ipl-logo

Bible Vs Gilgamesh Essay

1006 Words5 Pages

Physical vs. Spiritual Roles of Women

Both the Bible and Gilgamesh have similarities between men using females for their own benefit, but are different because the female power roles have opposite meanings when it comes to sex. Adam and Eve were created in the Book of Genesis in the Bible and it shows its relevance because Adam was created first demonstrating the power man has over woman (Gen. 2). This is important because Eve was created to help Adam giving Adam control over her. Men having control over woman is demonstrated throughout the Bible mostly their own purposes. This means that women have to give in to their husbands when they demand sex which, is different than how sex is used in the poem of Gilgamesh. In Gilgamesh men can have sex in a temple with woman known as priestess which, is different than a prostitute. Men can have sex with these women for their pleasure but it is used as a spiritual connection to their Gods. There are differences on how men view women in the Bible and Gilgamesh because the Bible uses women for their own pleasure while Gilgamesh uses women as a spiritual connection. …show more content…

In the Book of Genesis Abraham knows that his wife, Sarah, can not bear children so she offers him her slave. This shows that the slave girl has no power because she is being used just to have a child. Woman are seen as objects in the Bible while their are sees as a way to have a spiritual connection to their Gods in Gilgamesh. In Gilgamesh, they view fertility as a foundation of society because instead of planting a seed into the ground, it is the connection man has with woman and planting a seed in her to create life. It is obvious there is a distinction between both woman and sex and how it is betrayed in the Bible and Gilgamesh because the Bible focuses on women as objects and to be used for sex while the story of Gilgamesh uses woman for sex as a spiritual

Show More
Related
1577 Words | 7 Pages

People of Uruk complain about the nature of Gilgamesh’ tyranny to gods as they can no longer tolerate the king’s unjust behaviors: “His companions are kept on their feet by his contests, [the young men of Uruk] he harries without warrant. Gilgamesh lets no son go free to his father, by day and by [night his tyranny grows] harsher. (Gilgamesh, I.166-170)” People rely on the king to protect their rights and the country, but Gilgamesh does the opposite by taking away their sons and daughters for his personal needs. The people of Uruk feel oppressed under Gilgamesh’s rule as Gilgamesh gives himself the right to sleep with women on the first night of marriage and to take away sons from the household to appease his appetite for war games.

Read More
602 Words | 3 Pages

Whereas the similarities between the two stories are found in the overall story of the flood account, the differences lie in the details of the two narratives. In the Epic of Gilgamesh the divine beings are depicted as powerful gods that quarrel among

Read More
1579 Words | 7 Pages

Empowering Women Across Ancient Realms: From Shamhat's Seduction to Medea's Mastery. "The Epic of Gilgamesh," one of the earliest surviving works of literature, and "The Medea," a classic Greek tragedy, both delve into the complexities of female empowerment within the contexts of their respective ancient societies. Through the characters of Shamhat, Ishtar, and Medea, these narratives explore the roles of women as mediators, connectors, and agents of empowerment or disempowerment. Moreover, they contrast the depictions of mortal women with divine figures, shedding light on the nuances of power dynamics and gender roles in ancient literature.

Read More
364 Words | 2 Pages

Man and God's Relationship The Epic of Gilgamesh and In the Beginning have many similarities. Both incorporate the Hero’s Journey and three archetypes: character, situational, and symbolic. Both are about man's relationship with God(s), including man’s struggle with temptation, and the serpent as a symbol.

Read More
1026 Words | 5 Pages

Gilgamesh and Enkidu submitted themselves to the female life force. Almost all the conflicts, clashes, confrontations are with women, which are loaded with tension and worry. This makes the female gender crucial. This epic provided some light on the culture of Sumeria. The story gave some facts.

Read More
186 Words | 1 Pages

The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew bible have several similarities and differences. First, the design of the woman, Yatpan, who set out to kill her brother, is similar to the woman who visits a man with the intention of killing him, at the end of the old testament. There is also the story of Anat and Aquat, similar to the story of Gilgamesh and Ishtar. Similarly, there are differences.

