...Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh is epic poetry from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story,Gilgamesh, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much later. The most complete version existing today is preserved on 12 clay tablets from the library collection of 7th-century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. It was originally titled He who Saw the Deep (Sha naqba īmuru) or Surpassing All Other Kings (Shūtur eli sharrī). The story revolves around a relationship between Gilgamesh (probably a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic II period ca. 27th century BC)[1] and his close companion, Enkidu. Enkidu is a wild man created by the gods as Gilgamesh's equal to distract him from oppressing the citizens of Uruk. Together they undertake dangerous quests that incur the displeasure of the gods. Firstly, they journey to the Cedar Mountain to defeat Humbaba, its monstrous guardian. Later they kill the Bull of Heaven that the goddess Ishtar has sent to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances. The latter part of the epic focuses on Gilgamesh's distressed reaction to Enkidu's death, which takes the form of a quest for immortality. Gilgamesh attempts to learn the secret of eternal life by undertaking a long and perilous journey to meet the immortal flood hero, Utnapishtim. Ultimately the poignant words addressed to Gilgamesh in the midst...
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...The return to your own lives In modern society, there are still many people don’t know how we best should live our lives. I think The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Matrix both have the similarity of people get learned from mistakes in their lives. At also, the difference of their life is Gilgamesh was afraid of death but in The Matrix, the main character was not afraid of death in his life. First of all, Gilgamesh was afraid of death and he was trying to find immortality. After his friend Enkidu was dead, he could not imagine what death is. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh said, “Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishitim whom they call the Faraway, for he as entered the assembly of the gods.”(The Epic of Gilgamesh P97) So he started his journey and tried to find immortality. Unfortunately, Gilgamesh could not find the immortality in the end of his life. In contrast, the main character was not afraid of death in his life. There are two worlds in the main character’s life, one is The Matrix which is a computer program and another world is the real one which is controlled by artificial intelligence. When his friend Mopheus was captured by agents, he decided to come back to The Matrix to save his friend. When Trinity which is his comrade said to him if he is going back to that dangerous area, he probably is not going to come back to the real world again because those...
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...Lord of the Rings and Modern Day Epic? Epic adventures are one of the oldest and most celebrated works of literature. These adventures paint pictures of larger-than-life heroes, terrifying battle scenes, and heroic triumphs. Most epics served the purpose of transmitting culture and history, as well as entertaining readers. Among classical epics are the well-known Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. However, is the epic adventure a dying breed of literature? Is it possible that epic stories have sustained the test of time and evolved over the centuries? The Lord of the Rings trilogy, including The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King, is one of the greatest examples of a modern day epic. What do The Iliad, The Odyssey, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and The Lord of the Rings all have in common? They all share typical characteristics of epic adventures in some form or another. Though the motives and reasons may differ, the theme of journeying is common to all epic adventures. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, King Gilgamesh sets out on a perilous adventure with his closest friend Enkidu in order to find enduring fame and glory. In The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus embarks on a 10 year-long journey through trials and tests to find his way back home to his wife and son. Epic hero Achilles, of The Iliad, sets out to fight in the legendary Trojan War. Similarly, Frodo Baggins, unassuming hero of The Lord of the Rings, sets out from his home and...
