Similarities Between The Oresteia And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

While many believe inhabitants of early civilizations, like the Sumerians, were at peace with their environment and community, The Epic of Gilgamesh has challenged that idea and suggests that whether or not a Sumerian was civilized or not, determined their relationship with the environment and community. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, representation of the best and worst of humanity is presented through the characters, Enkidu and King Gilgamesh. From the beginning, Enkidu is portrayed as an uncivilized, wild man who is living harmoniously with the environment in which he resides, whereas King Gilgamesh is portrayed as a man of great wealth and stature, who is two-thirds God and one-third human and believes that the environment is at his

     There are some characteristics that most great kings have. All of the great kings did not have all of these characteristics, but they had some of them. Gilgamesh did not have many of these traits. Although he was a powerful king, he was not a great king. He had some good traits, such as being a leader, and fighting evil powers. He tormented his people, oppressed them them, exhausted them in daily life and in combat, and he gave himself the right to sleep with any unmarried woman.

     At first, Gilgamesh is a controlling and arrogant king, who thinks only of himself. He constantly works the men, building enormous walls surrounding the

Both Stories illustrate each cultures morals to a certain extinct. In the Epic of Gilgamesh true friendship and comradery is exemplified through the relationship of Gilgamesh & Enkidu. They desire companionship and closeness “Enkidu is pleased: "he longed for a comrade, for one who would understand his heart” (Brown). Gilgamesh’s want for compassion and Friendship as well it is shown in his dreams and describe by his Mother. “I made it for you, a goad and spur, and you were drawn as though to a woman. This is a strong comrade, the one who brings help to friend in his need. He is the strongest of wild creatures.”(Norton 15) This strong bond shows how the Sumerian feels about friendship and comradery. Enkidu relationship with Gilgamesh is stronger then that of just friend but like brothers. Gilgamesh’s mother Ninsun adopts Enkidu as her son, not only endorsing his friendship to Gilgamesh but also making him Gilgamesh’s brother “ Strong Enkidu you are not the child of my body, but I

Gilgamesh struggled to establish moral principle. His personality at first was an arrogant, self-centered tyrant ; he was described by Enkidu "His teeth are dragon's fangs, his countenance is like a lion his charge is the rushing of the flood..." (pg. 16 line 3-6). But towards the end of this epic narrative Gilgamesh switched

As the epic starts, Gilgamesh is portrayed as a self-centered, self-admiring leader who believes that he is the only individual that can lead the city of Uruk. Gilgamesh believes that he is a god-like figure and often refers to himself as one. He believes that he is above everyone else in the city of Uruk. For example, in the epic there is a scene where Gilgamesh enters the city of Uruk, the epic describes the scene as; “He entered the city of Uruk-the-Town-Square, and a crowd gathered around. He came to a halt in the street of Uruk-the Town-Square, all gathered about, the people discussed him” (15). This quote is a good example of how Gilgamesh expected those around him to respect and look up to him as a god-like figure. He did not lead the city of Uruk humbly; he wasn’t a leader who strived to feel like a normal citizen of the city. Instead, Gilgamesh felt that he was entitled to more privileges than the average person. Early on in the epic, Gilgamesh is described as a “tall, magnificent and terrible, who opened passes in the mountains, who dug wells on the slopes of the uplands, and crosses the ocean, the wide sea to the sunrise” (2). This demonstrates how selfish Gilgamesh truly was, and how all

In the beginning of the book they portray gilgamesh as the tall magnificent and terrible. He is very conceited and abuses his right as a king. The way he shows arrogancy is through his acts. "The young men of Uruk he harries without warrant, Gilgamesh lets no son go free to his father." This quote demonstrates the disdain of the people in Gilgamesh's eyes. He also has sexual intercorse with the virgins of the town. "By day and by night his tyranny grows harsher." This line hints at the little consideration Gilgamesh has for his town. Hee acts on what he wants and abuses what power he has. He also tends to offend the Gods.

(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.

As the story opens, Gilgamesh is portrayed as a corrupt and controlling king. Lines 12-18 of the Hittite Tablet 1 state that Gilgamesh takes all men from their fathers and deflowers all virgins in his city (page 18). His control can be seen in the fear his people have of him, causing them to cry out to the gods for help (page 18). However, a more sensitive side of Gilgamesh is shown through his search for advice from his mother on several dreams in column 1 of tablet 2

In the beginning Gilgamesh is very tyrant and selfish. He became so selfish and out of control. He rapes his nobles wives , sacrifices his warriors, and takes over and everything he wants. Early in the epic “ The old men of Uruk complain, saying that a king is suppose to protect his subjects like a shepherd, not harass them like a wild ox.”( Sanders 4). In other words, his job is to protect his subjects not take advantage of them .

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 and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.

A King: Gilgamesh ruled over all of Uruk, he had all the power the land could give him. He had the prestige and even people who honored him. But because Gilgamesh was more of a Man than of a King he started his rule horribly. The people of the land did what we call today, impeachment, they cried to the gods to smite him for his bad behavior. Gilgamesh’s flock questioned his shepherding (Norton pg 13). They felt as if they had the wrong King who didn’t respect the well being of the people. Gilgamesh allowed for his own Man-desires to control the way he led his people as a King. He allowed lust and arrogance to abuse the people. “Because of his extraordinary energy, his rule [was] oppressive and he stands in isolation from other human being… [he was] unable to rule successfully because of the very energy that made him a successful hero” (Abusch). Being a Man destroyed his opportunity to

Homer’s the Odyssey and Ancient Mesopotamia’s Epic of Gilgamesh are both incredible pieces of ancient literature. These two pieces of literature have been passed down for centuries and incredibly enough, share many of the same themes and concepts. Throughout both epic’s they have reoccurring themes such as homecoming, brotherhood, oikos, and gender norms. .

In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are two major themes evident.The first one is friendship.Friendship is very evident in through the poem.But in society, today friendships are not as strong.The next theme is civilization .This was one of the main focuses in the poem.This year people have been acting less and less civilized.