The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis have many similarities, or parallels, that connect the two great works. It is amazing how two stories were written at completely different times, yet have so many things in common. Drawing parallels can even help you understand the stories more. So, what do Gilgamesh and Genesis have in common? Using a bird to see if the flood is gone, making a sacrifice to God/ the gods, and the serpent in each story causes the main characters not to have immortality are only a few examples of connecting the stories together. In Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of the flood. When Utnapishtim hits land when there is a flood, he needed to know when the flood was gone. During the end of his story, he says, “When …show more content…
He was, in fact, on the verge of doing just that. As Gilgamesh was taking a bath in a well on his way home to Uruk, all his hard work to become immortal was wasted. “It rose out of the water and snatched it away”(Gilgamesh 27). The “it” refers to the serpent that was in the well who snatched the sweet flower, the flower that gives you immortality. If the serpent had not have snatched that flower, Gilgamesh would be immortal. In Genesis, the serpent makes Adam and Eve not be immortal as well, but in an opposite way as Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh loses nothing that he had before his quest, but Adam and Eve lose their immortality. Gilgamesh starts off without immortality, and has to eat the flower to become immortal. Adam and Eve are already immortal, and God tells them not to eat the fruit from one of the trees, but ate it, making Gilgamesh’s and Adam and Eve’s situations opposites. However, we can link these two situations by the serpent. In Genesis, Adam and Eve are told by God that they could eat from any tree except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and that if you do, you will die. When the serpent hears that God had said this, he tries to trick Eve into eating from the tree. “‘Ye shall not surely die:’ ‘For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil’” (Genesis 42). The serpent says that God even knows that if you eat the fruit off of this tree, you will not die, you will be like God and know good from evil. So, Eve is tricked into eating the fruit and shares it with her husband. Since they do this, they will die, and lose their immortality because of the
I would describe the Mesopotamians ideal of kingship as courageous and a shepherd of the people. The basis of the monarch’s legacy is his arrogance, courage, beauty, and god like self.
While Gilgamesh was a hero thought to be more beautiful, more courageous, more terrifying than all of the people of Uruk. Even though his desires, attributes, and accomplishments were just as there’s, he was still mortal.
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to The Legend of King Arthur. Although Gilgamesh and King Arthur have comparison they also have differences. The main difference is that one is an Epic and the other is a Legend. To compare and contrast The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Legend of King Arthor, one must first know what the words, "Epic" and "Legend" mean. Primarily, "epic" is a long narrative poem about the deeds of a semi-god, also known as a superhuman hero who's actions are depended on as the fate of a nation, tribe or a human race. This usually consists of an adventure filled plot and is concerned with timeless human problems such as honour, jealousy, war and hatred. These contain gods and goddesses and the setting is fixed in a far distant place at a time long past. Epics are based on legends and myths.
is the idea of a divine being or, in other words, god. Early humans were
Although many versions of the Epic of Gilgamesh exist, the poem holds the distinction by many as being the world’s oldest written story. Gilgamesh predated the Book of Genesis in the Bible by more than a thousand years. However, there are many similarities worth examining. The most prominent theme both works share is one of a great flood which destroys all of humanity. Although the reason for the flood in Gilgamesh is not explicitly stated, it is evident that the assembly of the great gods, at Enlil’s urging, brought the flood as judgement for the sins of mankind.
The book of Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh have come a long way. They were both passed down from generation to generation through oral presentation and eventually made its way onto scripts. Today, these two iconic literary pieces have spread its way into the knowledge base of many nations. As a result, when discussing ancient texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh and the book of Genesis from the bible and the term ‘heroes’ is used, most readers can name some characters, like Gilgamesh, Enkidu, Abraham, and Jacob, but what many fail to discern is the differences amongst the heroes from the two different cultures.
Death is an inevitable and unavoidable reality of human life, which is Gilgamesh’s greatest lesson learned. Gilgamesh is bitter that only the gods can live forever and say a lot when Enkidu warns him against their battle with Humbaba. Gilgamesh and Enkidu tell each other on their way to the deadly confrontation in the Cedar Forest, and the only thing that they have is their fame. But when Enkidu is cursed with a shameful, painful death. Shamash, who is the son god, solaces Enkidu reminding him of his rich life has been, but although Enkidu eventually resigned himself to his fate, Gilgamesh is scared by his own. Mesopotamian theology gives a perspective on the afterlife, but it shows comfort, the dead take the time to die. If Gilgamesh's mission to the Cedar Forest though he dies, his second task is to get Utnapishtim a way to escape from it. Utnapishtim's account of the floods shows how ridiculous such a goal is, because death is an inseparable combination of fabric of creation. But life is also adorned, and although man dies, mankind continues to live. The lesson that Gilgamesh made from his search was not the last of death, it was about life.
