Changes In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Abusch, T. (Oct-Dec 2001). The development and meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An interpretive essay. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 121(4), 614-622.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian myth and the oldest known narrative there is, originally created on clay tablets written in cuneiform. The story focuses on two individuals. Gilgamesh, who is the tyrannical ruler of the kingdom of Uruk. Then his counterweight, Enkidu who resides in the forest and was raised by animals. It may seem that neither would have much in common, considering one is royalty and one is a wild man. However, these two characters balance each other despite their differences, which results in a beautiful friendship, but both will lose as well as gain in the end.

Gilgamesh like many other mythological heroes was fortunate enough to be made up of two parts, part man and part god. Of all of the men in his land he was the greatest and before he met Enkidu he used that to his advantage in both positive and negative ways. He was the most ferocious warrior and the most creative architect they had ever seen. Before the arrival of his better half, Gilgamesh used to force hard labor upon his people, rape his women, and selfishly indulge his appetite. With that being said you can pretty see with a clear eye view that before Enkidu’s arrival, Gilgamesh was not that easy to like.

Gilgamesh existed as one of the oldest known Sumerian rulers of all time and is accredited to many accomplishments. Legend has it that he created the first Sumerian civilization, constructing a city with many elaborate temples and immense walls. However, he has also been characterized as one of the cruelest and most self-centered rulers of all. Throughout the course of Gilgamesh’s life he goes from being a womanizing, slave driving ruler to a negligent and stubborn king, who not even god-sent Enkidu could help transform into a better king.

Gilgamesh struggled to establish moral principle. His personality at first was an arrogant, self-centered tyrant ; he was described by Enkidu "His teeth are dragon's fangs, his countenance is like a lion his charge is the rushing of the flood..." (pg. 16 line 3-6). But towards the end of this epic narrative Gilgamesh switched

As the epic starts, Gilgamesh is portrayed as a self-centered, self-admiring leader who believes that he is the only individual that can lead the city of Uruk. Gilgamesh believes that he is a god-like figure and often refers to himself as one. He believes that he is above everyone else in the city of Uruk. For example, in the epic there is a scene where Gilgamesh enters the city of Uruk, the epic describes the scene as; “He entered the city of Uruk-the-Town-Square, and a crowd gathered around. He came to a halt in the street of Uruk-the Town-Square, all gathered about, the people discussed him” (15). This quote is a good example of how Gilgamesh expected those around him to respect and look up to him as a god-like figure. He did not lead the city of Uruk humbly; he wasn’t a leader who strived to feel like a normal citizen of the city. Instead, Gilgamesh felt that he was entitled to more privileges than the average person. Early on in the epic, Gilgamesh is described as a “tall, magnificent and terrible, who opened passes in the mountains, who dug wells on the slopes of the uplands, and crosses the ocean, the wide sea to the sunrise” (2). This demonstrates how selfish Gilgamesh truly was, and how all

Gilgamesh expresses sorrow to Ur-shanabi over losing the regenerative plant, truly opening up his human self at the end of the journey. Gilgamesh’s loss of his “bounty” to the “Lion of the Earth” brings out the main shift in his identity (XI 313-314). The key to understanding the shift is the symbolism of lions. Prior to this event, Gilgamesh had been dominant over the wild and once killed lions for clothing. Now, Gilgamesh lost his regenerative plant to a snake, the lion of the earth. The contrasting relationships with the wild highlight Gilgamesh’s changing status. His vulnerability to the wild becomes an aspect of himself that he must confront. A human side is breaking out of the prison that was once the godly Gilgamesh and taking over. Human Gilgamesh “ha[s] done a favour” to “the “Lion of the Earth”” which Gilgamesh hates and would take back (XI 314). However, in the end, the benefit may have been to Gilgamesh because he is now on the path to becoming wise by facing his mortality.

