate in the Sumerian language. The tale of Gilgamesh is based on King Gilgamesh of Uruk whose legendary adventure lies in the hands of the gods and goddesses from above and below. Gilgamesh himself is depicted as two-thirds god and one-third man which was definitely connected to the way the Sumerian culture thought of their kings in c. 3600 BCE. Their king was thought of as semi-divine being. Gilgamesh’s mother is a goddess named Ninsun and his father is Lugalbanda. The Sumerians put forth so much of their time worshipping and paying sacrifice to the gods by the way of temples, offerings, burial sacrifices, worship and belief in the Netherworld. That shows us that the people of the Sumerian civilization and the people portrayed in Uruk very much believed in the gods’ powers. Even Gilgamesh, part god, exhibited every person’s belief in the gods. In the Late Uruk Period the people saw themselves as humans put on this earth to serve the gods and while doing so have the chance to live a righteous life, live by me(the laws of the universe) and when you die(since the gods only retained immortality for themselves) hopefully there are eno ugh gifts and sacrifices for you that make your stay more pleasurable in the Netherworld. In Sumerian culture An is the patron god of Uruk, god of the sky and earlier known as the father and ruler of all gods. This god is represented in Akkadian in the Babylonian story as Anu with the same characteristics. Enlil, the patron god of the holy city, Nippur; god of air and even thought of as the diety who chose and gave power to all the earthly rulers. Shamash is god of the sun and ... Free Essays on Gilgamesh The best-known of the Mesopotamian myths, one of the world’s oldest surviving pieces of literature is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh ruled the Mesopotamian city of Uruk around 2000 BC. Gilgamesh was part human and part god. The epic was composed around 2000 BC and tells the story of the journeys of Gilgamesh. According to the epic of Gilgamesh there was a great flood. The flood took place because the people multiplied, the world bellowed widely and the gods were upset by the clamour. Mankind became intolerable to the gods so they decided to exterminate them. Warrior Enlil caused the great flood. The account of the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the great flood described in Genesis has some differences and similarities. One similarity is the building of the boat to keep the living creatures in so they wouldn’t drown in the flood. One difference is the great flood in Gilgamesh is it only rained for six days and six nights, in Genesis it rained for forty days and forty nights. The story of the flood tells us something about the Mesopotamian gods. It tells us that they are all evil. The people of Mesopotamia have negative attitudes towards the gods. I think this epic tell us that the Mesopotamians had a very strong view on life. They did not tolerate to much of the Mesopotamian people. They wanted society to be perfect.... Free Essays on Gilgamesh The Flood of Gilgamesh and Genesis The Epic of Gilgamesh records a story of a world-wide flood and pre-dates Genesis. So some claim that this invalidates the Genesis record. But P.J. Wiseman presents an interesting theory in this regard in his book Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1985). He believes that Moses did not write Genesis but rather translated it from ancient stone tablets written in Cuneiform script. The tablets each would have been originally written by eye-witnesses of the particular events, or those who received their information from eye-witnesses. He breaks Genesis into parts according to the phrase "These are the generations" (KJV; "This is the history" - NKJV; "This the account" - NASB; NIV; Gen 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12,9; 36:1,9; 37:2). He compares the use of this phrase and the structure of each section to the stone tablets written in cuneiform script. Many of these tablets have been discovered and they date to the third millenium BC. Wiseman's theory is that Genesis is translated from individual tablets which would have contained the material before each occurrence of the above phrase. So the narratives of the creation of the universe (Gen 1) and of the Garden of Eden (Gen 2) would have been written on one tablet by Adam as these events were revealed to him by the only Eye-witness of the events, God Himself. The narratives of the Fall and subsequent events would have been written on another tablet by Adam as an eye-witness of the events. Adam then passed each of these tablets on to his descendant Seth. Seth then recorded the events of Gen 5 and passed the tablets to his descendant Noah. Noah then recorded the events of Gen 6-9 and passed the tablets to his descendant Shem, and so one until Joseph. Joseph then recorded the final chapters of Genesis and placed all of the tablets in the library of the pharaohs. Moses then, while in pharaoh’... Free Essays on Gilgamesh The main character in the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is an arrogant person. Gilgamesh is full of himself and abuses his rights as king. He has sexual intercourse with the virgins of his town and acts as though he is a god. Throughout the book, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend, he makes a name for himself by killing Humbaba, and he tries to become a better person. First, the quest for immortality after the death of Enkidu shows that Gilgamesh has changed. Gilgamesh becomes frightened when he realizes that he isn’t immortal. After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh tries to find immortality by trying to cross the ocean to find it. He sounds pathetic as he rambles of his reason for trying to find everlasting life. His state of being at this part in the book, which is the end, is completely different from his arrogant beginning of this epic. Gilgamesh has gone from arrogant to scared. Second, the death of Humbaba changes Gilgamesh. Humbaba is evil. Many people who live in the city of Uruk fear Gilgamesh. Most would say that Gilgamesh himself is, in fact, evil. He has sex with the virgins, he does what he wants, and he tends to offend the gods. He has lots of problems with Ishtar. By going into the forest and facing Humbaba, Gilgamesh makes a name for himself and changes the views of the people in his city. The past of Gilgamesh does not change, but the great deed of killing Humbaba, makes him better person because he protects his city. Most would say he does this only to make a name for himself, but that is not the case. Gilgamesh does this because of his love for Enkidu and his people, he has changed from the beginning of the epic. The gods are angry with Gilgamesh and send down an equal of himself, they send down Enkidu. After becoming friends, Gilgamesh changes because he has an equal to be with. Enkidu and... Free Essays on Gilgamesh Compare and Contrast of Gilgamesh and Enkidu The story of Gilgamesh is one of literature’s greatest, oldest