Numerous cultures have tried to understand why humans were put onto this earth, and many stories have been passed down both orally and in writing to explain this. Many cultures look to divine power to explain what is happening in the lives of the day-to-day people. Mortality is a concept that societies have struggled with in the past and will continue to struggle with today. Looking back at ancient texts we can see this struggle to understand why we die. Gilgamesh and The Iliad are both prime examples of humans trying to come to terms with the mortality of friends, loved ones, and themselves. Both of these stories depict some form of divine intervention as well. Gods and deities are common in these stories. The divines seem to provide a sense of reason and purpose to the ancient peoples who listened to and read these stories. To know that something much greater than yourself is watching you, guiding you, and taking an interest in your life provides a sense of comfort and ensures that people have something to thank or blame for their state of affairs. The gods in these stories have true power and influence, unlike their mortal counterparts. There is a comfort in accepting your fate and understanding the true powerlessness of your own humanity. These ancient texts show us that death is something that comes for us all. These …show more content…
The gods in these stories make the heroes appear insignificant compared to themselves. This in turn makes humanity feel insignificant as well. However, we can learn from these heroes. In learning about and accepting the fact that they will die and experience loss, they attain a sense of peace and enlightenment. Just like the heroes, we can accept the fact that we will all succumb to death. If we can do this, we have nothing to fear. Even if we are insignificant we can still be at peace with ourselves. If we trade our fears for understanding, we can live our days in
When someone dies people often cope in copious ways. One day everyone will pass away, some will die of natural causes like Akhenaten in The Great Aten. Akhenaten believed that once he died, his god would provide a heaven like place for him to rest for all of eternity. He would be dead physically, but spiritually he would be with his god for eternity. While in The Hebrew Bible, there is murder involved rather than a natural death. Two young brothers, Cain and Abel were both beloved by their God, but the Lord regarded only Abel when it came to their offerings. This caused a pit of resentment to grow in Cain until he could no longer control the anger and jealousy; Cain told his brother to go into the fields where “Cain rose against Abel his brother and killed him.” (Anthology 121). In the Epic of Gilgamesh princess Ishtar, tells her father, Anu, “Gilgamesh has said outrageous things about me, Gilgamesh’s been spouting insults about me, insults and curses against me!” (Anthology 85). This angers Ishtar and her father, therefore they release the Bull of Heaven to murder Gilgamesh as a consequence for his actions and remarks against Ishtar. Before the Bull of Heaven can kill Gilgamesh, Enkidu comes to Gilgamesh’s aid and together they slaughter their opponent. This once again angers the council of the gods; the council of gods decide that Enkidu and Gilgamesh’s recent actions cannot go unpunished, therefore they reach the decision that one of the men must be killed. Since Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk and too important, Enkidu is the one that must die due to Gilgamesh’s actions. Gilgamesh knows that he is the reason that his comrade is slaughtered and mourns for Enkidu for seven days and nights until he finally accepts the fact that he is alone, he no longer has the companionship of Enkidu with
The literature in this use provides a metaphorical mirror for the history, as the stories will either mirror what people experienced in real life, or use clever metaphors and analogies. Sometimes the stories would mimic wars and conflicts as fights against monsters or other major obstacles. Like in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero, Gilgamesh, as to fight the giant Humbaba, as he guards a cedar forest. This a perfect metaphor for a conflict over resources, specifically in this story, for timber. Stories can also simplify conflicts, such as the Trojan War in the Iliad, which is suspected to be fought over resources and trade routes, but in the book it is a fight over a woman, a much more simple reason, and easier to tell. In the Egyptian Hymms,
The epic of Gilgamesh seems to have little, to no correlation, to the Harry Potter series. After all, they were written four thousand years apart from J. K. Rowling’s beloved series. Even though they have no apparent association with each other, they do have an overarching theme of the quest for immortality and its inevitable failure that link the two texts together. Generally speaking, society and their texts have their own idea on how they perceive everlasting life and how to achieve it. However, all searches, crusades, and pursuits can be summarized in one word; futile.