The Epic of Gilgamesh starts off very promising. We’re introduced to the handsome, strong and wise ruler of Uruk, Gilgamesh. He was godlike. Literally, he was composed of one third man and two thirds god. However, he rules over his kingdom with an iron fist; raping women and oppressing his subjects. From his own perspective he was living the life it didn’t matter it came to the expense of others. At least that was what he thought at the time. It all changed when he came in contact with his friend, Enkidu. The God’s heard the suffering of Gilgamesh’s people, so in return they create Enkidu to balance out Gilgamesh’s character. Once the two come in contact, they were irrespirable. Gilgamesh had a companion and formed an unspeakable friendship the wild man, but when Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh loses his only true friend, his whole world falls apart. He is stricken with grief. Wandering aimlessly around the forest sobbing

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a very popular epic that is difficult to understand at first, which is why there is different translations of the same book. Although Foster and Sander’s translations have a lot of similar words and the stories are basically the same, there are also a lot of differences between the two. One of which is more straightforward and easier to understand, whereas the other is more of an in depth thoughtful read for the reader. Both translations differences have their own particular reasons for doing so, and add to the depiction of the story. I feel like the translation in the Anthology is a more complex read, whereas Sander’s translation is much easier to understand.

(1) The black demon saw a beautiful woman and out of all the nobel women. He picked the one that was about the be married. He kidnapped her on her wedding night. It shows that the black demon does things impulsively. He does not care of the consequences. It shows that since he is a demon. He does not fear the consequences of men. When he saw her he could not longer live without her. When he kidnap her. He locked her in box showing that he does not trust the women he kidnap with other men. It also means he wants to keep her pure. She was kidnap on her wedding night so she did not have sex yet so the demon believed she was pure. The untainted virgin that has not been violated by men was his and his only. When he traveled he took her out of the box and wanted to sleep beside her. It shows when he his comfortable. He would sleep better beside her. The women was the demon's most prized possession. It is like comparing the women to a boy's secret toy. When a boy is around someone he would hide his secret toy from everyone. When the boy is alone he would take it and worship it. This meaning is similar to Metamorphoses when Apollo wanted Daphne. Even though she refused him. He impulsively try to rape her. She was turned into a tree, but he still tried to rape the tree. Another text with the similar meaning is in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Any women Gilgamesh desired he would take married or not. Since he was part god and king. He did not care of consequence like the demon.

Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh is considered a two-thirds god and one-third man. The hero journey of Gilgamesh starts out of him living in his ordinary world. He is a very strong and a harsh leader. He does not treat the people of his city really well; he does whatever is good for him and benefits him the most. It is very important to point out how Gilgamesh life started out and what type of person he is, because as the story progresses; Gilgamesh will develop a different personality. The change of Gilgamesh personality starts out when his friend Enkidu challenges him to kill Humababa the giant monster that guards the cedar forest. This challenge is considered the call to adventure. Gilgamesh at first refuse the call to adventure because he was afraid but Enkidu convince him. Gilgamesh said, “I want to prove him not the awesome thing we think he is, and the boundaries set up by the gods are not unbreakable I will defeat him in his cedar forest” (Puchner 33-88). Gilgamesh said this because he decides to go with Enkidu and kill Humababa. Gilgamesh wants to prove to the people of his city that they should not fear Humababa anymore, and Gilgamesh will prove his greatness to the civilians of his city. This marks that Gilgamesh has officially left

In the story Gilgamesh, a tyrant king named Gilgamesh is forever changed by a man who knows nothing about the rules and limitations of society, called Enkidu. When these two forces meet, they see each other as their equal, and from that a loving friendship ensues. Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought and killed the divine Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven together, a task which neither could have done alone. However, the wounds that Enkidu suffered from their fight with Humbaba were too great and eventually resulted in his demise. As Gilgamesh mourns for the loss of his friend, he becomes afraid of his own inevitable death.

Before the coming of Enkidu, Gilgamesh was a man of pure power. A being of which there was no equal match, Gilgamesh boasted upon his overwhelming glory and power. This arrogance was accompanied with an extensive abuse of power, which led the city of Uruk into a state of injustice and rage. "His arrogance has no bounds by day or

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh begins as an inconsiderate ruler who does not respect his people or the community. It becomes clear from early on in the novel that Gilgamesh has caused an upset in society, and for the population to function smoothly he has to

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest pieces of literature known to man. Written in 2700 B.C.E this epic poem centers in on an ancient king of Uruk in present day Iraq. When we are first introduced to Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, we see that he is a tyrant ruler which is one-third human, two-thirds divine and in endowed with immense strength. Instead of serving his people he suppresses them and engages in immoral behaviors fit for a king. The behaviors result in a backlash from his citizens and the nobles began to complain bitterly about these behaviors. The gods eventually intervene and in order to tame Gilgamesh’s wild spirit they create his equal, Enkidu, whose purpose in this epic poem is to help guide Gilgamesh in becoming a better person and a better king for his people.