In the course of the semester we have read and discussed several pieces of ancient literature. I have personally been in awe of how many stories touch and mention the creation, flood and fall of mankind. In ancient, world literature pieces such as the book of Genesis in the Bible, Gilgamesh, and Metamorphoses. First, the reader will recognize the distinct presence of the event, creation. In Genesis, the author documents the form of creation to have taken place over seven days. The creator is one person, God. There are stages. He started with the simple and ends with complex images. For example, the first day God created light and darkness, then sky and water, then fashioned water and land plants into existence. On the fourth day of creation God made the stars, sky and moon. Next, He made the creatures of the sea and then the animals of the land. Last, on the sixth day he breathed life into existence. In verse 26, God created humans, in his image, to rule and have dominion over everything on the earth. Therefore, on the seventh day, God looked at all that he had made and was pleased, causing him to rest. Meanwhile, in the first act of the fictional piece, Gilgamesh, the author explains the creation of the character, Enkidu. The author tells of the corruption in the life of Gilgamesh, exclaiming that he leaves no virgin to her lover nor the warrior's daughter or the wife of the noble, and exhausts men of their strength ( Gilgamesh 13). In response, the gods cried out to Aruru, goddess of creation to form someone of equal stature to contend together and leave Uruk in quiet (14). Therefore, the goddess dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, then instantly the character, Enkidu, was created. He had long flowing hair lik... ... middle of paper ... ...rrha's mother's bones behind their backs. When they finally agreed the stones then turned in to human form. For the other forms of life, they existed when moisture formed with heat. In conclusion, many ancient literature writers such as those of Genesis, Gilgamesh and Metamorphoses wrote their own detailed accounts of the Creation, flood, and fall. All three of the author's perspectives of the events are all distinctly characterized but, dramatically different. That fact in itself, the notion that we, the readers can trace hints that tie the three stories together, makes literature and the ways that we interpret it, amazing. I personally believe that the Genesis interpretation of all three the creation, the flood and the fall are all accurate and factual accounts of the event. I continually thank Christ for his redemption through His blood for my sin.
The "Epic of Gilgamesh," is told by mouth up until the time the author recorded it on paper. His original purpose of recording the story is to keep the characters immortal. The book of Genesis is recorded by a Hebrew from the telling of God to immortalize a religion whereas "The Epic of Gilgamesh" is told in words to immortalize a hero. The story is told with pride and bravado. The Hebrew writer of Genesis uses an old formal tone to tell the story of Adam and Eve to remind the reader that it is history and man's origin. Both Enkidu and Adam fail to live forever in body. Yet, they forever are remembered by their roles in shaping the lives of other men.
Ancient world literature and early civilization stories are mostly centered on human’s relationship with higher beings. Ancient civilizations were extremely religious, holding the belief that their very lives were in the hands of their almighty god or goddess. This holds true for both the people of biblical times as well as those of the epic era. However, their stories have some differences according to cultural variation but the main structure, ideas, and themes are generally found correlative. It is hard to believe that one work did not affect the others. The first great heroic epic poem of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament are parts of two cultures that are hundreds of years apart. Whereas Gilgamesh is a myth and the book of Genesis is the basis of many religions, they both have notably similar accounts of symbols, motifs, meaningful events according to the relationship between the divine and humans in literature.
Each creation story highlights the most important aspects of the cultures that wrote them. Not only do they show the values of the people, but they can give us an insight into how these cultures might have been. Comparing the Atra-hasis, Rig Veda, Genesis, Yijing, and Popol Vuh has uncovered many distinct themes when focusing on the time and place the creation story occurred. Patterns found in creation stories from different parts of the world show how similar human beings are.
The account of creation is found in the book of Genesis. Chapters one through eleven tell of how and when God created the Earth, the Heavens, all forms of life and everything else in the Universe. Genesis also tells stories Adam and Eve as well as all of their descendants. Genesis is part of the living Word of God, providing details of the character of God, the principles of man, and man’s relation to God. Most importantly, Genesis offers teachings on the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization.
