Compare The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Genesis

In both Gilgamesh and Noah and the Flood, man’s wickedness leads to death, destruction, and rebirth all caused by billions of gallons of water sweeping the earth’s surface. The flood in both stories destroys most of mankind. The floods represent rebirth and a new beginning for mankind, as well as the gods and God’s wrath. In Gilgamesh the gods decide to destroy mankind by flooding the earth for six days and nights. Utnapishtim is chosen to build a boat in order to restart mankind after the flood. In the Bible God also decides to flood the earth due to the increase in wickedness. God chooses Noah to build an ark and store seven pairs of every clean animal and two of every other kind of animal on it

There is a lot of evidence to prove and explain how the Israelite people might have known or heard some Babylonian myths. This evidence is shown through similarities in the Genesis creation myths and many Babylonian myths. As an example, there are many similarities shown throughout the Gilgamesh story that relates to the Noah story in Genesis. Some similarities include the heroes character, the order to build a boat, the number of animals, the means of the flood, and the action of sacrificing after the flood. These are only a few of the many similarities interpreted in these stories.

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.

The Hebrew Flood story of Noah and his obligation to preserve man kind after God had punished all living creatures for their inequities parallels The Epic of Gilgamesh in several ways. Even though these two compilations are passed on orally at different times in history the similarities and differences invoke deliberation when these stories are compared. Numerous underlining themes are illustrated throughout each story. Humans are guilty of transgressions and must be punished, God or Gods send a flood as punishment to destroy this evil race, a person is selected by the gods to build a craft that will withstand the flood and allow this person to create a new race. An

The Epic of Gilgamesh: story of the flood is a story telling of the time when the Sumerian gods flood the Earth hoping to get rid of the annoying humans. Throughout the story, Utnapishtim would be the preserver of life; by building a ship that would carry two of every animal. In Genesis 6-9, the Hebrew God chose to cleanse humanity by flooding the Earth, and in this story Noah would be instructed by the Lord to build an ark and put two of every animal with this ark. These stories of the flood have many differences, one major difference being that The Epic of Gilgamesh is a fictional story of Sumerian gods, while Genesis is a religious book with in the Bible. Although there are many differences between Genesis’ and Gilgamesh’s story of the flood, there are significantly more similarities linking the two stories.

In the Book of Genesis, the idea of knowledge emerges throughout punishment. This theme is most apparent when Adam and Eve deceive God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When they do this, they are immediately given the ability to discern between right and wrong. The Old Testament states, "The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining knowledge" (Genesis 3:6). Promptly Adam and Eve gain knowledge and realize their nakedness as punishment from God. Likewise in Gilgamesh, Enkidu, was a wild man before he was seduced by a harlot from Uruk. After his encounter with harlot he notices his abilities have been greatly suppressed. "Enkidu was grown weak," the narrator tells us, "for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart." The woman says to him, "You are wise, Enkidu, and now you have become like a god. Why do you want to run wild with the beasts in the hills?" She tells him about "strong-walled Uruk" and "the blessed temple of Ishtar and of Anu, of love and of heaven," and about Gilgamesh himself. (Gilgamesh page 15). This suppression is from the gods for his acquisition of knowledge. Both Eve's nakedness and Enkidu's loss of strength demonstrate the gods' propensity to punish by

Throughout the Book of Genesis, the idea of knowledge emerges throughout punishment. This theme is most apparent when Adam and Eve deceive God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When they do this, they are immediately given the ability to discern between right and wrong. The Bible states, "The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining knowledge" (Genesis 3:6). Promptly Adam and Eve gain knowledge and realize their nakedness as deity punishment.

The presence of fundamental storytelling methods across the globe establishes a universal connection between societies. Contrasting cultures influence variation among symbolism and moral values, however collective literary essentials exist. For instance, an abundance of flood stories that expand across the world verifies a connection among the traditions of mankind. The strong resemblance between the flood accounts in the ancient Mesopotamian myth The Epic of Gilgamesh and the biblical narrative of Noah’s Ark in The Genesis propose a closer relationship that encourages further analysis. The major plot points are echoed in both texts despite differentiation of detail, however the crucial distinctions are observed through the contrasting religious themes. In contrast to Gilgamesh, the Genesis is a religious narrative that promotes monotheistic ideals. Both texts articulate nearly identical scenarios, however the Genesis adaptation provides a Christian perspective by offering moral interpretation. Further exploration of both assists in the determination of significance between the differences.

(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.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest epic known to date. It is an old Babylonian tale first written down in Sumerian. The first known copy of the epic is dated to around 2100 to 2000 B.C.E. However, it is believed to have originated many years earlier passed along though oral story telling. The epic was used in Babylonian schools to teach literature to students (Puchner 36). In ancient times, the Epic of Gilgamesh was widely read from Mesopotamia to Syria to Levant and Anatolia. The epic was also translated into non-Mesopotamian languages such as Hittite (Puchner 34). The story we know today was expanded upon around 1200 B.C.E. by a Babylonian priest. “The eleven-tablet version may be said to have assumed its present form during the latter part of the second millennium”(Abusch 618). It was then written down again and stored in the library of an Assyrian king named Ashurbanipal (Ziolkowski 55-56). It was thanks to this act that

The floods in Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh are in no doubt different but in so many ways similar. The two men are given a task to save humankind from a flood and succeed and are rewarded. The major basic events that take place in the stories a similar however the smaller details of them and how they are carried you are different. They two also tells us a lot about the relationship between humans to Divinity.

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.

Many cultures have stories of a great flood, and probably the best known story is of Noah's Ark. The next most notable is the Sumerian story of Ut-Napishtim found in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the ancient Babylonian depiction of the flood story, the god Enlil creates a flood to destroy a noisy mankind that is disturbing his sleep. Gilgamesh is told by another god, Ea, to build an ark (Monack 1). The Epic of Gilgamesh has broadly the same structure and plot as Noah's Ark, suggesting the possibility that the Biblical account has drawn influence from the archaeologically older Sumerian depiction. University professor Alexander Heidel concludes that these accounts are undeniably

In The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad, heroes Achilles and Gilgamesh have important relationships with characters that directly and indirectly give readers a look at the character we may not normally see. For the mighty demi-god Achilles, the person who aids in revealing his feelings is the warrior, Patroclus. Patroclus is a warrior who Achilles has a great respect for, and his eventual death sends him into an enraged killing spree. For the tyrannical king Gilgamesh, this was Enkidu; the hairy man sent by the gods to put him in his place after displeasing them. Enkidu’s death brings to light feelings that Gilgamesh did not even know he had; his fear of death being the most prominent. The relationships that these characters have with their companions open them up for readers, allowing the characters to be viewed in a whole new light. Due to the deaths of their companions, we see tenderness and emotional vulnerability from the heroes. That is uncharacteristic to these characters when we are first introduced to them. Despite Achilles and Gilgamesh both having their outlook on life changed after the death of their friends, there is also a lot that separates these two relationships while all characters are alive. Unlike Enkidu does for Gilgamesh, Patroclus is not needed to define Achilles as a character. Achilles himself does not change his characteristics a great deal before his

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Sumerian mythic narrative, the oldest surviving work of its kind in the world. The story focuses on the conduct of the gods “to explain the origin of some feature of the natural or social world.” The principal characters of the epic were “deities, demons, and demigods.” It was originally composed in Ancient Mesopotamia, but the basic themes were passed on. Even though this text pertains to the life in Mesopotamia, it kept being translated and influenced other groups that came after them.