The Odyssey and Gilgamesh are two great epics that show two heroes from two different time periods trying to find the meaning of life. In this paper, I would like to talk to you about the two epics and how they were both alike and different in some ways. Mainly I want to focus on the qualities they shared or didn 't, what the god 's roles were in the epics, and how death and immortality are observed in these epics.
Mortal and immortal women inspire many of the events that take place in The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh. For example, without the harlot, who “tames” Enkidu, the story of Gilgamesh would not be, as we know it. A chapter entitled, “Women in Ancient Epic” from A Companion to Ancient Epic by Helene Foley compares Ishtar in Gilgamesh to Calypso and Circe in The Odyssey. By comparing the role of immortal and mortal women in both The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh, one will be able to discern how the feminine figures have played a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of the epic heroes, as well as, understanding the interrelation amongst the female figures of both ancient epics.
Both The Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh are two incredible stories written long ago. These two epics share many of the same concepts. Such as the nostro (the Greek term for homecoming), xenis (guest/host relationship), oikos (household), and aganoriss (recognition). In both epics these themes are illustrated.
"Achilles." Gods, Heroes and Myth: Mythologies of Many lands. 10 June 2003. Internet. 23 June 2003.
For my World Literature research project, I was tasked to formulate a research question based on one of the three stories we’ve read in class, investigate from a variety of sources about my topic, and present a digital visual presentation about my research. I decided to focus my project on the ambiguity of Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s relationship and whether or not their relationship would be classified as homosocial or homoerotic by Babylonian standards. Throughout my process, I have conducted extensive research on my topic, learned how to distinguish facts from biased analyses, and organized my information in a way the audience can understand.
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.
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
The myths which prove the contradictory behavior of the gods, acting as both benefactors and tormentors of man, can readily be explained when viewed in light of the prime directive for man, to worship the gods and not “overstep,” and the ensuing “Deus ex Mahina” which served to coerce man to fulfill his destiny as evidenced by the myths: “Pandora,” “Arachne, and “Odysseus.” Humankind and it’s range of vision over the gods beauty and power portrayed them to be benefactors but unseemingly it depicted their affliction towards humans.
Throughout recorded history, man has sought explanations for the various phenomena that occur in every facet of nature, and when no obvious answer is forthcoming, still a theory is often proposed. These explanatory theories, often taking the form of stories or chronicles, are usually linked to some sort of mysticism or divine intervention. By ascribing that which he does not understand to the gods’ will at work, man avoids facing up to his own lack of knowledge in a given area, and also draws comfort from assuming that the universe does indeed function under the guidance of divine beings. Thus the explanatory accounts that man crafts enhance his own security, quelling the fear of chaos that resides in everyone, and also providing a convenient means of constructing a religion based on such stories.
Throughout Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad, gods are presented as remarkably human in almost every way. While it is assumed that gods are divine entities incapable of human transgression, they are portrayed with all the flaws of mortals in The Iliad. The gods are a manifestation of human emotions consequently helping to explain the behavior of the humans in The Iliad. The actions of the heroes are what determine their fate, not divine intervention. Ultimately, the humans in The Iliad have inherent characteristics that provide the driving force behind their actions: the gods simply act in concert with them, allowing the human beings to exercise free will of
The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.
The first similarity shown in both accounts is the divine planning of the floods. In the Bible, God faces the realization that he has created a human race, one now filled with evil and wickedness. God states he will annihilate man from the face of the earth. Likewise, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods decide man must be eliminated. The gods justification states, “the uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible…” Yet, while God’s judgment is based on the fact man has fallen from his favor, the decision of the gods seems like a choice based on inconvenience and annoyance. However, the resemblance continues between the two stories, as select individuals are chosen to survive the massive destruction.