The Epic Of Gilgamesh

The epic poem “Epic of Gilgamesh” is about a hero’s journey. First, one should know that Gilgamesh was once a selfish king that ruled over Uruk. When his best friend Enkidu dies, he realizes that he is mortal, so he goes on a journey to look for immortality (Sandars). In my opinion, heroes should always show loyalty and show respect to all classes of people. If the hero doesn’t show respect in the beginning, he will grow and will later on show much more respect. Furthermore, heroes should not be selfish or mean to other people (Sandars). Therefore, the hero’s journey teaches us the lesson that excessive pride is bad because it shows how imperious Gilgamesh and Enkidu are. But, after their journey, heroes often realize that they should become

A demigod named Gilgamesh, tragically loses his best friend, then he goes on a journey to find the secret of immortality. One could say that these specific cultural values work effectively for the Gods and the people of Uruk, such as rituals, war, and making sacrifices to make this culture successful.

Cole and Ortega’s The Thinking Past is a book that covers the history of humans and civilization. Within the book the authors cover the transition of humans from a hunter-gatherer life into a more sedentary life: forming the civilizations we know today. This transition can be witnessed through the character of Enkidu’s in The Epic of Gilgamesh. Enkidu—a glorified forager—is forced into civilization, we watch him transform from a wild beast into a civilized person. As we follow Enkidu’s transformation, we see how he changes for the better, but he also loses certain capabilities. The transition was not smooth, it took time to fully adjust, and although there are many disadvantages of leaving the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, the benefits make it

Discovered in the nineteenth century, The Epic of Gilgamesh is claimed to be one of the world’s oldest surviving pieces of literature. It details the life of a historical figure, Gilgamesh, the king who reigned over the Sumerian city-state of Uruk around 2700 B.C.E. (Britannica). He exemplifies the hardships of a supremely strong man that must accept his mortality while still trying to find meaning in his life. In contrast, the first five books of the Bible that were written before Christ (B.C.), the Pentateuch, recount the prophecies of the Son of God to come – fully divine and fully man. The first five books of the Old Testament were “written by Moses during the forty years that the children

In the Epic of Gilgamesh interrelationships between the humans and gods are not what we are used to in most modern monotheistic societies. Perhaps the greatest difference between the power of humans and gods is when Gilgamesh is referred to as “Two-thirds of him was divine, one-third of him was human!” (39) as this reveals Gilgamesh to be the son of Lugalbanda the former king and the goddess Ninsun. This would indicate that the line between human and god is an extremely thin one and thus gods cannot and are not that vastly different from their human counterparts. Indeed, throughout the journey of Gilgamesh we are confronted by gods and goddesses who are similar to humans in their desires and means of achieving them. This can make life difficult for humans as the gods tend to believe they are to be worshipped by all, but merely worshipping them does not give their divine aid or protection and should you scorn them you would face their wrath.

In order to get the pity from the gods, Utnapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh is tempted by sleep constantly, so the Faraway devises a plan to make a visual representation of Gilgamesh’s progress. Everyday of the test, Utnapishtim’s wife bakes a loaf of bread and puts a mark beside Gilgamesh’s head to measure the time. At the end, Gilgamesh is awoken and from looking at the bread, he realizes that he has been asleep. Earlier in the reading, Utnapishtim compares sleep to death, “The sleeping and the dead, how alike they are, they are like a painted death.” (Sandars 28) Gilgamesh endured his first test that did not require physical strength to exemplify that Gilgamesh was not prepared for everlasting life, his fear of death was not enough.

The epic poem “The Epic of Gilgamesh” is about a ruler of a city-state who goes on a journey to find everlasting life after his close friend dies. First, you should know that the ruler's name is Gilgamesh, and that he was a tyrant and the gods wanted to kill him, but he ended up friends with the man sent to kill him. (Sandars). In my opinion, heroes should be courageous and strong. They should be able to fight off foes and be able to learn from their mistakes. Furthermore, heroes should not be tyrants and shouldn’t think only for themselves. (Sandars). Therefore, I believe it teaches the lesson that too much pride is bad because too much pride can make a selfish and too much pride can drive you to do things that are too much for you to handle.

