Essay Oedipus Rex and Gilgamesh

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

Further analysis of the poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, described the characteristic of king Gilgamesh from the beginning, middle, and end. Throughout the poem, there are immature and petrified moments of Gilgamesh, but more importantly he learned to grow as he explore his journey. Friendship, love, and fear appears to be essential in this poem. Why are those terms relevant ? and how does it connect with the trait of Gilgamesh ?, let’s continue to find out the truth about Gilgamesh.

Odysseus was known for his many of his mental traits, but his most useful ones were his bravery cleverness, and wisdom. Without these helpful traits he probably would have died from the very beginning. Fortunately, he was granted with these traits so that he could come back to his kingdom of Ithaca to see his wife and son for the first time in twenty years and to also kill the suitors that tried to kill his son and take his wife, land, and possessions from him.

Every mythological hero seems to be on a journey in search of the thing he desires most in the world. The two heroes who stood out to me were Gilgamesh, and Achilles. Gilgamesh’s greatest fear was death, while Achilles feared his legacy being lost and forgotten. Technically their desires are different, but their journey share many similarities, and in the end, boils down to the same thing. Each man in his own way, both Gilgamesh and Achilles desired immortality above all else. Though immortality takes on very a different meaning for Gilgamesh, as it does for Achilles, every decision as well as all the sacrifices they make, are based on their fear of death and dying.

Oedipus also displays this uncompromising attitude in his devotion to Thebes. Oedipus' loyalty to Thebes is another factor that led to the tragic figure's ruin. Aristotle explains that a tragic character is just and good, but fatal error, pride(possibly hubris), or frailty brings about his misfortune. Oedipus fits this description perfectly. Oedipus could easily have left the city of Thebes and let the plague take its course he “would be blind to misery/ not to pity [his] people kneeling at his feet”. When Apollo's word comes back in the hand of Creon, Oedipus could leave the murder of Laius uninvestigated as it had been for so long, but “rising in his pride, he protests: he pits himself in some way against whatever…seems to him to be wrong…”(Levin 178). Oedipus can not let this investigation be overlooked; he must solve the riddle of who killed King Laius because his pride overpowers him. Oedipus' pride also reveals itself again in his loyalty to the truth.

Gilgamesh is not a completely flawed character; he possesses, and obtains through his adventures, many positive qualities or virtues. For example, he is courageous. This virtue is evident during his battle with Humbaba. This forest giant is a fearsome adversary, aided by the gods, with a considerable size and strength advantage. Defeat of Humbaba takes the combined efforts of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. To succeed, Gilgamesh had to gain the courage to undergo this task. Enkidu rallies his friend by saying, “O Gilgamesh, remember now your boasts in Uruk. Forward, attacks, son of Uruk, there is nothing to fear.” (Sandars 20) With this, Gilgamesh’s “courage railed” (Sandars 20). He defeats and eventually kills Humbaba for which he is subsequently praised.

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,

     Throught Oedipus Rex, Oedipus displays his heroism many times. From the Prologue of the play to the moment in which he leaves Thebes, Oedipus' heroics are extremely apparent; however, at the same time, the decisions which make Oedipus a hero ultimately become the decisions which bring him to shame and exile.

Oedipus is a man of unflagging determination and perseverance, but one who must learn through the working out of a terrible prophecy that there are forces beyond any man’s conceptualization or control. Oedipus’ actions were determined before his birth, yet Oedipus’ actions are entirely determined by the Gods who control him completely. In the beginning of this tragedy, Oedipus took many actions leading to his own downfall. He tried to escape Corinth when he learned of the prophecies that were supposed to take place in his life. Instead, he

Oedipus’s tragic flaw is gained once he obtained his greatness and became king. Oedipus’s knowledge contained arrogance, and a metaphorical blindness that fosters his urge for the truth. Hence, Oedipus’s tragic flaw was his own intelligence, which later became curiosity for the all the burdens that is be fallen over his kingdom. He had a troubling obsession for learning the truth, so he could not sit aside so he went on a menacing quest for answers. Oedipus stated a message that reveled his flaw, “Then once more I must bring what is dark to light, but for my own sake to be rid of evil” ( Sophocles 134; 140). His pride and determination clouded his judgment to see the surface of the whole truth. The truth is Oedipus wanted to avoid his fate, but instead his own tragic flaw walked him into it. Even after Oedipus learned of the truth from the prophecy, his mind continued to deny what was the actual truth. The prophet spoke these words to Oedipus, “I say that you, with your eyes, are blind / you can not see the wretchedness of your life” (Sophocles 196-197). He still ventured on to find the alternative to his fate and he only became worse. Soon Oedipus’s pride corrupted his intelligence increasing his flaw. He now accused anyone who restated the prophecy and told all they were only after his crown.

Throughout the play we find that Oedipus, the protagonist of this Greek tragedy, is tested by life in a number of ways. To those in Athens who watched the performance of Oedipus the King, Oedipus appeared to be the embodiment of a perfect Athenian. He is self-confident, intelligent, and strong-willed. Ironically, these are the very traits which bring about his tragic discovery. He is portrayed as a character of

Back in the days of ancient Greece and before this time, epic heros have had their lives chronicled and the stories of them passed on from generation to generation, all the way to our present day in our lives. Two of the greatest heros that have been expressed in past epic stories were Gilgamesh from the epic named after him, and Achilles from Homer’s Iliad. The two of their stories however, transpired in two different eras, their lives both had a surprising number of common points. Of course with things in common, there always comes differences, in the way they lived and the ideals they believed in.

In these two epics, the major themes are the concept of good versus evil and the conflicts of man versus man, man versus self, and man versus nature. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk represented good while Humbaba and the snake represented evil. Compared to The Odyssey, the Sumerian epic consists of a smaller representation for both good and evil. Odysseus represented good, but so does his son, Athena, and many of the gods that help him. Antinous, the rest of the suitors, Polyphemus, Circe, as well as many others were on the evil side of the equation for this epic. The concept of good versus evil coincides with the conflict of both man versus man and man versus self. Odysseus and Gilgamesh both engaged in both types of conflict, but Gilgamesh experienced more of the latter conflict while Odysseus experienced more of the former. Odysseus’s adventures involved more of man versus man conflicts because of how often he had to fight a physical being. For example, Odysseus and his men blinded Polyphemus by ramming a hot spear “deep into his [Polyphemus] crater eye” (qtd. in Prentice Hall Lit. 992). In addition, Odysseus and his son, Telemachus, had to fight off more than a hundred suitors near the end of the epic. Gilgamesh had plenty of experiences with man versus man conflict, such as his first fight with Enkidu, his fight with Humbaba, as well as his arguments with the gods. However, the man versus self conflict seemed

The two Homeric epics, the Illiad and The Epic of Gilgamesh, both contain a Hero’s Journey. They show the readers a look into heroic life during the time of the Trojan War. Achilles and Gilgamesh’s Heroic Journeys are not identical, however the characteristics and qualities of them is what holds the similarities. The two characters have a compelling outlook on death, and immortality. They seek different end results; however, their relationship with death is the same. They are considered a hero on a Hero’s Journey, as they fulfill the mandatory requirements. Their journey changed them from people of negativity to people who have been refined

The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odysseus both are poems that have since early times been viewed as stories that teach the reader valuable life lessons, almost like a self-help book in today’s society. They both teach a lot of the same general lessons but there are some key similarities and differences throughout both works. Such as perseverance, and the inevitability of death are both lessons that are taught in each poem but they are presented to the reader through different interpretations. In the Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey there are two main characters both viewed as heroic figures in which the develop a greater knowledge of human mankind and immorality.