Women In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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,

Once Enkidu was created, he was regarded as a beast, and Shamhat was the one Gilgamesh trusted to tame him. When the hunter is instructing his son to ask for Gilgamesh’s help, he tells him that “[Gilgamesh] will give you Shamhat the harlot, take her with you, / Let her prevail over him, instead of the mighty man” (I. 132-133). The important word to note here is “prevail:” Gilgamesh is not asking for Shamhat’s help because he thinks it will be easier with her; he thinks it will be impossible without her. Gilgamesh sees Shamhat as the only one who is capable of taming Enkidu, something a mere man would not be able to do. But Shamhat was also the one who civilized and guided Enkidu, helping him understand the life of a civilized being.

The women of The Epic of Gilgamesh are used to guide and give knowledge to the men. Even when the men in the story take them for granted, the women are still are shown to play an essential role. The two main women of the epic are Shamhat and Siduri, in which they both convey intelligence and learning. We are first introduced to Shamhat in Book 1 where she is sent to tame a man named Enkidu(a giant human raised by animals that is later civilized by Shamhat). Since Enkidu is animal like, the humans of Uruk feared him, so Gilgamesh sent Shamhat out to give her body for sex as an act to civilize Enkidu (Gilgamesh 77). In order for Shamhat to civilize Enkidu, she is to be taken into the wilderness, and must “strip off her robe and

About 2700 years ago there lived a king by the name of Gilgamesh who ruled the city of Uruk in Mesopotamia now known to us as modern day Iraq. Parts of his life are written on clay tablets believed to be the oldest existing written story of a man’s life. (XI). “The epic of Gilgamesh”, is the story of his quest for eternal life. In this paper I will be writing about the influence that the women in his life have played in his quest.

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.

For centuries, books, television shows, even beloved childhood movies have subtly reinforced the social construct of patriarchy. Classic movies such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty follow the typical story line of a damsel in distress, followed by a heroic man coming to her rescue. This conception of a male focused storyline is nothing new and is an aspect that constitutes patriarchy, which has existed since the advent of agriculture and has persisted throughout the centuries. In fact, patriarchy was a major theme that was reinforced in the first story ever recovered; The Epic of Gilgamesh was written as early as 2000 BC in Mesopotamia and is loosely based on the Sumerian king, Gilgamesh. The story tells of Gilgamesh’s adventures with his friend Enkidu as they conquer everything from other men to the Bull of Heaven. Throughout the story, patriarchy is heavily reinforced. Although the driving force behind patriarchy is personal attainment of security and status, a number of objectively undesirable events result such as the subjugation of women and societies that value control and dominance. The narrator reinforces different aspects of patriarchy in The Epic of Gilgamesh by portraying men in a good light and women in a bad one, focusing society around males, withholding agency from female females, normalizing violence, and creating the need for unequal relationships between men and women.

The characters of The Epic of Gilgamesh are heavily shaped by their patriarchal leaders and society. The same is true for the protagonists of David Brooks’ Self-Mastery and Love, from his book, The Road to Character. Gilgamesh, a harsh ruler of an ancient city looking for eternal youth, George Marshall, a young man from Pennsylvania trying to prove himself , and Mary Anne “George Eliot” Evans, an author from England searching for love while questioning her faith, share many qualities and challenges. Despite living over 3,000 years apart, these people within their worlds go to great measures and long journeys to obtain something important to themselves, while grappling with the different effects of patriarchy.

At this point in the epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu has been living in the forest, not really doing his job of balancing out Gilgamesh’s bad ways. A prostitute has been sent his way to sway his into the civilized world. Enkidu, having been made from magic and not from a normal conceived birth, did not understand the details and implications of his actions before doing them. Enkidu lies down with the harlot, and she does what she normally does and Enkidu is overtaken with passion, angst, and an overabundance of libido. However, in doing this Enkidu turns all of the animals away from him and they soon begin to run away from the sight of him. The rawness of his animal nature has been taking away somehow which is quite contradicting because in most

Women have frequently been one of the victims of the stereotypical and judgemental society. Every action and step that’s taken by them are critiqued by society. If women are seen to be involved in such activities that violate modesty, they get shunned and negatively viewed, whereas if a man commits the same action equal amount of critique isn’t given. In many places around the globe, women are considered inferior. They are underestimated and are always seen to be dependent on men. What some often fail to acknowledge is their significance. The Epic of Gilgamesh was widely subjected on the heroism of two friends and the journey of transformation of a mighty king, but it did convey the significance of women and the important roles that were played by them nonetheless. Without the assistance and vision of women, the Epic of Gilgamesh wouldn’t have been so epic.

It was not until after reading this story that I caught on to who actually helped make Gilgamesh the noble king that he was at the end of the story. I truly believe that the women in Gilgamesh played a serious role in the making of the new Gilgamesh. I say this because the women throughout this amazing epic seem to have been guiding Gilgamesh through his journey. Even though becoming a better leader for his people was not a part of his journey, it still happened and it actually benefited Gilgamesh as a person.

For the majority of human history, women have taken a backseat compared to men, in most aspects of life. Plenty of religious commentary has encouraged women being seen as lesser than men, beginning with the story of Adam and Eve. Within that story, there was Adam who needed a helper, Eve—within that alone, there is a sense of Eve simply being there to help Adam, while Adam was the main one in charge. Of course religion does not entirely rule over people’s perceptions and ideals for centuries, but it definitely did play a role in setting the tone. The different Egalitarian Anthropologies have created some sort of relief for women to be seen as more than just “helpers,” while other Anthropologies emphasize that idea.

Females’ vulnerability to evils of all kind was exemplified by the predicament Eve has undergone. In addition, this tale can be perceived as the root of male supremacy. Being the first individual created and the forbearer of the female lineage stoked the

Eve encourages women to take over and re-connect mankind with its spiritual side. But then doubts they can “But you are my daughters, you inherit my own faults of character” she softly rebukes other women but acknowledges it’s not that simple “faults of character have their own logic and it always works out.”

God made Eve from taking a rib out of Adam to create a woman. God decided not to create women from the dust like he did the other creatures instead, he made her from man. The reason God did this is to show that man and women are two equal halves of a whole. God also created women from men to show that they are the same being. Females were not created as second to man or separate but instead made from the initial parts as a helper. Helper Is not meant to be a servant or of less value but as a companion. The help of a woman to a man Is seen as powerful in the bible as women were created as a complement to