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...Gilgamesh the King of Flaws An unbalanced make up of two parts god and one part man, Gilgamesh suffers most from arrogance. He is the greatest of all men, and both his virtues and his flaws are massive. He is the uncompromising of warriors and the most determined of builders. Yet until Enkidu, his near equal, arrives to serve as a balance to Gilgamesh’s restless energies, he exhausts his subjects with continual battle, forced labor, and unselective exercises of power. Beautiful to see, Gilgamesh selfishly indulges his cravings, raping whatever woman he desires, whether she is the wife of a warrior or the daughter of a noble, or even a bride on her wedding night. One particular night when Enkidu, the wild beast of the steppes comes to find Gilgamesh, he is infuriated by the inconsiderate behavior and attacks Gilgamesh. The men fight and Gilgamesh realizes that Enkidu is a lot like him. Enkidu and Gilgamesh spoke after their fight, and Gilgamesh wants Enkidu to help him fight the beast of the Cedar forest Humbaba. Enkidu agrees after telling Gilgamesh about his experience within the same forest. My friend, I knew that country When I roamed with the wild beasts. The forest is sixty double leagues in every direction, Who can go into it? Humbaba’s cry is the roar of a deluge, His maw is fire, his breath is death. Why do you want to do this? The haunt of Humbaba is a hopeless quest. (Unknown) The two heroes stand before the forest’s gate, and they see that Humbaba’s footsteps...
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...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 might say) who doesn't know the difference between strength and arrogance. By preemptively attacking a monster, he brings on himself a disaster that can only be overcome by an agonizing journey, a quest that results in wisdom by proving its own futility. The epic has an extraordinarily sophisticated...
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...Enkidu: The Greater Hero of the Epic What makes a hero a hero? This is what I thought when I first encountered the “Epic of Gilgamesh” and found Enkidu far better than Gilgamesh. Strangely, his character outshone the main protagonist because of some reasons that may only be my own. He captured my attention because of his strong will and because of some things I can relate him with. Am I too vague or narrow to think such? Well this is an opinion worth valuing since it may steer away from the supposed preference of many to Gilgamesh' character. Apologies to fanatics or to those who oppose my arguments. I'd like to share what I think is right, and why it's right for me. INNOCENT ENKIDU “So the goddess conceived an image in her mind, and it was of the stuff of Anu of the firmament. She dipped her hands in water and pinched off clay, she let it fall in the wilderness, and noble Enkidu was created. There was virtue in him of the god of war, of Ninurta himself. His body was rough, he had long hair like a woman's; it waved like the hair of Nisaba, the goddess of corn. His body was covered with matted hair like Samugan's, the god of cattle. He was innocent of mankind; he knew nothing of the cultivated land.” (Assyrian International Books) Enkidu was first introduced in the epic of Gilgamesh as an innocent man, one with nature and though strong, he never used his strength to harm others. Son of a wild ass and gazelle, he is very primitive and eats with the animals. His encounter...
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...Hebrews. It has been said that The Torah symbolizes events and life of the Jewish people, their experiences, laws, legends and the meaning and expressions of their gods. With the Bible, there has been a rough debate of many hundreds of years about the roots of it. The Bible has been written by the beginning of the tenth century, which was by the time the Hebrews have settled in Canaan. The Jewish religion declares that The Torah represents the history of Hebrew people. But scholars tend to argue that the stories that are apparently the creation of Moses and the Hebrew language, are off by more than five hundred years from Torah. Comparing the Hebrew flood story of Noah’s Ark, of 2348 B.C, there are many similarities found with the Epic of Gilgamesh. Both of these stories start out with God getting furious at the people. They, in his mind, were becoming more and more sinful, and because of that, he regretted of ever having to create the human race. So he goes to a man he chooses, Noah, and asks him to build a boat because he wants to get rid of humans. God then gives accurate measurements to Noah for the building of the boat. He then tells Noah to get animals on the boat, two of each, so they could survive. God reminds Noah that a great flood will occur that is to destroy all living things, but save Noah’s family if they get onto the boat. After the seven days have past, it started to rain, just like God has said it would. By that time, Noah had his family and two of each...