In Genesis chapter 1:2 God 's spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters." before God changed anything water existed on the Earth. In the sky tree it says that "In the beginning, earth was covered in water." so water had always been on Earth since the start. In the creation story in How the World Was Made it states " in the long time ago, when everything was all water" once again water was before anything else. Another way that these creation stories are similar is that the land came from beneath or was brought up above the water. In Genesis 1:9 "God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear '" here God pulled the water away from some land and it became dry and livable. The Sky Tree depicts that "all of the water animals began to dive down and bring up soil... and placed the soil on Turtle 's back." this is what created the
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.
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 closest parallel to the Biblical story of the flood occurs in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, our fullest version of which is furnished by an Akkadian recension prepared, in the seventh century B.C. for the great library of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. The story itself is far older. We have fragments of versions dating as much as a thousand years earlier, and we possess also portions of a Summerian archetype.
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, ...
This varies from an ash and elm tree to pea-pod plants. In the Chinese creation myth, Nuwa went to the Yellow River and formed humans from clay after Ran-gu the dragon dies. Nuwa than realized how long it would take to make enough humans to inhabit over the very vast Earth so, she began flinging mud across the land. Mankind in the Inuit creation myth arose from a pea-pod plant placed by Raven. The offspring of the pea plant was believed to be the first creatures that the Earth possessed. The Norse believed the human race was initiated when Odin lifted an ash and elm tree which produced the human race. This tree was made from the cruel god Ymir’s hair after he was brutally killed. The concept of people being made from organic material is most likely the cause of early being’s dependence on nature. Many people during the time period of this belief used organic material to create shelter which was a long and difficult process. These ancient people believed that the process of creating mankind was lengthy, as the house, therefore, they must have been derived from the same product used to create their
The Enuma Elish mirrors the subordinate disordered lives of the Babylonians that created it. Genesis mirrors the newfound freedom and idealism of the Jewish people who created it after years of oppression. These two writings contrast the differences between the ancient Babylonians and the ancient Hebrews. Creation stories give great insight into the lives of the people who created them.
Throughout history many civilizations and cultures have had their own ways of explaining the world and its creation. Each of these civilizations has created unique descriptions and accounts of such events. However, when comparing them to each other, are they really different? Look at the ancient Greco - Roman creation myths as told by Hesiod in his Theogony and Works and Days and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, when compared to the creation myths as seen in the Old Testament’s book of Genesis they may not be as different as one would think. Taking a more in-depth look at both Genesis and Hesiod’s and Ovid’s work more closely, the reader can see that on multiple occasions the myths have almost identical similarities which reflect their views in society. The similarities in particular are the myths of the creation of man, women with their subsequent role of evil in ancient times, and the great floods. These similarities prove that even though these two scriptures were centuries apart, the concepts presented in each myth were almost identical to one another.
In this paper I will discuss three similarities and four differences between Enuma Elish-The Epic of Creation (King,1902) and Genesis 1:1-3:24 as described by Michael Fishbane (Fishbane, 1979). These writings are selected to describe the story of creation of the earth and the inhabitants of the earth. However, each author has a very different view and way of explaining what they have interpreted the sacred texts to mean.
The focus of this analysis is on Genesis (chapter 7) and Gilgamesh (lines 1 - 25). These two different passages will be analyzed to relate each document and how the author's worldview shapes his account of the flood.
Genesis is the first creation story. God creates, establishes, and puts everything into motion. After putting all of this in motion he then rests. He creates everything on earth in just seven days. Before creation Gods breath was hovering over a formless void. God made earth and all of the living creatures on earth out of nothing. There was not any pre-existent matter out of which the world was produced. Reading Genesis 1 discusses where living creatures came from and how the earth was formed. It’s fascinating to know how the world began and who created it all. In Genesis 1 God is the mighty Lord and has such strong power that he can create and banish whatever he would like. His powers are unlike any others. The beginning was created from one man only, God.