The Epic of Gilgamesh

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 Hebrew Bible are considered by their audiences’ as two of the greatest literary works of ancient literature. The universal truths on The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Hebrew Bible, are most fundamental when viewed from both the contemporary and traditional audiences. Fundamentally, both audiences develop their own universal truths during the time in which the events transpired or by reading the scenic events from an anthology or other literary works.

The Epic of Gilgamesh has its place as one of the first examples of epic poetry in recorded history. The epic describes the adventures of the demigod-king Gilgamesh who, after the death of his close friend Enkidu, seeks immortality but is ultimately unsuccessful. This story arc is not dissimilar to those found in the epics of the ancient Greeks centuries later. This excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh clearly demonstrates Gilgamesh’s reckless lust for pride and fame at all costs.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s pursuit for immortality is marked by ignorance and selfish desire. Desire and ignorance, as The Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha suggests, pollutes man’s judgment resulting in his inability to break the cycle of birth and death. At the core of Gilgamesh’s desire resides his inability to accept the inevitability of death, making his rationality behind the pursuit of immortality ignorant and selfish. Implicitly, Gilgamesh’s corrupt desire for immortality conveys that Gilgamesh does not mature as a character.

The story about Gilgamesh is one of the earliest pieces of world literature dating back to the second millennium B.C.E. This story has been evolved gradually over a long span of a millennium, and has been enjoyed by many nations. The Epic of Gilgamesh teaches life lessons that apply to the past and present while revolving around the question of what it means to be human, and to experience the phenomenon of friendship, love, and death.

One of the most fascinating pieces of literature, The Epic of Gilgamesh, deals with and explores many of the problems humans have wrestled with for thousands of years. Even though the text does not explicitly answer any of the questions it poses, it gives clues that point to the answers. One of these questions, the dilemma of whether to act based solely on a person’s intuition or act based on reason and advice, occurs regularly in the text. Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh, characters have success and failure when they act based on either their intuition or using reason, but the epic clearly points out, through examples, that acting based on reason instead of intuition constitutes more success in all facets of life.

The author is praising Gilgamesh’s leadership by communicating his intellectual capabilities deserve respect. This, shows that ancient Mesopotamians believed that part of a great ruler’s value was revealed in their advanced intellectual capacities. The epic reveals that ancient Mesopotamia understood that the basis of a monarch’s legitimacy relied on the respect he carried for not only the beings whom he rules and those who rule over him, but also his knowledge.

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.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is something that strikes a mortal fear of the unknown in each and every one of us. I do not see this as much a fear of death on the part of Gilgamesh, but the point at which we lose a part of us that makes us realize or reminds we are not immortal. A better way to say it is that is the point we consider our legacy. That is what I see in Gilgamesh.

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.

     As a young child everyone is much like Gilgamesh, in the beginning of the story, they are brave and will try new things, but few knew if what they were doing was wrong or right. Gilgamesh ran around with tons of energy and never let anyone slow down.

He rows so hard and fast that is says, “Half way through all that pulling, Gilgamesh had worn the oars to bits.” Even Utnapishtim could not believe what he saw and says, “I do see, but I am blind. I do know, but cannot understand how he behaves like the beasts of here and there.” All of these things prove that he has the skill of a warrior and leadership ability beyond imagination, but that is not all that is required to be a hero. Intelligence builds the basis of a heroic individual, as well.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh the lines that are repeated at the beginning and end of the epic show that only immortality a human can gain lies in creating things that last beyond a person’s lifetime. While at the beginning of the epic Gilgamesh is seeking eternal life, when he concludes his journey he realizes that he has created an enduring legend through the foundation of his city, Uruk. Through this legend, Gilgamesh can live on in the memory of his people, long after he has passed away. The epic is able to convey this message multiple ways. The opening lines immediately introduce and impress upon the audience the importance of Gilgamesh, and the significance of his kingship. The epic continues on to describe the city of Uruk, with special consideration given to the walls surrounding Uruk. 3. Finally, the ending repetition of the lines shows that Gilgamesh has become aware of the legacy he has created in Uruk, and and accepts that in lieu of immortality. okay so these are the three? points you are talking about in your paper? make sure they match up with your paragraphs proving them and are not so vague

In the realm of a mythic story, a myth can possess the ability to reshape a world, because its stories do not have limitations (Paden 79). Within William Padens argument about myths, he discusses the benefits of believing in a mythic story, because mythic stories can build the world (Paden 84). With the help of the epic of Gilgamesh, this myth will help to create a connection between the statement by William Paden, and the character of Gilgamesh. By creating a connection between these two texts, the theory of love, unavoidable fate of death, and the imbalance of power are the reoccurring themes and theories that are the building blocks to the statement by William Paden.

In the article published by Wise Geek, it generalized that, “epic poetry is one of the oldest literary traditions of human civilization, exiting since the ancient Mesopotamian era and continuously produced through modern times. These poems generally contain tales of historic or cultural significance and often follow the adventures of a hero or group of heroes.” Epics must include supernatural forces, an impossible deed for a superhuman, vast settings and an unbelievable hero. The ancient epic titled, “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” takes the world on a spectacular quest for immortality. Gilgamesh, the protagonist, craves for his own immortality, when he witnesses a dear friend’s death. Dying a slow death, Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s friend, dreams of the dark and brutal afterlife that awaits everyone from slaves to kings (participial). The selfish Kind, Gilgamesh, starts on his quest for immortality because he feels that a king, such as himself, the afterlife could not possibly hold. The unending quest brought the noble king out of the once childish king in the end. Gilgamesh returns from his quest without his own physical immortality, but his legacy lives on to this day. Gilgamesh successfully completes his epic expedition by learning from the wise man, retaining a worthwhile lesson and never giving up even during his harshest part of the quest, the road of trials.