The hero Gilgamesh, passed through various tests and turns out better for it. For at the beginning the epic the king appears in the form of an unbridled, corrupted and cruel young man, then after the death of Enkidu, he is finally capable of a heartfelt deep sorrow. For the first time he becomes aware of the futility of existence, feeling the fear of the death, the hero of the poem turns to the gods to find out the secrets of life and death. From now on, Gilgamesh cannot simply rule his people, he wants to know the secret of death. His soul comes to complete despair: how could the immortal power and energy in the body of Enkidu die? This fire of the soul leads the hero all the further from his native land, gives strength to overcome unprecedented

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem written in 2000 B.C. whereas the Ark of Noah was written around 400 B.C. Both stories discuss about the historical great flood which whipped a human races from the earth. The stories were written in to two difference places and era; though they have a lot in common and quiet few differences. Consequently, according to the book of the Epic OF Gilgamesh and The Ark of Noah, the similarities between those two stories is more momentous than their differences.

As they grow up, children learn language through the combination of both words and pictures, which paints an image in their mind. The association of words to picture and vice versa is interchangeable as long as the message you are trying to portray is clear. As time passes by and a child’s comprehension of his language advances, society tells that child that his favorite works of literature are frowned upon, just because they have pictures in them. The use of images in works of literature seem to demean the works of comic books by claiming that comics are intended only for children. Therefore, comic books are not seen for their true art, which is to capture a story through the combined use of words and pictures. Instead, society portrays literature as “written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit”(Oxford dictionary). The interpretation of what literature is should be left to the reader. Literature is the art of being able to tell a story. Whether the context of a story is written only in words or is a mixture of images and words, literature should be seen as a work of art that is able to impact a person in one way or another. In Scott McCloud’s From Show and Tell piece, McCloud states that literature can

Homer’s The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh are similar in a numerous manner because they are both epic poems. Also, they display temptation consistently leads to negative consequences. In addition, these historical texts include the complications each courageous hero must face due to not being able to fight off temptation.

Most societies have heard about the great flood. Due to this tale being so popularly known, there are multiple versions to the knowledge of the current mankind. Though there are multiple versions that are quite common to know, the Hebrew’s version can be recognized as the most known version of the great flood. The Epic of Gilgamesh can be acknowledged as the oldest version of the great flood, dating back to the city of Babylonia. Utanapishtim tells the secrets of the great Gods to Gilgamesh. The God of Ea makes known to Utanapishtim the coming of a great flood and the need to prepare. Just as the Hebrew version, it states of Noah, of the Bible, building the ark. The task of building an ark or a big boat is a massive undertaking. Utanapishtim builds a boat, prepares for the flood, and takes on the aftermath [Gil., Tablet XI. 80-85].

Exegesis is the in-depth explanation and interpretation of scripture that helps us understand all of the references, literary devices, the time period, and how the people of the bible felt and interacted with the world around them. Exegesis is a process of trying to understand the scripture from, not a modern point of view, but the point of view that we assume the ancients received it in. There are four kinds of exegesis called criticisms. They are Textual Criticism, Historical Criticism, Literary Criticism, and Source Criticism. In Textual Criticism, the very original texts or most accurate interpretations are looked at to understand the true forms of the scripture passage without the translators own words added in. In Historical Criticism involves learning about the historical situations of the audience that the passages were meant for when they were written or why the people in the stories acted as they did. Literary Criticism looked at literary genres and devices to understand how the passage was intended to be conveyed; it is used to understand the bible as a work of

Gilgamesh’s despaired heart had soon subsided from years of manufacturing his kingly destiny. His heart was now occupied with unearthing the most exquisite maiden of Uruk. He could now definitively accept mortality and had gained awareness of how lonesome a mortal life without a partner would be.

‘Here stand the failures of this tower,’ cackled Ishtar. ‘With any luck from Shamash you will not remnant here immortally.’ With that Ishtar disappeared as mysteriously as she came.