Theme Of Uncivilization In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

The earliest surviving literary work, dating from 2100 BC in the Sumerian city of Uruk, The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a hero’s journey to immortality. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written by the Sumerians in their akkadian text and translated by George Smith in the early 1870s, follows the main character Gilgamesh, the unjust and cruel king of Uruk, and his friend Enkidu on their journey to achieve greatness in which Enkidu dies, prompting Gilgamesh to seek immortality. In the story, Enkidu’s character serves as a foil to show and exaggerate Gilgamesh’s immorality and bravery.

The Epic of Gilgamesh was a story completely written in cuneiform. The author for this Epic poem is unknown and remains a mystery. According to, Spar, “Some time in the twelfth century B.C., Sin-leqi-unninni, a Babylonian scholar, recorded what was to become a classic version of the Gilgamesh tale (p.6).”

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

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian myth and the oldest known narrative there is, originally created on clay tablets written in cuneiform. The story focuses on two individuals. Gilgamesh, who is the tyrannical ruler of the kingdom of Uruk. Then his counterweight, Enkidu who resides in the forest and was raised by animals. It may seem that neither would have much in common, considering one is royalty and one is a wild man. However, these two characters balance each other despite their differences, which results in a beautiful friendship, but both will lose as well as gain in the end.

The epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest primary document discovered in human history dating back to approximately 2,000 B.C.E. This document tells a story of an ancient King Gilgamesh, ruler of Sumer in 2,700 B.C.E. who is created gloriously by gods as one third man and two third god. In this epic, Gilgamesh begins his kingship as an audacious and immature ruler. Exhausted from complaints, the gods send a wild man named Enkidu to become civilized and assist Gilgamesh to mature into a righteous leader. However, Enkidus death causes Gilgamesh to realize his fear of immortality and search for an escape from death. On his journey, Gilgamesh learns that the gods will not grant his wish and that he must

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale from ancient Babylon. Its hero, Gilgamesh the king of Uruk, is two-thirds god and one-third man. Throughout the epic, which consists of three stories, the character of Gilgamesh is developed. This is accomplished by changing the vices he possesses at the start of the epic, and replacing them with virtues he receives by its completion. “A virtue is a quality of righteousness, goodness, or moral excellence; any good quality or admirable trait of a character.” (Halsey Collier’s Dictionary 1114) “A vice is an immoral or harmful habit or practice; fault or fall” (Halsey Collier’s Dictionary 1111). Gilgamesh is not the only character in the

In the process of becoming civilized, the first thing Enkidu does is leaving his wildness behind. After his encounter with the harlot Shamhat, Enkidu immediately forms an attachment to this woman. The author writes, “While the two of them together were making love, he forgot the wild where he was born” (II, P: 46-7). Enkidu’s evolution into a civilized man is shown as he forgets about his birthplace after spending only a few nights living and coupling with the harlot. While love and sex are temptations often irresistible to human beings, Enkidu also adapts this human trait of lust. While his abandonment of the wild self is shown through his desertion of his birthplace, it is also revealed through his physical makeover while he enters the city. The author

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.

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.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest epic known to date. It is an old Babylonian tale first written down in Sumerian. The first known copy of the epic is dated to around 2100 to 2000 B.C.E. However, it is believed to have originated many years earlier passed along though oral story telling. The epic was used in Babylonian schools to teach literature to students (Puchner 36). In ancient times, the Epic of Gilgamesh was widely read from Mesopotamia to Syria to Levant and Anatolia. The epic was also translated into non-Mesopotamian languages such as Hittite (Puchner 34). The story we know today was expanded upon around 1200 B.C.E. by a Babylonian priest. “The eleven-tablet version may be said to have assumed its present form during the latter part of the second millennium”(Abusch 618). It was then written down again and stored in the library of an Assyrian king named Ashurbanipal (Ziolkowski 55-56). It was thanks to this act that

There are many pros to a civilized life but one gain to a civilized life is that people know how to live in harmony and accept one another. People get an equal chance to be themselves. People can learn how to work with animals, they are able to tame them and use them for farming, food, clothing, shelter, and transportation. Civilized people are able to trade and communicate with other human beings. “Along the way he learned new human ways tracking down the gentle sheep…and using weapons for the first time” (Page 16, Column iii) Is a great example of Enkidu learning to be civilized and how to act like a human being Enkidu was considered an animal in the beginning of the story, he lived with them but one day a temple prostitute comes along and Enkidu is tempted by her, after sleeping with her the animals reject him since he is now a human. Gilgamesh showed Enkidu new things and he was beginning to learn and branch out of his old ways. But there are losses to a civilized life, people begin to know more and if they

Gilgamesh was a powerful king of Uruk an ancient city in Sumer now known as Iraq. Created by the gods, Gilgamesh was 2/3 god and 1/3 man he thought of himself as undefeatable, and carried himself immorally, taking advantage of his people. Being tired of this the people of Uruk began sobbing, and the goddess Aruru heard their cries and created Gilgamesh 's equal Enkidu. Together they would go on to venture into battles, one of which leads to the death of Enkidu that brings Gilgamesh to his very own journey to find immortality. This epic demonstrates the traits identified by the renown American psychologist Joseph Campbell in the story lines of the hero 's journey.

The Epic of Gilgamesh dates back to the eighteenth century from Mesopotamia and is believed to be a great work of literature. Some of the copies of this epic are known to be found in the ruins of a library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. The story is about Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk and Enkidu, their friendship, how Enkidu dies and how Gilgamesh mourns the death of his friend. Most of this story is narrated from Gilgamesh’s point of view. The story is set in Mesopotamia and the portrayal of Gilgamesh is ironical. He is described as very rash and does not fear death in the early parts of the story. But towards the end he is obsessed with being alive and aspires for eternity. His quest for eternity takes him everywhere and he undertakes dangerous quests in order to live forever. However, whoever he meets especially Utnapishtim and his wife know more than Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk . Gilgamesh struggles so much to avoid death. At the death of his friend Enkidu, he is shattered and also become obsessed with his own life and so he embarks on a quest to find Utnapishtim, though there are several obstacles on the way. He believes that he would get eternal life from Utnapishtim, who had received eternal life from the Gods. The story’s theme throughout is that love can be a motivating force and the inevitability of death. The dreams that Gilgamesh and Enkidu have lead to

In “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” nature, itself, is an implied character of sorts. It is always present in the progression of the story, even if nature isn’t explicitly mentioned by the author. Much like nature, Enkidu is always present in “The Epic of Gilgamesh” to progress the story. One example of this is seen in the beginning of the tale when the hunter spots Enkidu among the herd of animals:

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.