poems. It is the first poem ever to be translated to present day text. It can be traced far back as to 2700 B. C. It is a classic tale that us today can see a sort of relations in other literary works. In this poem, an equal to Gilgamesh, Enkidu was created by the gods in response to the prayers of the people of Urk. Made to the likeness of Gilgamesh, Enkidu was created in order to end the arrogant Gilgamesh. But when quarreling against each other they found a companion in each other’s company. So they remained friends throughout the poem. As equals gods created them but they are different from each other. Gilgamesh was born to Ninsun, a wise god. He is 2/3 god and 1/3 man. His beauty was like no other. No mortal man could compare to his immaculate, flawless features. Strength like a wild ox was bestow upon him by the gods. Also courage so that he will rule without doubt. But to the people of Urk, the town that he ruled over, Gilgamesh was considered arrogant. He ruled the people harshly and brutally. So gods created in his likeness Enkidu to see an end to Gilgamesh. The wild raised Enkidu. He is a blend of human and animal. The animal beings dominate at first. His hair was long and matted. He ran with the animals and ate raw food. A savage was he. At the time of his being civilized, he at times wanted to fight with Gilgamesh. Making Enkidu appear as to a brute. Were one was created to rule a kingdom; the other was created to destroy the king. As much as they were different remember that they were born of the same origin. The gods created both Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Both had stunning features of immaculate beauty. Strong as ox’s and had courage of the gods. Nothing could stand in the way of these two men but only themselves and the gods. Gilgamesh would have dreams upon meeting Enkidu. These dreams were translated by ... Free Essays on Gilgamesh Homer's The Illiad - Hector As The Epic Hero In Homer’s The Iliad there appears to be some controversy over who the true epic hero might be. We have heard many arguments supporting Achilles as the Epic Hero, and since The Iliad does indeed say â€Å"The Story of Achilles† I believe that Achilles is an easy character for people to associate as the epic hero. Although many people have cited Achilles as having superhuman strength and various other physical attributes, he appears to be lacking the qualities of a real Homeric Epic Hero. A Homeric Epic Hero must demonstrate all of the following three requirements in order for them to truly be considered an Epic Hero. A character must believe that men have to stand together in battle; men had to respect each other; and they had to refrain from excessive cruelty. This last condition was considered to be critically important for the Epic Hero. A true Epic Hero loathed deliberate acts of cruelty, defamation, and injustice. An Epic Hero believed that if they were to kill an opponent it must be done quickly. There was to be no mutilation of any kind because it reflected poorly upon the victor and the victor’s community. In the following paragraphs you will see how Achilles breaks all three rules/requirements of an epic hero, and upon doing so relinquishes any right he has to be called an Epic Hero. The first requirement of an Epic Hero is that he believes that men should stand together in battle. Achilles is a great warrior with superhuman strength, but when Briseis, Achilles war prize, is stripped from him by Agamemnon he proceeds to throw a temper tantrum. Achilles cares no more about standing alongside his fellow Greek warriors because he has been disrespected by Agamemnon. Homer does an excellent job of making most readers sympathize with Achilles, until around book nine when Patroklos is killed in battle. It is not until nine books of brooding and pouting passed for Achilles to realize h... Free Essays on Gilgamesh Gilgamesh The character that I choose from the book â€Å"The Epic of Gilgamesh† is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is a self-absorbed individual. He abuses his rights as king, as well as â€Å"leaves no virgin to her lover†. (13) Although readers may say that Gilgamesh stays the same throughout the whole story, it can easily be interpreted the other way. Throughout the book, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend names Enkidu. After killing Humbaba he makes a name for himself. He then tries to become immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through his many actions and tribulations his personality changes and he becomes a better person. Gilgamesh weakness and strengths are of equal throughout the whole story. He is â€Å"created with a perfect body, endowed with beauty, as well as courage.† (13) â€Å"He is as strong as a star from heaven.† (14) These are just some of his strengths. Weakness that Gilgamesh shows throughout the story are the following: â€Å"O Shamash, hear me, hear me, Shamash, let my voice be heard.† (18) â€Å"Bitterly he wept for his friend Enkidu; he wandered over the wilderness as a hunter, he roamed over the plains; in his bitterness he cried.† (31) These are two perfect examples of how Gilgamesh shows he weakness. The culture of this story is about friendship. Gilgamesh learns to become a best friend to Enkidu. He learns to make Enkidu happy who is his best friend. Gilgamesh has to change, and he does, throughout their relationship in order to keep their relationship. Friendship is valued in this story above all and it is shown throughout. I believed that a major issue within the Sumerian culture was friendship.... Free Essays on Gilgamesh I concluded that the social themes of this story were separation and freedom. The story starts out with, â€Å"Gran started it all.† (501) From this quote alone I felt like something new was going to start. As I read more into the story I found that this idea of mine to be true. Gran was trying to separate from her real world and into a world where she would be free. â€Å"She informed us that, as of now she was Rufous-necked Hornbill, of India.† (501) This is another statement that supports my themes. Here Gran shows that she did what she did to escape. Even though she hadn’t visited India she told everyone she was form there. I believe that Gran was taken out of her comfort zone. Maybe she did this because of her society having problems. For example the Water Department is restricting supply. The Energy is warning of depleted stocks and the Department of Rest had announced that the population must fall by one-point-eight per cent by November or else. â€Å"A c lassic case of regression to the childlike state† as stated by Dr. Pratt. (502) Even Dr. Pratt sees that Gran has escaped and separated into a free society. A society in which she could gobble, screech, as well as be naked and sexually liberated, and not have to worry about reality. These actions were brought upon by fear, the fear of reality and the fear of not knowing what was going to happen next. Throughout the whole story there are phrases that help support my themes....