The Epic of Gilgamesh Compared

In Tablet XI of Stephen Mitchell’s written adaptation of the well-known myth, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the main protagonist, Gilgamesh, has met Utnapishtim, the once mortal man turned immortal by the gods. However, before delving into Tablet XI of Gilgamesh, it’s important to understand what has happened before, in Tablet X.

A hero is a man of extraordinary ability and the courage to do things when others falter in the face of adversity. The role each hero plays in society varies greatly depending on the time period and the gods’ intervention in their worlds. They often possess great strength or other noble abilities. In Gilgamesh we see Enkidu and Gilgamesh blessed with incredible strength so much so that it gets them into trouble. In The Iliad, there are many different heroes each with their own roles and abilities. Some are warriors, others are cunning in nature, and some possess the brute strength that spreads fear in the enemy. In each society, the role of the hero is to inspire those around them and conquer lands or people that stand in their way.

In the beginning of the semester, we were given ¬¬¬¬a short answer assignment that focused on how advertising and media shape contemporary concepts of gender, sex, and sexuality in our society. The assignment was to choose an advertisement from a magazine, newspaper, or an internet source that has at least one person in it. The advertisement we chose was suppose to be an image that catches your eye.

The story of “The epic of Gilgamesh” is a tale of a mighty king, exactly two thirds god and only one third human. He was a strict king forcing his subjects to build an empire in Mesopotamia. He was a horrible king in my opinion. When the Kings ‘s subjects cried out, the gods came up with a plan to create a crazy man named Enkidu. Enkidu and Gilgamesh fought all day until Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu. After the long fight the two of them became friends. The two friends get bored one day, so they decide to go to the Cedar Forest and try to defeat Humbaba (a demon) but, the two don’t do it alone the sun god Shamash helps. The cut the biggest tree in the forest and sail home with the head of the demon with them.

The story of Epic of Gilgamesh deals with different behaviors in Gilgamesh. Throughout the story Gilgamesh behavior changes, he is portrayed as overbearing ruler, as a courageous and strong fighter to his peoples, and finally as a man who seems content with what he 's accomplished. Through all of these transitions, we see Gilgamesh 's attitude toward life change. The goals he has for his own life alter dramatically, and it is in these goals that we see Gilgamesh 's transition from being a shallow, ruthless ruler to being an introspective, content man.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story about the adventures of Gilgamesh, and it is narrated through twelve tablets. According to Makin, it has a Sumerian origin, considered one of the earliest known literary writings, even it talks about the flood like in the Bible. Based to the definition given by the Oxford dictionaries, we can say that it is considered as an epic because it is a long poem, centered in a hero narrating his adventures, using god characters, and the hero faces obstacles.

In the very beginning in The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is a bully king who frightens and annoys the people of Uruk. After the gathering with Enkidu and becoming his friend does Gilgamesh transform, into a hero worthy of history. The brotherly or “bromantic” ( considering the questionable relationship they have) love the two have for each other helps Gilgamesh become an better leader to his people by permitting him to better understand and identify with them. Even though the myth of Gilgamesh is very ancient, friendship and death still have a contemporary significances as well as contemporary societal taboo that we as a society can’t comprehend and that involves their friendship that is often questionable by some. Considering the theme

In the “Epic of Gilgamesh”, it is easy to conclude that Gilgamesh, the protagonist of the story, is the hero. In “Like Mayflies in a Stream”, Gilgamesh is merely a scary person who appears in the story here or there rather than being the protagonist. Instead, Shamhat is the main person that the story focuses on, but the book is imprecise on one hero of the entire story. There are numerous characters that could reflect hero aspects such as going on a quest, having another to help guide them, or facing trials. Personally, I believe that there is no true hero in this story due to the nature that Shamhat is a woman, who were represented badly during this time, and that Shauna Roberts did not want to misrepresent the epic due to extreme

According to Zubaida (2003), the Middle East is located in parts of Western Asia spreading from the eastern Mediterranean coastline of Turkey and Syria, through the desert to Iraq and Arabia, and to the East through Iran to the Caspian, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea. Into Africa, it includes Egypt, and, by some accounts, Arab North Africa. This area comprises of mountains, deserts, fertile plains watered by grand rivers, and seacoasts. Climatic ally, the Middle East ranges from the extreme temperature of the Mediterranean coast, to the extreme heat of the arid desert areas, to snowy mountains. This variety of terrain produces a wide range of food ingredients.

