Premium Essay

Comparison of Gilgamesh and Achilles

In:

Submitted By ecwest
Words 1581
Pages 7
Every mythological hero seems to be on a journey in search of the thing he desires most in the world. The two heroes who stood out to me were Gilgamesh, and Achilles. Gilgamesh’s greatest fear was death, while Achilles feared his legacy being lost and forgotten. Technically their desires are different, but their journey share many similarities, and in the end, boils down to the same thing. Each man in his own way, both Gilgamesh and Achilles desired immortality above all else. Though immortality takes on very a different meaning for Gilgamesh, as it does for Achilles, every decision as well as all the sacrifices they make, are based on their fear of death and dying. Gilgamesh’s journey for immortality begins with the death of Enkidu. Gilgamesh’s heart breaks when he had to watch his brother die, which made him consider the prospect of his own mortality and inevitable death.(1) Gilgamesh fears his own death so much that he seems to be willing to risk everything including death, for a chance at an immortal life. Gilgamesh does not know what the future holds for him, or whether his journey for immortality will bear fruit. But Achilles on the other hand, was given all the information he needed to make an informed decision before his journey even began. His mother Thetis told him of his fate. If he chose to go to Troy, he would die in in battle and his name would be forever remembered. If he chose not to go to Troy, he would live a long life and have many children who would honor him. But his name would be lost to history.(2) Achilles was a warrior to his very core, no matter what fate would offer him to stay away from Troy, whether it be riches beyond his wildest dreams, or a woman who beauty surpasses even Helen of Troy. He would still have chosen to fight. I believe the only reason he even considered not going to Troy was for his mother, and the grief she would feel

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Epithets In Gilgamesh Essay

...In ancient times, the epithet was a commonly used byname in both the oral and written traditions. The epithet was a descriptive name, not unlike a modern nickname, and was used extensively in epic poetry. The most famous use of the epithet was those used in the Homeric epics the Iliad and the Odyssey. The use of epithets was used as well in a much earlier Mesopotamian poem known as the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Homeric Poems and the Poem of Gilgamesh the two stories share stock epithets and epic similes. The paper will first discuss epithets in the Homeric poems, then discuss the epithets in the Epic of Gilgamesh in comparison. Homeric Epithets Places The epithet, as previously mentioned, was essentially a byname. It saw its full use in the Homeric Epic which is why this paper chooses to discuss the Homeric poems first. While it was defiantly used to describe individuals such as Gods and certain characters, it was also used to describe certain places as well. Homeric scholar Bowra discussed this in her analysis: “Homeric...

Words: 2073 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Gilgamesh

...INTRODUCTION THE OLDEST STORY IN THE WORLD In Iraq, when the dust blows, stopping men and tanks, it brings with it memories of an ancient world, much older than Islam or Christianity. Western civilization originated from that place between the Tigris and the Euphrates, where Hammurabi created his legal code and where Gilgamesh was written -- the oldest story in the world, a thousand years older than the Iliad or the Bible. Its hero was a historical king who reigned in the Mesopotamian city of Uruk in about 2750 BCE. In the epic, he has an intimate friend, Enkidu, a naked wild man who has been civilized through the erotic arts of a temple priestess. With him Gilgamesh battles monsters, and when Enkidu dies, he is inconsolable. He sets out on a desperate journey to find the one man who can tell him how to escape death. Part of the fascination of Gilgamesh is that, like any great work of literature, it has much to tell us about ourselves. In giving voice to grief and the fear of death, perhaps more powerfully than any book written after it, in portraying love and vulnerability and the quest for wisdom, it has become a personal testimony for millions of readers in dozens of languages. But it also has a particular relevance in today's world, with its polarized fundamentalisms, each side fervently believing in its own righteousness, each on a crusade, or jihad, against what it perceives as an evil enemy. The hero of this epic is an antihero, a superman (a superpower, one...

Words: 3615 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Test2

...62118 0/nm 1/n1 2/nm 3/nm 4/nm 5/nm 6/nm 7/nm 8/nm 9/nm 1990s 0th/pt 1st/p 1th/tc 2nd/p 2th/tc 3rd/p 3th/tc 4th/pt 5th/pt 6th/pt 7th/pt 8th/pt 9th/pt 0s/pt a A AA AAA Aachen/M aardvark/SM Aaren/M Aarhus/M Aarika/M Aaron/M AB aback abacus/SM abaft Abagael/M Abagail/M abalone/SM abandoner/M abandon/LGDRS abandonment/SM abase/LGDSR abasement/S abaser/M abashed/UY abashment/MS abash/SDLG abate/DSRLG abated/U abatement/MS abater/M abattoir/SM Abba/M Abbe/M abbé/S abbess/SM Abbey/M abbey/MS Abbie/M Abbi/M Abbot/M abbot/MS Abbott/M abbr abbrev abbreviated/UA abbreviates/A abbreviate/XDSNG abbreviating/A abbreviation/M Abbye/M Abby/M ABC/M Abdel/M abdicate/NGDSX abdication/M abdomen/SM abdominal/YS abduct/DGS abduction/SM abductor/SM Abdul/M ab/DY abeam Abelard/M Abel/M Abelson/M Abe/M Aberdeen/M Abernathy/M aberrant/YS aberrational aberration/SM abet/S abetted abetting abettor/SM Abeu/M abeyance/MS abeyant Abey/M abhorred abhorrence/MS abhorrent/Y abhorrer/M abhorring abhor/S abidance/MS abide/JGSR abider/M abiding/Y Abidjan/M Abie/M Abigael/M Abigail/M Abigale/M Abilene/M ability/IMES abjection/MS abjectness/SM abject/SGPDY abjuration/SM abjuratory abjurer/M abjure/ZGSRD ablate/VGNSDX ablation/M ablative/SY ablaze abler/E ables/E ablest able/U abloom ablution/MS Ab/M ABM/S abnegate/NGSDX abnegation/M Abner/M abnormality/SM abnormal/SY aboard ...

Words: 113589 - Pages: 455