Would an infinite life be better than a finite life? Many people throughout history have pondered such thoughts and, The Epic of Gilgamesh, by an anonymous author from ancient Mesopotamia, is a story that focuses on this idea of eternal life. Gilgamesh who is a powerful king in the city of Uruk is two thirds god and one third man and therefore mortal. The idea of death does not fully penetrate him until his best friend, Enkidu, dies. Enkidu is much like Gilgamesh in being both part god and part human. Enkidu’s death is what sparks Gilgamesh’s motivation to set out on a journey to find eternal life. At first Gilgamesh fears death because Enkidu died; his feelings change after his quest when Gilgamesh accepts death, and he realizes mortals are not meant to live forever.
A good number of people know the famous story of the Genesis flood, but do they know how it resembles to the Gilgamesh flood story? It is mind bending how the main stories are so alike. The main theme is the biggest similarity between the two. They also differ greatly in the smaller details in the events that take place. In both stories the number of days for events are different, but the same basic event takes place. Along with many other similarities and differences. The stories are very much the same, but when comparing the details within they are very different.
The relationship between the gods and humanity in The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey are the same. In each saga, the gods seem to live nearby and are always present. Both epic poems portray humans as simply at the mercy of the gods. The gods feel that it is their duty to intervene if they feel that man is traveling off course from his destiny. However, the gods are not all powerful.
As human beings, we are designed to belive in something. Although the belief in a higher power or religion is diverse, many theologies share common themes. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the Hebrew book of “Genesis” are seemingly polar opposites. Christianity, demonstrated in Genesis, is monotheistic, and the Hebrews base their faith on their relationship with God. On the other hand, Sumerian philosophy, found in Gilgamesh, is polytheistic, and the Sumerian people base their theology on fear. Ancient polytheistic literature forms an archetypical pattern of the mortals trying desperately to please the gods. A mortal’s entire existence rests in the hands of the sometimes childish gods. In spite of this, these two stories
One obvious distinction between "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and Genesis can be traced back to the cultures of the authors. The Gilgamesh epic comes from a culture and religion that is polytheistic. The author (and thus the characters in the epic) believed in a pantheon of gods and goddesses, each possessing human attributes and vices. The Hebraic culture that gave us Genesis revolved around the belief in one Almighty God. The Hebrew God was above man in every way: He was omniscient and all-powerful and yet retained compassion for the humans He had created. While Noah had but one God to serve, Gilgamesh was responsible to many. It seems that many human-like gods each command less respect than one all-powerful God. This idea can be examined by looking at Ishtar's advances to Gilgamesh. This goddess desired the mortal Gilgamesh and he responds by shunning her, thereby being disobedient to his gods. Gilgamesh may be king of Uruk and two-thirds god but that does not make him an equal. "Come to me Gilgamesh, ...
The whole reason Gilgamesh takes this journey to search for eternal life is due to the death of Enkidu, with whom he was close with. Before all of the events occurred, Gilgamesh had never thought about the topic of death. It’s as if it never crossed his mind; as though he would live forever. He went through phases along his journey. The first was not accepting reality, the second was fighting for eternal life, and the last was accepting reality. Now, his aspirations for immortality are no longer apparent as he enters the last stage.
... of these epics share quite many similarities. For example, the archetypes used, the types of settings, and the themes are a few of plenty of comparabilities found among The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh. However, the most important similarity is that both of these epics are timeless; they have been passed down through generations spanning thousands of years, and they will continue to be read for many years to come.
For one thing, Noah is the ninth generation of Adam and Eve's lineage and its assumed that Noah lived in the Mesopotamian Valley. Archaeological evidence proves that the floods in Mesopotamian occurred around 3500BC and again around 2600BC. Mesopotamian deluge or flood myths such the Eridu Genesis, the Epic of Atra-Hasis and the Epic of Gilgamesh all possess similarities to the biblical version of Noah and The Flood. More importantly, the Epic of Gilgamesh is the most well-known as well as the best detailed of the three Mesopotamian deluge myths along with many similarities to the Old Testament version of The Flood. The main character, Gilgamesh, appears as a mythic character in Mesopotamian literature, but in fact was a real person. Historians generally agree that Gilgamesh lived in the period of 2700 to 2600BC which coincides with the timeline of the floods that occurred in Kish and