Gar-Magar's Oath Of Salt And Bones

“…men work and toil here in a sickening atmosphere of blackness and shadow, of vile

Abusch perceives Gilgamesh to be a man, hero, king and god who acts in a manner that accords limits and responsibility imposed upon him by his society. Abusch illustrates that: “Gilgamesh is aggressive and courageous, even impetuous, and he shows little or no concern for his own safety and focuses all of his energy upon battle, obligation, honor, and victory” (3). The author explains that even with the greatest power and achievements there is no humanly possible power that is able to withstand death. Abusch’s analysis talks about Gilgamesh coming to terms with his nature and learns about death. The main conflict in the article is between Gilgamesh being an epic hero and his ability to obtain moral growth. Gilgamesh exists in

Throughout the famous “Epic of Gilgamesh, the king of an Ancient Sumerian city called Uruk portrays the burden of the flawed human nature that we all carry. Although Gilgamesh was two third divine and one-third human, his actions were very much alike of a human’s. He shared minimal characteristics with his mother the Ninsun, the cow goddess, such as bold physical structures and the strength of a wild bull with his mother, Ninsun, but the rest of him including his personality, ways of thinking, and mentality was a human’s nonetheless.

Fame and glory have been the most admirable characteristics in the middle Ages and even before Christ in the ancient civilizations. The epics of Gilgamesh and Beowulf are stories of heroism and immortality gained through fame. The aim of the main characters, Beowulf and Gilgamesh, is to be a good warrior by being courageous, respectful and prudent, a protector and servant to their king (only in the beginning of Beowulf, as he later becomes king and Gilgamesh already is) and their country. In both poems the fights of the main characters

I remember the smell, the sounds, the taste of blood. I remember seeing my comrades fall beside me, the sting of the cuts. The numbness as I fell alongside them, the sadness, the tears. The price of war, I believe my father said that to me before he died. I remember being lifted and carried, I remember a laugh. Then I felt my mind slowly becoming numb, and soon my mind was consumed by the darkness. Like a wildfire it spread from the farthest of places, destroying everything in its’ path. It was over, the war was lost, hope gone; at least until today….

Fame and glory have been the most admirable characteristics in the middle Ages and even before Christ in the ancient civilizations. The epics of Gilgamesh and Beowulf are stories of heroism and immortality gained through fame. The aim of the main characters, Beowulf and Gilgamesh, is to be a good warrior by being courageous, respectful and prudent, a protector and servant to their king (only in the beginning of Beowulf, as he later becomes king and Gilgamesh already is) and their country. In both poems the fights of the main

Throughout its history, humanity has struggled to thrive in the face of the unstoppable forces of evil, nature, and its own mortality. When examining the history of humanity and considering its achievements, it is tempting to imagine that humans have achieved much as a species, that they have made progress against the forces gathered in opposition to them. However, when the cost is revealed, when the human life paid in the name of that meager progress is counted, the results seem to pale in comparison. The graves of the dead serve as a monument to this grim reality; humanity’s efforts to combat the advance of human evil, nature, and death are in vain. Both Natasha Trethewey and Joseph Conrad examine the futility of the human struggle in

We must never speak of the times before the Great Rebirth, else we are sentenced to three years in the Palace of Corrective Detention. It is only the Old Ones who whisper about it in the evenings, in the Home of the Useless. They whisper many strange things, of the towers which rose to the sky, in those Unmentionable Times, and of the wagons which moved without horses, and of the lights which burned without flame.

Throughout history, there have been stories of great warriors of one distinction or another. This semester has been full of them. Some have been gods, demigods, or great men protected by gods. Most have, in one fashion or another, been greater than common men. Stories were created to explain how these men came to be and how most have risen to the heights of kings in many cases. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Song of Roland are two of these stories that tell tale of great epic heroes. They were both larger than life though both were flawed in different and similar fashions. They share the similarities of a complementary companion. Those companions differed greatly in their own character and judgement.

As I wiped my shield clean of dried blood, I thought of the battle that my tribe had been in just the day before. The tribe that I belonged to, Wicca, and our rival tribe, Herefinna, have been fighting against each other for years, and this battle was just another of the many my people had fought in. Usually our tribe was defeated by Herefinna, but this battle was different than the others. A new generation of warriors, those that were my age, had been training for months, preparing for this war. We were tougher than the previous generation, and we trained harder than ever before.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the the world’s most ancient texts, is one of the earliest examples that can be categorized under the modern literary design of the Bildungsroman. The Bildungsroman is a story that divulges the events that lead to a significant change in our character’s life which is pivotal to the maturity of our character. Through the concept and the perception of death which is mulled over by our protagonist, Gilgamesh, we see an undeniable change in our character as he comes to an ultimate realization about his own mortality. Evidenced by the first passage, Gilgamesh demonstrates absolutely no fear when addressing Enkidu about challenging Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest, despite Enkidu’s strong opposition to this prospect. Gilgamesh is of the notion that giving up his life in a heroic manner is superior to

Another statement is “Examine the fine brickwork. These walls, too, surpass all others! No human being, not even a king, will ever be able to construct more impressive walls than Gilgamesh built around our city of Uruk!” Again this brags about the arrogant way of Gilgamesh and how

The Gods in “The Epic of Gilgamesh” have many characteristics that harmonize with human natures such as fighting, arguing and scheming against each other. Arguments among Gods are repeatedly witnessed, one prominent argument that was encountered was between Shamash, the Sun God, and Enlil while deciding

I stared after the crudely cut, yet fitted stones that made the sandy amber walls that surrounded me, hoping in a naive way they could toy with my drowsy mind, leading it to an uneventful sleep. I soon realized that these dreams were exactly dreams, not the harrowing reality I faced in this culture that admired brutality and tyranny to the concept of basic humanity. I feel as if I have stepped from my trialing Thebes, into a trap set for my deliberately sly mind to reach its unknown end. This place has been my dream, a place so unlike Thebes in its set number of citizens, and ever growing amount of forced Helots. With so many wars and controls being fought, I could slip in, unnoticed, and gather the riches I deemed alluring, and eventually the piteous Helot I picked to bestow my crime upon would fall into a trap, society -and myself- weaved for them. This truly was a heaven, except for the rancid customs and morality of this hells people.

The hot, arid air burned into my soul as I faced the barren desert surrounding me. My family and I were on a long-awaited vacation to the Grand Canyon, yet we had to drive over 15 hours - I radiated impatience throughout the journey. Walls of heat shrouded me as I gasped for air - my efforts were fruitless, however, swallowing nothing but fire. As the fire in my lungs grew, I looked out the window and into the looming suns heart. Suddenly, my eyes collapsed and tears engulfed them till they took their true form; a forest blanketed with soft, gleaming snow. However, I was evoked from my reverie by a vehement cry and I was staring into the eyes of tattered vultures, of every discrepancy, who recited a prophecy only I could hear.