...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...
Words: 923 - Pages: 4
...Destiny Vincent English 2010 Dr. Tuman 11 July 2014 Word Count: 784 One of The Iliad’s main characters, Achilles, endures a knife to the heart as his one and only son was killed in battle while he sat back and watched. Similarly, one of the main character’s in Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh himself, gets his heart completely ripped out once he accepts the fact that he will never attain immortality. Though the causes of Achilles’ and Gilgamesh’s grief are completely different, the extent of their grief and their optimism in their respective situations are what make them highly comparable. Achilles and Gilgamesh both grieve, but for different reasons. The way they handle their grief is what makes these characters alike. Achilles has the power to prevent his son, Sarpedon, from losing his life in battle, but is persuaded by his wife, Hera, not too. It has been made very clear to the audience that Achilles is sincerely passionate about his son in book XVI when he says, “Fate has is that Sarpedon, whom I love more than any man, is to be killed by Patroclus” (471-472). He wants to intervene and put a stop to this tragedy, but is told by his wife “...don’t expect all of us to approve…If you send Sarpedon home alive…Think of the resentment you will create” (480-485). Imagine watching your only child die in battle, knowing you could have prevented it, but your wife is in your ear blatantly telling you to let him die. Nonetheless, time passes and Sarpedon’s fate does indeed come to pass...
Words: 821 - Pages: 4
...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 retrieval of the flower. He can now be restored to the vitality of his youth and, at least for a while longer, he can stave off death. However, this flower is a false hope, for as Gilgamesh is bathing in a cool well of water, a serpent emerges from the depths of the well and steals Gilgamesh’s flower of youth. Once again his attempts to...
Words: 1184 - Pages: 5
...One of the most emphasized in The Odyssey is the father-son relationship. This relationship between Odysseus and Telemachus is distant but nevertheless strong. Telemachus leaves Ithaca, although naïve, to find any knowledge of his father in hope that he is still alive. And Odysseus, like any parent, also displays a lot of love for his son -- when he hears of all the suitors devouring Telemachus’ future fortune and mistreating him, he wants to return and avenge the misuse of his family and property. This kind of relationship can be seen today as a father leaves to go to war while his son is being...
Words: 904 - Pages: 4
...humans and gods as a dependent relationship. This relationship helps us understand what it means to be human by establishing the limits of humanity and the duties of the Gods. Humanity is defined by the inevitable cycle of favors between humans and the gods. The Epic of Gilgamesh establishes a profound sense of interdependence between humans and God. Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, embarks on a journey that exemplifies the intricate connection between mortals and deities. Although he possesses immense physical strength, he is depicted as vulnerable and subject to the divine. His quest for immortality explores the dynamic between humanity and the divine realm. Gilgamesh journeys to the Cedar Forest...
Words: 1456 - Pages: 6
...astonishment and angst. Thus, this was reflected in their tales and stories. The Mesopotamians were humbled people who stressed importance in the afterlife, and devotion to their gods. Their culture emerged from the persistent change and methodological affairs they were accustomed to. In the epic of Gilgamesh, the story follows the heroic journey of a man who is “two-thirds divine and one-third human” to his road to attaining wisdom and piety (Gilgamesh, 71). It is characterized by hope and forgiveness rather than the presumed pessimistic attitude of the Mesopotamians. The story begins with an introduction to Gilgamesh, the main character, who is a ruler over his people and seen as and “unvanquished leader, hero in the front lines, beloved by his soldiers” (Gilgamesh, 71). Although at first his people are unhappy with Gilgamesh as their king, the story follows through with transformation of this character from a despicable, violent ruler to a hopeful, wiser individual. The prevalence of violence in Gilgamesh’s personality is a reflection of the destruction the Mesopotamians encountered in their nature. There are various occurrences in this poem where Gilgamesh allows his anger to result in a destruction of some sort. Nonetheless, he presents an anticipating attitude toward the hereafter rather than a pessimistic one, which is presented at the end of the narration. Further into the story, Enkidu, a friend of Gilgamesh, accompanies the hero on his journey to killing Humbaba, the great...
