Comparing Hercules Myth And The Book Of Genesis

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.

Classical literature is filled with stories of capricious deities playing with human lives as if they were only toys. The Greek tradition of tragedy is based upon celebrating this very aspect of the nature of the pantheon of Greek gods. Sophocles finds a perfect example of this celebration of fate, in the tragedy Oedipus the King. Conversely, the Story of Job uses the dramatic tension of a "wager" between God and Satan on the sincerity of Job's devotion to God. Where Oedipus' life, regardless of personal choice, is bound up by fated situations and their fated outcomes, Job's story is one of choice in the midst of supernaturally imposed difficulties. While both strive to teach resignation to the will of God, they each espouse quite

making him suffer. Job had always been true to the Lord's word and had never

The theme of the Book of Job is the perseverance of the human spirit. Job loses everything but he does not lose his faith in God. “Job refuses to curse God” (Book). Job has not done anything to deserve this, but it is a test from God and Satan to see if Job is actually as

The sin stories in the Book of Genesis address theological, cosmic, social, and ethical questions. These sin stories, The Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the Flood, and The Tower of Babel show the functions of myths and demonstrate man's likeliness to sin. These myths let the readers learn of the culture, beliefs, and foundation of the time.

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.

When comparing the ancient Greek creation myth of Prometheus and the Judaeo-Christian Adam and Eve story we find some striking similarities in both of them.

In both stories, the gods are respected and feared in some way, but at some point, humans displease the gods. To enforce His authority over all living creatures, the god in Genesis “saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,” so He fashioned an immense flood to rid the world of the evil that He brought about (King James Version, Gen. 6.5). However, not all humans continuously sinned; He spared Noah and his family because he remained so devoted to God, then later made a promise that “waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 9.15). Likewise, in The

     Job is a man very limited by God. As illustrated, he has only a negligible amount of agency to begin with. By the time God and Satan finish with him, he has virtually no control over his own life. The fragment of agency he does cling to is his ability to choose whether or not to curse God. No one, except himself, could prevent Job from cursing God. Yet, he refuses to curse God, even though He is responsible for his suffering.

Upon initial consideration, comparing similarities in the Homeric epic The Iliad against the Bible’s first book Genesis would seem outlandish. The comparisons between the two tales may not be abundantly clear. The parables of the Bible serve as religious cornerstones for society, while Greek tragedies serve as the moral lessons on which our culture is predicated. Fate in both narratives is understood to be a governing body, with a prominence being placed on remaining on the course with that which has been outlined for the individual. The “swift footed” Achilles and the “simple tent-dweller” Jacob are dually fated to embark on a trajectory that does not align with their idiosyncratic needs: death for Achilles, social status for Jacob. The comparisons between the two characters seems to augment more contradictions than parallels, yet it is through these similarities that the characters are humanized and the malleability of destiny can be understood. Fate in The Iliad and Genesis reveals an intriguing dilemma: one can either change their destiny, like Jacob, or one could succumb to fate, like Achilles. These polar notions serve to accentuate the significance of becoming an active participant in your own narrative, even when fate is not on one’s side.

Creation in Ancient Egyptian religion can be much different than the creation account taken from The Bible. Genesis has a set description of “The Beginning” while there are several different versions and variations in Egyptian mythology. The versions range from a “one god” myth (Ptah; see picture) to the more common creator out of Nun, which in itself has several derivations.

The Greek and Genesis creation stories resemble each other in many ways but also they have their differences too. Imagine two stories that come from two different places could have so many similarities, but it also has it’s differences.

““There are some who say we are not truly human until we have suffered” 1 as said by Katharine Dell. There is also a though throughout the bible that God makes us suffer for our wrongdoings and past offenses. If this is so, then the protagonist of the Book of Job put both of these thoughts to the test while remaining faithful to God. Similarly to Job in “John” chapter nine, Jesus’ disciples question him in regards to human suffering and punishment from God. The idea of punishing a child for their parents sins is an over arching idea in the bible that acts as an explanation to why human suffer. Throughout the Biblical book of Job, despite Job’s friends’ belief of his wrongdoing, Job remains faithful while searching for a reason for his

Ovid’s Metamorphoses, tells of “The creator of the universe, originator of a better world, fashioned him from divine seed, or earth, . . . mixed with rain water by Prometheus, son of Iapetus, and fashioned by him into the likeness of the gods” (Ovid Metamorphoses I. 76-88). Prometheus is the creator in this account, and his method of creation resembles that of the Book of Genesis. God creates man in his Garden of Eden in the same fashion. God forms man out of the earth, just as Prometheus does. The two myths become even more alike when the reader finds that Athena breathes life into Prometheus’ man, just as God breathes life into Adam. When comparing these myths, it is quite apparent that the civilizations have similar views; both show strong ties to the idea that man thought it was created from the earth and made in the image of the gods.

We all know that our mothers and fathers gave us birth, and grandmothers and grandfathers gave our parents birth. However, what about the beginning? What does the beginning look like? Who created the sky, the earth, the mountains and rivers, the plants, the animals, and the human beings? How was the world created? What happened to the creator? These questions have puzzled and are asked by every people. However, no one has yet found the answers, and I have heard people saying that the creation of life is as impossible as the natural creation of an airplane from a stack of waste. With the willingness of knowing the self, ancient people tried to create mythological stories