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...3 09/30/14 Gilgamesh: The Return Gilgamesh sits stoically, with both feet tucked under him. He feels the dew from the fleece tickle against his muscular legs. All he has to do is remain awake for six days and seven nights and Utnapishtim will grant him eternal life. After witnessing the death of his beloved Enkidu he is afraid his own lifeforce will soon leave his body. He is determined not to suffer the same miserable fate as Enkidu. “I, Gilgamesh, the mighty ruler of Uruk,” he thought to himself; “Slayed Humbaba, in his forest and felled the great Bull of Heaven. Surely I will be able to complete this test.” It is not long before Gilgamesh begins to feel the weight of his eyelids as he strains with every fiber of his considerably muscular being to stay awake; however, he is weary from his long journey and cannot best his mortality—Gilgamesh succumbs to a deep slumber. In what seemed like only a moment, Gilgamesh is awakened by the smell of bread baking over burning embers. Utnapishtim explains to Gilgamesh that he has been asleep almost seven days. Each day Utnapishtim’s wife has baked a loaf of bread for everyday that Gilgamesh has been asleep. Gilgamesh begins to protest, but upon seeing the rotting bread lying on the ground, he becomes distraught at the realization that will not escape his mortality—it is his destiny to die. Not wanting Gilgamesh to leave empty handed, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh about a flower that can restore a man’s youth. Gilgamesh is elated upon...
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...RR: Gilgamesh The epic poem Gilgamesh is about the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. He was two-thirds god and one third human, and ruled as a tyrant. The gods created Enkidu, a wild man just as powerful as Gilgamesh, to keep him in check. A hunter finds him living with animals, and brings a temple prostitute to tame him. Enkidu sleeps with the woman and becomes part of the human world. Once Enkidu learns about Gilgamesh, he wants to challenge him. Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight, but Gilgamesh eventually wins. He and Enkidu become friends, and decide to go on an adventure. They go to a forest forbidden to mortals, and steal trees. They send the trees back to Uruk, and make a gate. The goddess of love, Ishtar, is overcome with lust for Gilgamesh, but he rejects her. Her father Anu sends the Bull of Heaven to punish him, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill it. After this, the gods decide that either Gilgamesh or Enkidu must be punished. The gods make Enkidu sick, and he dies. Gilgamesh grieves immensely for Enkidu, and goes to seek out Utnapishtim, who was granted eternal life, in order to try and learn how to avoid death. However, Utnapishtim test Gilgamesh and he fails. Utnapishtim sends Gilgamesh back to Uruk, where he learns to accept his mortality. The story of Gilgamesh relates to IGE in that it examines values, in this case the value of life. Gilgamesh is so materialistic that he wants as much of everything as he can get. The fact that he is part god pretty much guarantees...
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...The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia. Dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (circa 2100 BC), it is often regarded as the first great work of literature. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about 'Bilgamesh' (Sumerian for 'Gilgamesh'), king of Uruk. These independent stories were later used as source material for a combined epic. The first surviving version of this combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates to the 18th century BC and is titled after its incipit, Shūtur eli sharrī ("Surpassing All Other Kings"). Only a few tablets of it have survived. The later "Standard" version dates from the 13th to the 10th centuries BC and bears the incipit Sha naqba īmuru ("He who Saw the Deep", in modern terms: "He who Sees the Unknown"). Approximately two thirds of this longer, twelve-tablet version have been recovered. Some of the best copies were discovered in the library ruins of the 7th-century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal. The first half of the story discusses Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild man created by the gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing the people of Uruk. After an initial fight, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become close friends. Together, they journey to the Cedar Mountain and defeat Humbaba, its monstrous guardian. Later they kill the Bull of Heaven, which the goddess Ishtar sends to punish Gilgamesh for spurning her advances. As a punishment for these actions, the gods sentence Enkidu to death...