Words: 1132 - Pages: 5
...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...
Words: 10877 - Pages: 44
...Aylin Sipahi CMLT C110 Final Essay for Epic of Gilgamesh February 19, 2013 The Epic of Gilgamesh serves as a great looking glass into a long lost culture in which most artifacts are lost. The story centers on Gilgamesh, a ruthless king who is two thirds god and one third man. As king, he does not meet his potentials of leadership as he is often self-centered and sometimes depicted as inhumane. When his dear friend Enkidu dies, he sets off to find immortality. He eventually fails, but during his journey, he came to terms with his mortality and became a more compassionate person. Even though the main characters are men, the women play small but vital roles along his journey. The women in this epic reveal that they are solely responsible for the civilization of Gilgamesh and Enkidu by means of dream interpretation, sex, and motherly instincts, because the men of this epic do not have the ability to do them on their own. As king, Gilgamesh does things of his own accord and with his own judgment. He terrifies his city with his ruthless behavior, and even upsets the gods. He takes away sons from families, and has his way with newly wedded brides on their honeymoon before the grooms. As Gilgamesh sees women as merely sex objects, it’s difficult to imagine that when he needs direction he goes to his mother, Ninsun “who is well-beloved and wise (page 66).” It is interesting to see that Gilgamesh sees every other woman as a sex object, except his mother. Some theories to support...
Words: 1614 - Pages: 7
...Mesopotamia Historically, the ancient city states of Mesopotamia in the fertile crescent are most cited by Western and Middle Eastern scholars as the cradle of civilization. The convergence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers produced rich fertile soil and a supply of water for irrigation. The civilizations that emerged around these rivers are among the earliest known non-nomadic agrarian societies. Because Ubaid, Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylon civilizations all emerged around the Tigris-Euphrates, the theory that Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilization is widely accepted.[14]The Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer emerges in the Ubaid period (6500-3800 BC) and Uruk period (ca. 4000 to 3100 BC), culminating in the mid-3rd millennium before giving rise to the Akkadian Empire in the 24th century BC. This is often identified as the first empire in history. Eridu was the oldest Sumerian site, settled during the proto-civilized Ubaid period. Situated several miles southwest of Ur, Eridu was the southernmost of a conglomeration of early temple-cities, in Sumer, southern Mesopotamia, with the earliest of these settlements dating to around 5000 BC. By the 4th millennium BC in Nippur we[who?] find — in connection with a sort of ziggurat and shrine — a conduit built of bricks in the form of an arch. Sumerian inscriptions written on clay also appear in Nippur. By 4000 BC an ancient Elamite city of Susa, in Mesopotamia, also seems to emerge from earlier villages. Whilst the Elamites...
Words: 7263 - Pages: 30
...------------------------------------------------- Ishmael Question 1 In the novel, Ishmael, the phrase that the gorilla uses to represent society’s creation of a reality for an individual and a group is Mother Culture Question 2 at the end of the novel, the narrator expresses the idea that what he wants from Ishmael is a program Question 3 Daniel Quinn wrote the novel “Ishmael” in the twentieth century Question 4 According to Ishmael, if the takers accumulate knowledge about what works well for things, the leavers accumulate knowledge about what works well for people Question 5 The premise being acted out by Leaver cultures, according to the novel, Ishmael, is humanity belongs to the world Question 6 In the novel, Ishmael, the gorilla says there are two stories being enacted by humans at the present time: the takers and the leavers Question 7 Based on the text of the novel Ishmael, complete the following analogy. The Takers are to the Leavers as Cain is to Abel Question 9 In the novel, Ishmael, the dialogue eventually deals with a biblical story. Which biblical story is a key part of the novel? Garden of Eden Question 10 There are two trees in the biblical story of the garden of Eden, as recounted by Ishmael. One tree is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The other tree is the tree of Life Question 11 According to the novel, Ishmael, if the Takers know the one right way to live, Leavers know the way that they prefer to live Question 12 ...
Words: 5304 - Pages: 22
