Enkidu And The Impact Of Civilization

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

The Epic of Gilgamesh not only told a story of the people of a Sumerian Civilization and the battles of their great ruler. The Epic spoke of current environmental and natural issues “It shows an understanding of ecological processes and the consequences of human action on the earth that anticipates current ecological work.”( Perlin 35)

Everyone has qualities that are heroic and noble, and everyone has their flaws. No matter who they are, or how perfect others think they are, people still have some negative qualities that can hurt their heroic ones. In the book, The Epic of Gilgamesh, by Benjamin Foster, both Gilgamesh and Enkidu had positive and negative characteristics that affected the outcome of their journey and their adventures they experienced throughout their lives.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu helps act as a catalyst for the transformation of Gilgamesh’s character from an undefeatable god-like brute into a complex thinker. In the eyes of Gilgamesh, he is unstoppable and is willing to challenge death itself so long as he is remembered as a hero by his subjects. With Enkidu’s help, Gilgamesh learns to become a better person as a ruler, not as a better warrior. Although not blood related, Enkidu was like a brother to Gilgamesh and the duo shared an inseparable bond. Throughout the epic, Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh that he is not unstoppable, being stubborn will not stop him from dying, and that there are no easy solutions to life.

He was living outside but did not speak the language of the ruling class. It wasn’t till Enkidu has an encounter with a prostitute which changes his ignorance of the world. Enkidu knew nothing but his land “was ignorant of the oldness, he ran with the animals, drank at their springs, not knowing fear of wisdom. He freed them from traps the hunters set.” (Gilgamesh I, pg. 16) So, Enkidu was one with nature but once he has the interaction with a human he soon becomes accustom to their culture.

From the start of story we are introduced into features that comprise up the existing society of the Mesopotamians. The losses and gains of this civilized life can be shown with both Enkidu and Gilgamesh’s experiences. Beforehand Enkidu was considered a savage beast by the people, until became sexually controlled by Shamhat, a priestess. He previously had a no conception or idea of how one should conduct themselves. So he had no preconceived notions to believe in. Enkidu did lose was his friendships that he created with particular groups of wildlife. Enkidu was unconscious to his own human behaviors and characteristics. He had constructed an invisible barrier that separated him from other human individuals and connected him more with the wild. Unlike other civilized

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

There once lived a king, the great king of Uruk in Mesopotamia. This great leader was Gilgamesh. His preserved epic is of great significance to modern day culture. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is a great love, followed by a lingering grief that cause a significant change in the character of Gilgamesh.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is generally regarded as the greatest literature about tales of a great king. The Epic of Gilgamesh served to show us a lot of things. The time period of BCE is very blurry, and this story attempts to describe many different things in not only Sumerian beliefs, but also Sumerian's culture as a whole. Like many stories from BCE the truth itself is questionable, even though a lot of the information is fact. The factual information that Gilgamesh teaches us about Sumerian Civilization is that had had many craftsman and artistic skills, and also a strong belief in Gods.

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.

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.

Since reading is one of my hobbies, I have read a number of famous book, fiction, and non-fiction stories. Although with a limited knowledge about literature, but I still reckon that the Epic of Gilgamesh is a must-read story for those who loves literature. It holds a great literary value and consists the interesting themes. Gilgamesh, the core character of the story was created perfectly with his extraordinary strength and the godly origin, two third god and one third human. Actually, I feel most interesting to explore the relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh.

Two understand how the gods influenced our hero, Gilgamesh, one must first look at the various ways the gods meddled into his life. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale of a half-mortal man whose quest to break his own boredom turns into a tale of friendship, immortality, and kingship. However, his tale would not have been able to happen if it was not for the influence of the various Sumerian deities. After the people of Uruk complained to the gods about Gilgamesh’s child-like behavior, the goddess Aruru creates the man that will become Gilgamesh’s closest friend, Enkidu. Enkidu was created as an equal to the king so that Gilgamesh would have a way to occupy his time. Unfortunately, after the two friends defeated the giant Humbaba, a terrible demon creature, the god Enlil becomes enraged, but despite Enlil’s best effort, he is unable to punish the two.

Next, Enkidu’s portrayal of society and the environment will be used as a counterpart to the paragraph above on King Gilgamesh. Before a relationship was formed between Enkidu and King Gilgamesh, Enkidu was the representation of a hunter-gather that relied and respected the natural world and was bewildered by the idea of civilization. Enkidu, as described by the hunter to King Gilgamesh before meeting him in tablet one, was a man who “Over the hills he roam[ed] all [day,] always with the herd [he grazes on grasses, [and] always his tracks [were] found] by the water-[hole.]” Because of this description, an inference can be made that

The Epic of Gilgamesh Tablet XII is controversial as to whether it is a part of the main body of the epic or not. This is because this tablet includes different kinds of aspects of life such as the world after death or how humans win fame on the basis of what they have accomplished in the living world. When we compare other Tablets and XII, we can see the clear differences of standpoints about those themes mentioned above and these different viewpoints back up the opinion that Tablet XII is not part of The Epic of Gilgamesh. In both kinds of Tablets, they include the story of Enkidu’s death and viewpoints of afterlife.