In the verse narrative The Epic of Gilgamesh the principal character Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, is described as a being that is two-thirds god and one-third man. Gilgamesh is a hero/protagonist who exhibits many more human features than divine features. This makes him a flawed hero because all humans are flawed. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the same type of story that is seen in the Old Testament. The story itself was found on stone tablets, written in the same time period as many of the Old Testament stories. It features a similar setup with Gilgamesh being the primary character in the same way that Noah, Abraham and Noah are featured in the bible. Bible characters are portrayed as having flaws and being

In the video “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” Grant L. Voth gives details of “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” which is one of the oldest literary works. It starts by explaining the heroic story of the legendary king, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is semi-divine; in other words, having a human father and a divine mother. Therefore, he had vaster abilities than a normal human being; a gift that led him to oppress his people. In search of help, the people prayed to their gods to bring them relief from their king. As a result, the god answered their requests by creating a companion for Gilgamesh. The companion’s name, Enkidu, was a human raised by animals in the wilderness. The epic progressed after Enkidu was captured by a trapper, who gives him up. After being

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh terrorizes the people or Uruk. Because of this, they call out to the sky god Anu for help. Anu decides to turn to the goddess of creation, Aruru whom makes an equal for Gilgamesh. Aruru created Enkidu to be just like Gilgamesh and for them to contend together and leave Uruk in quiet. When Gilgamesh got up and went to the house of a bride waiting for the bridegroom, Enkidu stepped out and stood in the street blocking the way. They met at the gate and Enkidu put his foot to prevent Gilgamesh entering the house. This began a fight between the two and they broke the doorposts, the walls shook, and snorted like bulls together. Enkidu was thrown and his fury died. Enkidu then admitted “there is not another like you in the world” (Gilgamesh, 4). Enkidu and Gilgamesh then became good friends that went on an adventure together. This adventure entails cutting down a cedar forest to build a great monument for the gods To accomplish they must kill the Guardian of the Cedar Forest, the great demon, and Humbaba the Terrible. Enkidu dreamed that someone should be punished for the killing of Humbaba and the Bull of Heavens and he soon becomes sick and suffers for twelve days before he dies. Gilgamesh wept and then goes on the search for an everlasting life. He then finds Utnapisthim who gives him the secret to everlasting life, which is staying awake for six days and seven

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, we see that the female characters play a large role in keeping the plot of the myth progressing. The first important female character we see is Ninsun, who is Gilgamesh’s mother. Without her, we do not have Gilgamesh, therefore, no story. After hearing the cries of the people of Uruk (city Gilgamesh is king of), Anu commands Aruru (another name for the goddess Nintu) to create an equal for Gilgamesh. Without the creation of Enkidu, a lot of the plot is ruined changing the entire story (if still one). Our next woman introduced in the story is a prostitute named Shamhat. She plays the part of luring Enkidu to sleep with her for six days and seven nights. By doing so, Enkidu becomes a civilized being and, therefore, befriends

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia that is often regarded as the earliest surviving great work of literature. The oldest version of this poem dates back to 2,000 BC in Sumerian cuneiform. The epic about the hero Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and his adventures with other characters such as Enkidu and Utnapishtim. Not only does the epic show us the life of Gilgamesh, it also is a window into the ancient world. The Epic of Gilgamesh revealed the people's religion, way of life, and type of world that they live in.

An epics purpose is to promote or instruct values and traditions from the culture of the epics origin. There is a method to determine if a story leads to the direction of “epic” according to J.B. Hainsworth. Hainsworth states there are certain elements that deem a story the title of “epic” which are: The emergence of a certain idea of heroic action, the great scale in which the story is to portray the qualities of the mind of the hero, the relation between the hero and his deeds to the cosmic order, and the story’s general relevance to the world to keep the tale alive. Various epics can support Hainsworth's claim. Breaking the requirements down can evidently prove that these aspects are what make a story an “epic.”