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 eleventh tablet in Gilgamesh, line 187 reads, “Punish the wrongdoer for his wrongdoing, punish the transgressor for his transgression.”(147). Just what motivated Enlil
Utnapishtim and Noah were also given detailed instructions on how the vessels were to be made and which humans and animals were allowed to board the vessels to weather the flood. One of the most noteworthy passages in Gilgamesh contains the gods’ commandment to Utnapishtim to build the boat by saying: “O man of Shurupak, son of Ubar-Tutu, wreck house, build boat; forsake possessions, seek life; belongings reject and life save! Take aboard the boat the seed of all living things; the boat you shall build; Let her dimensions be measured of all kinds of living things into the ship which thou shalt build. Let its dimensions be well measured” (143). In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim brings animals, family and some others onto the ark built to withstand the flood, and Noah brought his family and various animals onto the ark he had made. The Book of Genesis says that Noah was instructed by the Lord to “Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits”
Flooding can be a common occurrence in river valleys the world over, but the flood in Gilgamesh is mainly caused by the God of Thunder, Adad. Adad was aided by Shullat and Hanish, the destroying gods, and Errakal, the god of death and Ninurta, the god of war. Tablet eleven, line 108 tells us “Adad’s awesome power passed over the heavens; Whatever was light was turned into darkness. He flooded the land, he smashed it like a clay pot!” (145). The origin of Gilgamesh’s flood points to the deluge of rain caused by Adad and the god’s thunderstorm. The Genesis account alludes to both rain and water from the ground as being the source of the flood. “All the wellsprings of the great deep burst and the casements of the heavens were opened.” “For in seven days’ time I will make it rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe out from the face of the earth all existing things that I have made.” (164). Both stories speak of all living things upon the earth perishing except for the animals and human beings aboard the ark at the time of the
...anity so one can tell the author is analyzing this as a sad, depressing kind of story. As the author is concluding his analysis he states “This was the great benefit of reading the Epic – its despairing philosophy dramatically contrasts with the hope and freedom offered to the great Old Testament saints.” The benefit to reading this analysis is that out of the sources used, it was the only one that offered the story was a grim, dark, and hopeless story. Other takes of the story was the story was not happy necessarily but had a happy side to it because of Enkidu changing Gilgamesh. Overall, the analysis by the author was refreshing to read because the story had a different effect on him/her than most. Most took the view where they could find a good moral of the story and find happiness to it but this author called it how it was, a grim, hopeless for mankind story.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the greatest text of Mesopotamia and one of the earliest pieces of world literature. Gilgamesh quest for immortality explores human concerns about death, friendship, nature, civilization, power, violence, travel adventures, homecoming, love and sexuality. (pg. 95) “The Gilgamesh of the epic is an awe-inspiring, sparkling hero, but at first also the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal.” (pg.96) Gilgamesh is 2/3 god because of his superhuman strength and endurance; he is 1/3 human because of his mortality. His epitome of a bad ruler will cause the gods to give consequences to his actions.
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).
In the Gilgamesh flood Ishtar and Enlil are as usual the advocates of destruction. Ishtar speaks, perhaps in her capacity as goddess of war, but Enlil prevails with his weapon of the storm. Only Ea, in superior wisdom, either was not present, or being present was silent, and with his usual cunning saw to it that at least one of the race of men should survive. (41)
Most of us have probably heard the famous bible story about Noah’s Ark and The Flood. What most may not know, is that this story is just one of a great many. A variety of ancient cultures, from the Greeks and the Middle East, to Asia and the Americas, have in their mythologies a story of a Great Flood that drowns the earth. These stories mostly contain the same themes: a god or group of gods becomes angry; they flood the earth but save a small group of people. These people build a boat to survive. After the flood they repopulate the earth.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis are two different texts from different time periods. “The Epic of Gilgamesh was written before 2000 B.C.” (The Epic of Gilgamesh) and “Genesis was written in 1445 B.C. which was much later than the Gilgamesh flood” (GTY). The question many people ask is whether the Epic of Gilgamesh really occurred or if Genesis: Noah and the Flood were plagiarized from Gilgamesh. Be...
