The Change of Gilgamesh

These men both have angered the gods and deities, while interfering with their fate, free will and destiny. Gilgamesh and Oedipus are both thought to be godlike and each journey through a progression of physical, emotional and psychological changes. Background Information The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first recorded work of literature. It was found to be written in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC on twelve clay tablets written in Ancient Sumerian Cuneiform. (Thury and Devinney 192-227) It is about King Gilgamesh of his strong walled city of Uruk, and his adventures as he looks for immortality.

Although he does not realize this at the time, Gilgamesh has an opportuni... ... middle of paper ... ...and killed the Bull of Heaven and overthrew Humbaba, the brother whom I loved, the end of mortality has overtaken him…because of my brother I am afraid of death…how shall I find eternal life?” Despite Gilgamesh’s efforts to find this life of eternity, he too dies towards the end of his journey. It is through this story that one realizes that all of the choices we make within this life are ours and ours alone. We are given this freedom in hopes that our intentions are humble, honest, and true. Gilgamesh enters this journey with selfish, material intentions. After meeting Enkidu, he transforms into the light of honest and true choices.

Enkidu’s love in friendship changed Gilgamesh for the better. This epic shows that interactions with gods (divine) are dangerous because they disapprove the fact that they are being challenged. Another theme is death and immortality. Enkidu dies and this leaves Gilgamesh heartbroken. He wants to avoid his death so starts out to find Utnapishtim.

In the epic poem titled The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was a king who ruled over the Sumerian city of Uruk around 2600 B.C. Gilgamesh was a very powerful and strong king, but he realized that he must use his power to help the people of Uruk. He is two-thirds god and one third human, which makes him realize that he must reconcile with the fact that he will eventually face death. He realizes that he will not reach full immortality and needs to be satisfied with his responsibilities over his people. Gilgamesh is able to reach a balance between being a king, god and man by accepting his mortality and his duties over his people of Uruk.

The Epic of Gilgamesh portrays to its readers how rich the ancient Mesopotamian civilization actually was and helps us in figuring out what the true meaning of life is. The poem is about a Sumerian king named Gilgamesh, who encounters a lot of obstacles and adventures in his quest for eternal life. Gilgamesh was a strong leader, and the builder of their great city called Uruk. Although Gilgamesh was brave and posessed supernatural qualities, he was plagued by human weaknesses like pride and immortality, one thing he desired most. Even though Gilgamesh was the main character in this book, readers can still decipher a lot about the Mesopotamian civilization.

"Introduction." Introduction. The War of the Worlds. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics, 2004. Xiii-xxi.

Gilgamesh 's Role as King of Uruk Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, is the protagonist of The Epic of Gilgamesh, where the audience is brought through the story of a tyrannical king 's transformation to become a mature king. He would learn that his responsibilities as king come before any of his wishes for fame and acknowledgment. As a being who was two-thirds god and one-third human, he desperately tried to gain the attention and later on the immortality that only deities would have. In the Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George, Gilgamesh believed that in order to be a great king, he would have to complete heroic tasks such as killing Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest and going to the netherworlds to find the source of immortality.

In this paper I will focus on the two characters by expressing their differences, as well as their similarities, and I will also give a bit of history about our two heroes. Gilgamesh, the hero from the epic Gilgamesh, was the historical king of Uruk in Babylonia, on the river Euphrates in modern Iraq: he lived about 2700B.C. Odysseus, the hero from the epic the Odysseus, was the ruler of the island kingdom of Ithaca. He was one of the most prominent Greek leaders of the Trojan War. Both of these men were granted certain strengths, Gilgamesh had physical, while Odysseus had mental strengths.

In a succession myth, the familial relationship between the gods is significant. In the three works: The Babylonian Enuma Elish, The Hittite Illuyanka Myths (version 2) and the Greek Theogony by Hesiod; it can be argued that the succession of the gods is a reflection of their power and that this power eventually leads to a redistribution of position within the gods. In the Babylonian Enuma Elish, each generation of god is proclaimed to be stronger than the last and eventually this culmination of power leads to Marduk killing his great-great grandmother. In the Illuyanka myths (version 2) there is a decrease of power in the line of succession but the power is restored to the Storm God in the form of his heart and his eyes. In the Greek poet Hesiod’s Theogony, gods and monsters (Cyclopes) also become more powerful with each succession, as in the Enuma Elish, and Zeus overthrows his father fulfilling the prophecy given by Heaven and Earth.

Later that day, Antinoos throws a stool at “the man’s [Odysseus’] right shoulder/ on the packed muscle under the shoulder blade--/ like solid rock, for all the effect one saw” (XVII. 605-607). In both cases, the suitors were being anything but hospitable, and neither thought about the repercussion of their actionsts from the gods. It appears that the suitors haved become so accustomed to being rude to strangers, unlike Alkínoös and Eumaois, that they doid not feel bad about being rude. Since they haved no responsibilities, they felt no guilt and simply believed it is someone else’s problem.