...Even the privilege of being two-thirds divine did not help him to bring his ally back. He expresses his pain in the following words, “What now is this sleep that has seized you? Come back to me! You hear me not.” (Tablet VIII, 49,50) As he prepares to honor his deceased friend, he comes face to face with the harsh reality of his mortal life. Gilgamesh, who had once consciously asserted that “people’s days are numbered, whatever they attempt is a puff of air,” grows the fear of death. (Tablet II, 177, 178) The bold and powerful is surrounded by insecurities and the fear of death. “I have grown afraid of death, so I roam the steppe,” he cries. (Tablet IX, 5) Death terrifies the majestic king of Uruk so much that he leaves his kingdom behind and sets off on his quest of imperishability. It would not be wrong to say that although the journey was commenced to find answers about mortality...
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...The Babylonian myth of Gilgamesh is an epic hero myth found in the Akkadian manuscripts believed to have been written 2150-1400 BCE which seems to be one of the oldest and longest legends found in ancient Mesopotamia. Gilgamesh appears to have actually lived and is accepted as the fifth king of Uruk and the myth that surrounds his divine status is one that seems to have developed through oral accounts of his legendary acts that were later transcribed on twelve tablets that create the “Epic of Gilgamesh.” As is the case with oral traditions, there is no documented author to the original story, however one transcriber, known as Shin-Lei-Unninni (1300-1000 BCE) is credit for one of the best preserved versions of this epic poem which is written in cuneiform script (Mark). This epic poem depicts the hero Gilgamesh as a renowned warrior whose divine rule is supported with his stature and appearance attributed to his parentage that characterize him as one-third man and two-third god. His mother is the goddess Ninsun and his father is King Lugalbanda. Unfortunately, his tragic flaw of arrogance during the first part of his life incurs the wrath of the gods. His tyrannical behavior and disregard of his people would probably be considered by the Swiss psychologist, C.G. Jung as the unconscious inherited traits of childhood and youth not fully balanced with adulthood or consciousness. For Jung the balance between the external world (conscious) and the internal (unconscious) is...
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...The remaining portion of this epic story, which very possibly dates back to the third millennium B.C., and holds little if almost no Christian values, as it distresses the typical beliefs in the myths related with the pagan societies of the period in time. Nevertheless, a number of religious patrons have deliberated on the notion of creation and the hereafter introduced in the epic story. There are even select researchers that have accepted the similarities in the Babylonian and Hebrew findings, while all are not ready to make the connection in the two floods. (Keller, 1956) (anonymous, 2013) There are countless stories telling of floods that have come from ancient sources strewn around the globe. The accounts that were translated from the cuneiform tablets were comprised of some of the most primitive remaining text, having recognizable associations. Cuneiform script was created by the Sumerians and passed on by the Akkadians. Babylonian as well as Assyrian are dialects of Akkadian, and both have instances of floods in them. Despite the fact that there are some small differences in the Sumerian, and the younger Babylonian, Assyrian accounts, there are a lot of similarities that are very close to the story of Moses in the book of Genesis. Since the first discovery of the cuneiform tablets in the mid-nineteenth century there have been countless other tablets found. Some of the actual tablets date back as early as 3’300 B.C which would put...
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...Tablet I Summary The story begins with a prologue introducing us to the main character, Gilgamesh, the Priest-King of Uruk. Gilgamesh’s mother is Ninsun, sometimes referred to as the Lady Wildcow Ninsun. She was a goddess, endowing Gilgamesh with a semi-divine nature. Lugulbanda, a priest, was his father. Gilgamesh constructed the great city of Uruk along the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia, and surrounded it intricately decorated walls. He also built a temple for the goddess Ishtar, the goddess of love, and her fatherAnu, the father of the gods. Gilgamesh is credited with opening passages through the mountains. He traveled to the Nether World and beyond it, where he met Utnapishtim, the sole survivor of the great flood that almost ended the world, the one who had been given immortality. When he returned to Uruk, he wrote everything down on a tablet of lapis lazuli and locked it in a copper chest. As the story begins, Gilgamesh is a tyrannical leader who shows little regard for his people. He takes what he wants from them and works them to death constructing the walls of Uruk. He sleeps with brides on their wedding night, before their husbands. It is said that no one can resist his power. The old men of Uruk complain and appeal to the gods for help. The gods hear their cries and instruct Aruru, the goddess of creation, to make someone strong enough to act as a counterforce to Gilgamesh. Aruru takes some clay, moistens it with her spit, and forms another man, namedEnkidu. Enkidu...
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...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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...that he no longer wants what he wanted before. Enkidu is sent to to tame Gilgamesh’s “stormy-heart.” Before he was free to do as he pleased because he had no one to oppose him, so “neither the father’s son/ nor the wife of the noble; neither the mother’s daughter/ nor the warrior’s bride was safe” whereas now Enkidu satisfies him in a way this had not, so he stops. To many, this would seem to be a lose of power, an inability to exercise his macho-man strength, but in terms of strength of heart...
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...Gilgamesh Passages Tablet I The tablet I passage from line 1 to 28 are significant because it talks about how he (Gilgamesh) was granted powers and with these powers such as knowledge, Anu granted him the totality of knowledge of all (line 4) describes how Anu the father of the gods gave Gilgamesh the power of knowledge. He built the city and raised its walls in all it magnificent splendors. He carved on a stone stela all of his toils, and built the walls of Uruk-Haven (Line 9-10). Also look at the wall which gleams like copper (?), inspect its inner wall, the like of which no one can equal (lines 11-12). These text describe the walls and how the city Uruk was built by a mighty being like Gilgamesh. This at the end describing the city and certain thing built by Gilgamesh such as the Temples, Gardens, and the league (probably referring to the ocean or body of water). Another passage from I is the 3rd passge from which the people of Uruk prayer to he gods. This passage shows how the people of Uruk don’t enjoy Gelgamesh as a king due to how he treats his people for ex. Gilgamesh does not leave a girl to her mother (?) The Daughters of the warrior, the bride of the young man (line 5-6). Gilgamesh is all powerful so no one can challenge him and he deemed as a bad King as how he treats his people like wild ox. The people get fed up with the treatment and they pray for the gods to make him his match (a zikru). All this so explaned in line 7 of the next passage. (Let them be a match...
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