In ancient Mesopotamia, people transmitted orally The Epic of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is the person who ruled at Uruk about 2700 BCE. This epic was originally composed in Sumerian at 2000 BCE and eventually written on clay tables by Babylonians, Hittites, and other in their own languages (Culture and Value. Page7). This epic focuses on human existence (Culture and Value. Page8).
After the gods ended the flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh used a dove and a swallow to search if the outside land was safe for the humans and the animals to exit the boat. As the days went by, nature kept Gilgamesh and his people safe when “… Mount Nisir held the ship fast, and did not let it slip away (13).” Nature held on to Gilgamesh and protected the contents of the boat. A natural feature allowed Gilgamesh and his people to feel secure, Gilgamesh’s presence was merely a glimpse of hope because of his hard work beforehand. Another natural feature that allowed people to be safe was Indra’s thunderbolts. The great dragon’s destruction was by a thunderbolt from Indra, the same natural element Indra continued to use to protect his people. If nature had not provided Indra with the thunderbolt, then the defeat of the dragon would have been more difficult of a task to complete for Indra. An obvious nature driven society is the Egyptians’ reliance of the Nile. The whole Egyptian society needed the Nile in order to survive. The Nile added prosperity to Egyptian lands and when the Nile would flood “all that exists is in anguish (Hymn 21).” The Egyptians relied on the Nile to not destroy their crops and their food supply by floods. Mount Nisir, thunderbolts, and the Nile are all parts of nature that define the fate of human
The Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, after two and a half millennia of dormancy, was resurrected by British archaeologists in the nineteenth century. Amid the rubble of an Assyrian palace, the twelve clay tablets inscribed the adventures of the first hero of world literature – King Gilgamesh, whose oral folk tales go back to at least 3000 years before Christ (Harris 1). Tablet XI contains the story of the Flood. In this essay let us compare this flood account to the more recent Noah’s Flood account in Genesis of the Old Testament.
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.
The two stories closely parallel each other, though Gilgamesh was written down before 2000 BCE and the version in Genesis was compiled ca. 400 BCE. Biblical writers probably knew of the much older myth but revised it so that it fit with their own history and worldview. They intended it to fit with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, this difference in intention is revealed in a number of motifs that distinguish the biblical story from the ancient myth:
The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known stories, recounts the tale of the reckless King Gilgamesh and his adventures with his friend Enkidu, a natural man created by the gods from clay to humble and teach Gilgamesh to become a better ruler. Through Enkidu’s death, the once fearless Gilgamesh becomes fearful of his own inevitable demise and journeys to find immortality. However, by finding compassion for his humanity, he is able to come to terms with his mortality and continue living wholeheartedly as the ruler of Uruk. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh learns to accept his mortality by gaining compassion for himself.
The flood of Gilgamesh was written before 2000 B.C, while the Genesis story was written in 400 BC Which was much later then the Gilgamesh flood. Biblical writers probably knew of the much older flood but revised it so that it fit with their own history and worldview. They most likely intended the original story with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, the differences are revealed in a number of different topics that distinguish the biblical version of the story from the ancient version.
George, A. R. The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Throughout the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is described as being a hero, “who knew the most of all men” (Gilgamesh, pg. 3). He is described as “two-thirds a god” (Gilgamesh, pg. 4) and “the strongest one of all, the perfect, the terror” (Gilgamesh, pg. 4). Due to Gilgamesh’s great recognition, he lacks a peer, someone who is able to challenge him. However, Enkidu is formed to test Gilgamesh’s abilities. Gilgamesh and Enkidu eventually grow a strong companionship. The bond between the two characters is the most important aspect in Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu act as each other’s counterparts throughout the novel.