Read More
1003 Words | 5 Pages

So far in the stories we have reviewed, women have played roles of intelligence, power, and control. In the genesis story, “The First Sin and its Punishment” Eve shows her power and independence through her decision to listen to the serpent, disobeying the Biblical God and risking “death”, a term that was unknown to her. To our knowledge she made this decision without consulting Adam, she simply took it and ate is, then “she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate (Genesis 3:6).” This shows that Eve had a great deal of influence over Adam. Adam knew what the Biblical God had warned against, and what the possible consequences were, but he had nothing to say to the serpent and did not resist when Eve handed him the forbidden fruit.

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

Gilgamesh is not a virtuous character because he mistreats women and he is impatient. One thing that has always been agreed upon as the sign of a virtuous character is treating the people around in a kind and considerate manner. Gilgamesh, however, treats the people around him, especially women, like objects to be used at his discretion. Gilgamesh rapes women as shown on page 101, “Gilgamesh leaves no girl to her mother” (Putchner et al). This quote means that Gilgamesh forces women away from their mothers so that he can do what he wishes to them, also known as rape.

Read More
477 Words | 2 Pages

The position of humans in relation to the gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh is a direct reflection of Mesopotamian society’s view in which humans are subservient to the gods’ will. To be more specific, humans are expected to be obedient to the god’s will in their actions and are punished for disobeying. In this manner, even Gilgamesh who is 2/3’s divine, is still subjected to the other positions of humans yet, his defiant nature shows the emotions of the gods when people are disobedient. One of the most relevant scenes that shows human’s positions is when Gilgamesh denies Ishtar’s sexual advances.

Read More
1392 Words | 6 Pages

Gilgamesh This epic story of Gilgamesh is truly a mirror image of how society as a whole has been for many generations and most likely will not change at all. Upon reading the story, the most prominent piece of material that stuck out the most, was how the use of a beautiful woman can make a change so great, that men would go to the extreme of eliminating one another just to be the only one lying next to her. Men would even go to the extent to change a law or change a way that they usually would govern things if there were a beautiful woman there to have a solid excuse or reason to make such a thing happen. Women have very well changed since the beginning of time as far as their roles changing from being considered just a stay at

Read More
1474 Words | 6 Pages

Women in Ancient Literature Ancient literature often seems like a “man’s world” in which women characters remain two dimensional and rather irrelevant. Examples come extraordinarily easily for this statement throughout the history of literature. Yet, the oldest written piece of literature “Gilgamesh” tells a different tale. In “Gilgamesh”, women characters service themselves to progress the plot, offer insight, and ultimately help the hero find his path. The women in “Gilgamesh” play a critically important role in the plot of the story, contrary to many ancient texts.

Read More
1562 Words | 7 Pages

It shows that Eve was a possession of her husband Adam. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’. (Genesis 2:18) showing that the Christian religion views women to be possessions of men and that women are inferior to

Read More
534 Words | 3 Pages

The story of Gilgamesh does not forget the influence of women in

Read More
1072 Words | 5 Pages

In the following readings, Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh, women are perceived as subjects towards men. For example, in Genesis the first woman to be created by God is Eve and in The Epic of Gilgamesh the harlot Shamhat. Both characters are subjected to obey men in a point of their stories because it is the norm of the society of which these texts are written in. Even though both texts were written in the same part of the world, modern middle east, Genesis is the creation story of earth that was written in modern day middle east during Babylonian Exile of the 6th century BC, while The Epic of Gilgamesh was, however written in a different time, dating back to c. 2000 BC. Genesis was written before The Epic of Gilgamesh, which means that the norm of women being submissive towards men originated from Genesis to The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Read More
921 Words | 4 Pages

The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible have a few similar events and historians think that they may refer to the same event. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible share a similar event, the flood, and a similar character, the serpent. Though there are still several distinctions between the two stories. The Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh both contain a serpent as one of the less significant characters.

Read More

More about Bible Vs Gilgamesh Essay

Related Topics

Open Document