The Epic Of Gilgamesh : The Goddess Aruru, The Temple Prostitute, And The Unnamed Bride

Through history, independent cultures have developed stories, legends and myths that share common roots. From Shakespeare's dramas to modern soap operas, the expression of the collective subconscious creates similarities in theme and purpose that transcend differences of time, genre, or race. Among these universal themes, one in particular echoes more than the rest: sexuality, and its importance. In the world's oldest text, Gilgamesh, sexuality’s role is depicted prominently. The epic was written in ancient Babylonia over 2,000 years ago. Gilgamesh is the story of two friends, tyrant king Gilgamesh and wild Enkidu, who embark on a quest for fame. Along the way, Enkidu is killed and Gilgamesh seeks to

Overall women are very important and powerful parts in Gilgamesh, and technically there would not be an Epic of Gilgamesh without the powerful roles that they

I feel as though all of the books show different characters from different places having to deal with their own struggles also having different beliefs such as religion. But what all these books seem to have in common is gender bias against women. Women play pretty important roles in the books we have read this year.

The story starts off with Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, who is one third man and two thirds god. This story is about a man's quest for immortality in addition to the importance of boundaries between the realms of animal, man and gods. Women symbolize the importance of locative boundaries in the text. These boundaries are set by the harlot Shamhat, Ishtar, Siduri, the tavern keeper, Ninsun and Utanapishtim's wife. By giving women this role of wisdom and boundary enforcement, The Epic of Gilgamesh reflects how Mesopotamian society actually valued women.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. One particular issue that is demonstrated among several others in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the status of women. Since this is a story of women's status many years ago, it is indeed an interesting issue to discuss,

The Epic of Gilgamesh follows a tale of two brothers tasked with defeating an all-powerful beast, yet they aren’t the most important characters in this story. Without their wisdom and guidance, Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey would have ended a lot sooner, and Gilgamesh would have still rampaged in Uruk, never bringing peace to those who were below him. Aruru, Shamhat, Ninsun, Ishtar, Siduri, and Utanapishtim’s wife all contribute to Gilgamesh’s journey, and in the end, provide Gilgamesh with the necessary tools in order to transform his character. These women in The Epic of Gilgamesh are essential to the plot, and provide both wisdom and perfection, but can also bring temptation and destruction if given the power to do so.

For thousands of years there has been a strong distinction between the roles of men and women. Often times in stories there will be women that are only mentioned for their beauty and charisma. Hardly ever will you see pages upon pages being spent talking about the true character and accomplishments of women characters. Even though stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis were written thousands of year ago, (when stories were told mostly told from a males perspective) the light shined on women in the texts show them as wise, strong, and greatly influential beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of  Genesis, the writer shows the women as bringers of knowledge,  guidance, and care to the men in the texts that are lacking thereof.

The others acknowledge Aruru for her great powers and responsibility, and then simply command her to perform a task. “You, Aruru, created the boundless human race, now create what Anu commanded” (The Epic of Gilgamesh 101). She is expected to, and never asked to; create life on command, just to make others happy, as if it were her only purpose. This could be a parallel to how men view women: solely as baby makers. Regardless, Aruru does as she is told and creates Enkidu from clay. It is implied that women are only good at a certain job, making it seem as if their ability to procreate is all that matters. This kind of belief also shows that women were mostly seen as sex machines for men, for their use and convenience. Women were viewed as replaceable; their jobs were to be mothers, wives, or harlots. Women were controlled, and those who were unable to be controlled were deemed as dangerous.

The women are, Shamhat, Ninsun, Ishtar, and, “The tavern keeper”. The first woman in Gilgamesh’s quest for eternal life is Shamhat. Shamhat was a prostitute who lived in the city of Uruk. (8). As the story goes, Gilgamesh was an arrogant and abusive king to his people, so they complained to the

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role. While women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of humans, they still had tremendous influence. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not play a necessarily minor role. With all the women that play a role in the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender is a topic worthy of discussion.

Although men are the Epic characters of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey, women also play a very important role in both stories. In general, these two stories portray women as being overly sexual, deceptive, and having a power over men. Women use their sexuality to hold control over men, to confuse and deceive them.

The Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles the life of the great warrior and hero Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is not great hero because he is moral. In fact he is feared because "a goddess made him, strong as a savage bull, none can withstand his arms" (1). This phrase underlines the terrible power of femininity, in the view of the Mesopotamian culture that produced the text. On one hand, the female principle is responsible for creation. On the other hand, the female principle also has the ability to destroy: the epic takes a largely dim perspective of humanity, and often, by extension of women, because the source of all creation is a goddess, Aruru. Aruru creates but she also generates suffering.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh we learn that ancient Mesopotamians valued women’s roles as child bearers, and since only women are able to create

Women in The Epic Of Gilgamesh and Mesopotamian Society In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh, the roles of women are mixed. Women are represented as harlots (Shamhat), as wise (Ninsun), and as gods (Ishtar). There is a substantial amount of gods which are represented as women and it could represent a society with multiple

In the ancient world, views of women were often derogatory, yet some viewed women as intelligent and powerful. The Epic of Gilgamesh and Lysistrata both display the complex opinions towards women of the time. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the characters Shamhat and Ishtar provide the audience with a biased view towards women, but this work also provides a more positive opinion of women through Siduri, Utnapishtim's wife, and Aruru. As paralleled in Aristophanes’s Lysistrata, Calonice and Peace represent negative perspectives of women, but this play also portrays women positively with Lysistrata and Myrrhine. The ancient texts of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Lysistrata simultaneously depict women as inferior, equal to, and superior to men to represent the complex views of women that were present during ancient times.