Comparing the Epic of Gilgamesh, Hesiod's Theogony, and Ovid's Metamorphoses

The story of “Gilgamesh” depicts all of the heroic triumphs and heart-breaking pitfalls a heroic narrative should depict to be able to relate to today’s audience. However, “Gilgamesh” was once considered a lost and forgotten piece of literature for thousands of years, so there is a tremendous gap between the time it was created and the time it was translated into language that today’s audience can understand. That gap in history makes several aspects of the story of “Gilgamesh” strange and unfamiliar because what we now know about ancient Middle Eastern cultures and languages is a lot less than what we know about the cultures that prospered after ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Much of the content in the story of

Multiple differences are seen in between the two stories of the flood; as stated, a major difference is that Gilgamesh is a an epic told to entertain, when Genesis is a religious text. Another difference is the length of the rains and floods. In The Epic of Gilgamesh the rains only

To fully understand the poems; Metamorphoses and Theogony, one needs to understand more about the writers. Hesiod was a greek poet, who lived around 700BC, and was inspired by muses to write epic poetry. Theogony is considered one of earliest works and concerns itself with the cosmogony, or the origins of the world and theogony, or the gods, and pays specific detail to genealogy (West, 1996: 521). Ovid, on the other hand, was a Roman poet, born in 43 BC – the year after the assassination of Julius Caesar and lived during Augustus’s reign. It’s said that his father took him to Rome to become educated in the ways of

The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Hebrew Bible are considered by their audiences’ as two of the greatest literary works of ancient literature. The universal truths on The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Hebrew Bible, are most fundamental when viewed from both the contemporary and traditional audiences. Fundamentally, both audiences develop their own universal truths during the time in which the events transpired or by reading the scenic events from an anthology or other literary works.

While mortal characters contain differences that deal with mortality and age, the depiction of higher power and divine characters come in very different forms, but maintain similar overall behaviors. Due to the similarities in behaviors, the major events are depicted very similar and the outcomes are almost identical. The differences in the stories arise simply because of the context in which each story is written. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in ancient Mesopotamia where religion was extremely polytheistic. The story in The Hebrew Bible is written with a monotheistic mindset. While these religions are different in terms of the number of gods, there are obvious similarities that arise between the divine figures in each story. The gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh represent different personalities and virtues, but there is

This journal article examines 3 versions of the Gilgamesh Epic: the Old Babylonian version; the Eleven-Tablet version; and the Twelve-Tablet version. Though all 3 versions deal with the issues and choices of human beings and also with the inescapable issue of Death, the 3 different versions focus on 3 different aspects of Gilgamesh. The Old Babylonian version is the oldest, probably written during the Old Babylonian Period of 2003-1595 BC, and focuses on the fight of hero vs. man. The Old Babylonian version was circulated in the Near East and underwent many revisions. One of those revisions was the Eleven-Tablet version, which focused on the fight of hero vs. king. The Eleven-Tablet version, written in the later second millennium, adds to the beginning and end of the Epic, plus the Utnapishtim meeting, and shows the Gilgamesh-Ishtar passage that was added in Tablet 6. Another revision of the Epic was the Twelve-Table version, which focused on the fight of hero vs. god. The Twelve-Tablet version adds a translation of the second half of "Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld" and changes the nature of the Epic by showing a conflict between Gilgamesh's two identities as god and man, and the rules controlling life in the

Though there are many differences between the Hebrew God and middle-eastern beliefs of the divine, Gilgamesh also depicts some similarities. Sumerian gods respond to prayers from the Uruk citizens that Gilgamesh is an unjust ruler by creating Enkidu, the

The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey have been a part of human literature for many, many years now, they are both more referred to as epic poems. Both epics are found in different points of time in human cultures stretching roughly 1000 years apart. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem from early Mesopotamian culture and The Odyssey is said to be written from the early onset of the Greek civilization. The main characters for these epics are Gilgamesh, a demigod and ruler of Uruk, and Odysseus a great warrior returning home to his wife from war. The two main characters of these epic poems, Gilgamesh and Odysseus share many traits together and apart from each other. Among the qualities that these characters display in each of their respective poems,

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.

In the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ and ‘The Biblical Flood Story’ have a very similar plot line, but many several key differences. In both stories a flood occurs, which were caused by the God/s( This shows that in Gilgamesh they were polytheistic while in the Biblical version they were monotheistic. ) to destroy the people of the earth. For both flood stories, a specific person is chosen to build an arc but for different reasons. In the Biblical story, Noah builds the arc due to his righteous character but in Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim built the arc to save himself. Later on in both stories birds are released making them seem very similar. In the end, the stories are separated because of the covenants

(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 has its place as one of the first examples of epic poetry in recorded history. The epic describes the adventures of the demigod-king Gilgamesh who, after the death of his close friend Enkidu, seeks immortality but is ultimately unsuccessful. This story arc is not dissimilar to those found in the epics of the ancient Greeks centuries later. This excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh clearly demonstrates Gilgamesh’s reckless lust for pride and fame at all costs.

Gilgamesh developed his character from the beginning and the end of the epic which is also portrays a theme of identity. At the beginning, he was known as an evil and selfish king, but as the epic continues to the end he becomes an admired leader. The passage is shown here when Gilgamesh says to Urshanabi the ferryman, " 'Urshanabi, climb up on to the wall of Uruk, inspect its foundation terrace, and examine well the brickwork;, see if it is not of burnt bricks; and did not the seven wise men lay these foundations? One third of the whole is city, one third is garden, and one third is field, with the precinct of the goddess Ishtar. These parts and the precinct are all Uruk '" (Sanders 31). He wants to protect Uruk, his community, and is in the process of reconstructing from the flood 's aftermath. This supports Gilgamesh 's identity theme because he shows his new character as a helpful and kind leader who cares about the people in Uruk. Identity is not as an

“Who says Gilgamesh ever died?” (Ziolkowski 57). The Epic of Gilgamesh has remained a widely read story throughout the years. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story of an imperfect hero on a journey for everlasting life. It features Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild beast man, on a journey of heroic quests and misadventures. This story has inspired many new literary and visual works in many languages; it has also inspired modern archeologists to learn all about the ancient city from the epic.

In today’s society, many humans define themselves by various means. How others perceive them, personality traits, profession, and tangible assets often define individuals. Others use intangible characteristics and their believe system in God or a god/gods. As we age and experience life, many people change the way they define themselves. Throughout the “Epic of Gilgamesh”, “Oedipus the King”, “The Odyssey”, and “Beowulf”, the readers notice how society defines each main character by their heroic characteristics, the relationship between the humans and the divine, and the differences of how each hero’s journey ends.