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...#1 Epic heroism usually denotes to an individual of highest social class such as great kings or leaders. Epic heroes are outstanding fighters, sometimes carrying some divine powers. To show his heroic elements, the hero must confront some supernatural enemies, quests, war, or adversity. The Epic of Gilgamesh depicts most of these characteristics of epic heroism. The description about his birth to the journey and adventures in his life meets the characteristics of an epic hero. Although, at some points, Gilgamesh engages in acts of selfishness and arrogance, I believe he achieves the characteristics of an epic hero and portrays those characteristics throughout the epic. Gilgamesh is described as a son of a mortal man and a goddess, which makes him a one-third man and a two-thirds god. During his birth, Gilgamesh is marked out as a unique type of a person who has connections with both the mortal world and the divine world. The divine birth is very central and important to the various adventures and achievements to come into his life. “When the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body…..Two-thirds they made him a god and one-third man (Mitchell, 13). Like most epic heroes, Gilgamesh embarks on heroic quests where he fights with the guardian Humbaba, which was a monster of the holy forest in order to achieve immortal status. Gilgamesh reveals his courageous nature by defying his advisers, including his own mother in efforts to accomplish the quests. Epic heroes...
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...Mothers Role in Mythology In most epics, the hero seems to conquer and prevail by themselves without any external help. Although this may be true for some myths, many others have additional help from either another person or deity that is often overlooked. In the case of the ancient Sumerian epic Gilgamesh and the Greek myth of the Iliad, both Gilgamesh and Achilles receive help or guidance from their mothers, a key component of both myths that can often be missed. In the epics, both mothers have a heavy influence on on their sons’ lives, which in turn affects the outcome of the myth. To fully understand how the mothers affected the myths, it is important to examine both and understand they way both mothers went about helping their sons. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is a demi-god and ruler of Uruk and has seemingly god-like abilities and because of this, the people of Uruk looked at him as a hero. With his god-like abilities, Gilgamesh went on many journeys that tested his strength and physical endurance. Although part god and seemingly invincible, Gilgamesh still sought his mother’s opinion. One example of this is when Gilgamesh seeks counsel with his mother Ninsun to understand two dreams he had about a future opponent named Enkidu. For the first dream, Ninsun interprets: This star of heaven which descended like a meteor from the sky;[sic]which you tried to lift, but found too heavy, when you tried to move it it would not budge, and so you brought it to my feet;...
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...forever and a good example that explains this is The Epic Gilgamesh. This Epic was written in 1500 B.C.E. anonymously but translated by Herbert Mason. It is the oldest story written down that we know of. The discovery of this story can teach us a lot on the lives of the Mesopotamians. The Story of Gilgamesh is about two completely different people who come together and become more human. Even under the unfairness of the Gods, they will overcome it and become better humans. Gilgamesh will overcome his fear of death...
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...Epic Hero Paper There are numerous examples of epic heroes in real life. One that comes to mind is Lilly Singh. Like a typical epic hero in a story, Singh has the same traits as most. In order to be classified as an epic hero, you should have at least 3 of the characteristics. They include having a noble birth, being a great warrior, traveling over a vast setting, being recognized as a national hero, showing humility, having supernatural help, and showing great strength and courage. Lilly Singh embodies the characteristics of an epic hero because she has traveled over vast distances, has shown humility, and has been recognized as a national hero. One reason why Lilly Singh is an epic hero is because she has traveled far distances. According...
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...and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything" (George Bernard Shaw). Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk in The Epic of Gilgamesh, from ancient Mesopotamia. He is the strongest and most handsome of all mortals at one third man and two thirds god. Gilgamesh starts out as a selfish ruler on a quest for eternal life, but eventually learns to seek quality of life over quantity. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh endures immoderation and selfishness, but eventually transforms into a strong leader. To begin, in the first events of the story, Gilgamesh abandons his wealth and power as a king to go on a quest for eternal life, which is not for good. He believes that he can become immortal even though he is highly incapable because of his selfishness and carelessness. This shows that Gilgamesh is immoderate at this point in time. He does not understand that he is unfit to be granted immortality. "Why, O Gish does thou run about? The life that thou seekest, thou wilt not find" (The Epic of Gilgamesh). This shows that Gilgamesh will not receive immortality. He is selfish for abandoning his vast wealth and power to go on a quest for eternal life....
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