Compare and Contrast Essay For centuries stories have been passed on and used to entertain and allow readers to transported to worlds where the impossible is in fact possible. Therefore, it is inevitable that countless similarities can be found in a wide varity of stories whether or not they are within the same genre. For example, in the Bible's "Noah's Ark" and in the epic of Gilgamesh comparisons can be pulled from specific portions in regard to floods. In both stories a great flood is brought about by God or gods, in order to wipe out the human race. In which case a warning is sent down to a mortal man, loyal to gods, and deemed worthy enough to carry out their task. The mortal men, being Noah who receives his message from God …show more content…
Although, Utnapishtim also is meant to bring seeds in order to replant and decides to bring aboard the boatscraftsman who helped build the ark. After, the construction and packing up of the ark thus begins the path of destruction. In the story of Noah the rain falls for 40 days and 40 nights, while in comparison the flood in the epic of Gligamesh the rain lasts much less, for 6 days and 6 nights. Finally, when the rain ceases to fall both men send out birds in order to know whether or not land is to be found, however their methods do differ. Noah sends one dove out then waits for the water level to drop, while on the other hand Utnapishtim sent out three birds of three different kinds, then once on found land he sailed towards them. When the floods are over and done with, taking with it all mankind who either went lied to by Utnapishtim, or surprised that Noah was actually being truthful, the gods in both tales apologize to the mortal men for the destruction and chaos they caused. In the grand finale Noah is sent off with the knowledge that he was spared and a rainbow as a promise that
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.
After reading the two stories I concluded that forty days and forty nights was too long for it to rain without stopping; that is why the flood in Gilgamesh is more realistic. The length of the rains in the flood story in The Epic of Gilgamesh is easier for someone to believe than the length of the rains in Genesis. Even though the stories were different there was many similarities in the stories.
In the Gilgamesh flood story, the flood started as a result of the cry of the gods, which creates a very destructive flood and covers the face of the earth. The rain lasted for 6 days and 6 nights. Utanpishtim, was the hero from the Gilgamesh flood account because he was a great worshipper of the god Ea. He sent out three different species of birds to know when the water dries out from the face of the earth. At first he sent out a dove but it returns, he sent again a different specie which was a swallow that too returned and finally he sent out a raven which did not return and that tells him it is safe to come out which he did while his boat landed on mount Nisir. It was also recorded that the boat stayed on that mountain for seven days. In the Hebrew text, the story is quite different. The rain lasted for forty days and forty nights and Noah the hero in the Hebrew text sent out a raven and it did return, he sent out a dove and it returned and then again he sent out another dove which was the second dove and it did not return. Then he knew it was safe to come and his ark rested on Mount. Ararat. And it was recorded that it took another two and half years more before the other mountains
The flood in Gilgamesh and The Great Flood happens almost instantaneously. The god of the storm broke the dams and ripped apart the land causing an abundance of water to cover the land and encompass the Earth for six days and night. The Great Flood occurs when Poseidon strikes the Earth with his trident and the seas rip the land asunder, covering it for nine days and nights. The longest flood transpires in Noah and Flood. God allows it to rain 40 days and nights to flood the world, yet leaves the survivors for over 150 days to float aimlessly in the flood
A major flood was a significant event in both The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis in the Bible. Both floods occurred with the intention of wiping out the human race which gives this flood a symbolic meaning of the rebirth of the human race and establishes the mighty power of God. The flood that occurred in both stories have plenty of similarities but also share differences in the stories intentions of the flood. Both the flood in Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis’s outcome was to wipe out the human race under similar conditions which was due to the observation of a higher power seeing mankind to be a sinful race.
The stories of Noah’s Ark in Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh are contrasted with how long each flood last. In The Epic of Gilgamesh the rain of the flood only last six days and six nights. Said in The Epic of Gilgamesh, “For six days and six nights the winds blew, torrent and tempest and flood overwhelmed the world, tempest and flood raged together like warring hosts.” (Sanders 240). Enlil, one of the gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh, sends the flood and harsh winds for only six days and six nights. In
“Tear down your house, I say, and build a boat… then take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures”(p.146). “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and “Noah and the Flood” are two similar stories about a flood that wiped out all the living creatures on Earth except for a certain group of mankind. These people in the stories communicate with the gods, that going along with their theology if there is one or more gods, and they both survive the flood. Regardless of the differences of communication, theology, and the flood from “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and “Noah and the Flood” they have the same storyline with different twists.
Noah and Gilgamesh each receive seven days notice to the flood (icr.org). They both also
In the story of Gilgamesh, the city of Shurrupak stood on the banks of Euphrates. The gods who lived in the city had grown old and the city was multiplying. The gods thought the town was becoming an uproar. Because of the uproar, the gods thought this mankind was intolerable and sleep was no longer possible. At this point, the gods decided to exterminate mankind. Utnapishtim was warned in dream and was told to build the ark. And that is just what he did. The story with Noah is very similar. God had saw how wicked mankind was becoming and he did not like it one bit. God began to regret that he had made these men on Earth. However, God saw Noah. Noah was a righteous man in god’s eyes. Noah was seen to walk with god. So for this reason, god decides to take trust in Noah to build an ark so all mankind can be wiped from existence. Noah fulfills god’s request and all mankind is wiped out. These stories are like for the whole reasoning all together. The reasoning is that the gods just saw the flood as fit and so that is what they
In what ways are the stories similar? The wickedness of men destroyed the old world that causes the flood in Genesis and Gilgamesh. God saw the wickedness of mankind was great on earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time (Genesis 6:5). The reason for the flood in Gilgamesh was a way to kill the people who were living a sinful life. The flood was supposed to be a punishment for their sin. The flood of Gilgamesh was a slaughter of humanity (Tablet 11). The flood heroes were Noah and Utnapishtim both of them were righteous men. Both of the floods
Is anything in life a coincidence? In the flood stories of Gilgamesh and Genesis, they have extraordinary similarities, but still have the occasional difference between them. However, the fact that the similarities occur frequently and very alike, that these two flood stories cannot be a coincidence. The significance between both stories is that one flood story was adapted to fit other cultures and therefore, the Gilgamesh and Genesis flood stories will have remarkable similarities between them.
Gilgamesh, The Epic of. Vol. A. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puchner, et al. 3rd ed. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 2012. 95-150. Print.
In both versions of the flood story something angers God (in Genesis) and the gods (in Gilgamesh). "The uproar of mankind is intolerable and sleep is no longer possible by reasons of the babel" (Gilgamesh 12). The Gilgamesh reason seems very illogical. The Gods decide to destroy mankind because they are making too much noise. It seems that the gods didn't think over their decision wisely. They are gods, wouldn't they have the power to block out the sound? One would think so, but obviously that was not the case. This is the first major difference between the two stories.
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
... 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.