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Comparing The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Genesis

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest written epic known to humanity. It sets a baseline and the standard from which all other literature was developed. The Epic of Gilgamesh is very well reflected in the Hebrew Bible through its first book, Genesis. In this paper, I will analyze The Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis, what they have in common, and their differences. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the earliest Mesopotamia literature pieces. The story is about King Gilgamesh and his journey in finding immortality and what it means to be human. Gilgamesh was king to the city-state of Uruk. He was a very powerful figure to everyone that read his story. The fact that Gilgamesh was shocked that he couldn’t obtain immortality and realized that he will die …show more content…

After every cedar Humbaba blazed out. He approached them with so much anger that when he got close to Gilgamesh he cried out to him. Humbaba didn’t want Gilgamesh to hurt him. He pleaded to Gilgamesh to let him go with no harm and he would become his servant and build him a palace in exchange. Gilgamesh was moved with the words of Humbaba, but Enkidu contradicted the beast, “If the snared bird returns to its nest, if the captive man returns to his mother's arms, then you my friend will never return to the city where the mother is waiting who gave you birth.” Gilgamesh became influenced by Enkidu and both killed Humbaba. The killing of Humbaba brought Gilgamesh respect when he returned home. When he returned home, Ishtar fell in love with him, but Gilgamesh had no interest. He started insulting her in her behavior with her previous relationships. His comments made Ishtar furious that she cried to her parents and asked her father for the Bull of heaven so Gilgamesh could have a taste of his own actions. The bull was released in the city of Uruk. It killed hundreds of men, but Gilgamesh and Enkidu had the courage and success of killing the Bull. After the death of the Bull, Enkidu had a dream that the Gods said he was no longer needed by the side of Gilgamesh and so it happened. Enkidu laid in his bed very sick …show more content…

First, one major similarity between both texts is the flood. The flood in both stories are created to wipe out all humans and save only one person. The two survivors in the flood were Utnapishtim and Noah. On the other hand, the differences between the two text are not hard to point out. A few examples are, in the epic of Gilgamesh the story is about a King with a companion that is half man and half beast, there are more than one god that is guiding him through his journey, and the focus is his city of Uruk. In the book of Genesis, the story is about the creation of humans, nature, the four man that each bring something to the earth, and it only talks about one

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Nonetheless, as the story continues, the character changes to harmful and destructive. He slays Humbaba and is sentenced to death. When he dies, Gilgamesh remains without a friend, an advisor, and an interpreter of his dreams. 2. Why do you suppose that Gilgamesh is presented as 1/3 human and 2/3 god while Enkidu is presented as a sort of half-human and half animal before he is tamed?

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In this tale, a godly man, Gilgamesh, develops a friendship with beast-turned-man, Enkidu, who begins to teach Gilgamesh about the world and helps him to grapple with challenges. After one challenge in particular, a battle with the giant Humbaba, Enkidu dies abruptly, leaving Gilgamesh alone again, and forcing him to overcome adversities by himself. Gilgamesh is initially despondent, but these adversities eventually give him the strength to grow in wisdom and appreciation. Gilgamesh flourishes from his failures because he can finally understand the meanings of life and death, accept

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In Gilgamesh by Herbert Mason, Gilgamesh was a tyrant and harsh king to his people. He made the people work strenuous hours on projects that were not necessary for the kingdom. One day, Enkidu showed up in Gilgamesh’s kingdom and both Enkidu and Gilgamesh instantly recognised each other. Gilgamesh told Enkidu his plan to kill Humbaba, but Enkidu didn’t want to go with Gilgamesh to Humbaba’s forest because of many bad rumors. Although Enkidu resisted against the journey to Humbaba’s forest, Gilgamesh needed to kill Humbaba because he was selfish and needed to fulfill his personal needs.

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Gilgamesh was born a king, but Joseph had dreams of someday being a leader and having people bow at his feet. When Joseph told these dreams to his father and brothers this made them hate him all the more. After Joseph was sold his master saw the he was loyal and trust worthy so Joseph was put in charge of the house. The master’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, and when he did not sleep with her she lied and said that he seduced her. He was locked up or knocked down from his high status just as Enkidu was bought in to bring Gilgamesh down from his high cocky status.

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The ancient Mesopotamian epic Gilgamesh exists in multiple dimensions on various levels. In our standard worldview, it’s just a stupid 3,000 year old story. However, from a more abstract perspective, Gilgamesh symbolizes changes in human thought processes through life stages. This is done primarily through Gilgamesh’s protagonist Gilgamesh and his counterpart Enkidu. Similar to some young children, Gilgamesh is self-centered and struggles with being considerate to others in the beginning of the epic.

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The Epic of Gilgamesh gives a lot of insight to what was happening and what was expected in ancient Mesopotamia. The epic poem which revolves around a king, includes many details in to the civilization, beliefs, and values of the Mesopotamians. The king thrives to be remembered and many of his actions reflect that. The Epic of Gilgamesh show how an ideal heroic king should be in ancient Mesopotamia. The first thing it shows us is that hero kings should be strong.

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During the fight between Enkidu and Gilgamesh, they wrestled and held each other like bulls (6). When Enkidu and Gilgamesh first meet, they fight each other to show off their strength. Another instance is in Gilgamesh’s dream when he grabs hold of a wild bull. The bull responds by kicking up dust, seizing his arm, and biting his tongue (9). Even though this conflict is in a dream, the aggression between Gilgamesh and the bull can be seen.

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Silvy Elsa Mathew Hum 120 3/1/18 Paper 1 - The Epic of Gilgamesh and Homer’s Iliad The two main oldest epic tales in the world, ‘Epic of the Gilgamesh’ and Homer’s ‘Iliad’ deals with many significant issues that pose a meaning in the life of an individual and communities. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written 1500 years before Homer wrote the Iliad.

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This also explains how the gods use the power of nature to frighten Gilgamesh and punish him for killing Humbaba. This shows that even though nature was an obstacle to Gilgamesh, he was still able to conquer

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(P47.115) Each learns the importance of friendship in life through the killing of Humbaba and then learning of wisdom through the experience of turning down Ishtar. This unleashes the Bull of Heaven and with the death of the bull, Enkidu is punished. So for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the end, Enkidu says to Gilgamesh, “I feared the battle but will die in my bed.

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Human suffering is one of the major themes in The Epic of Gilgamesh. When confronting with painful circumstances in our lives, we often ask ourselves why is life so difficult and wonder if suffering is necessary. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the two heroes, Gilgamesh and Enkidu both go through suffering either physically or mentally. There are many beliefs to the reason why suffering is inevitable. In this epic, it is portrayed that the two heroes’ sufferings are the results of their fundamental flaws, such as their hubris and their attachments of to be remembered.

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There are two stories we read throughout the semester that have significant similarities when it comes to the plot of a god or gods telling one man to build a boat to escape incoming disaster. These two stories are the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. One was written before the other, one is the basis for a whole belief of religion, and one is a story written for pure entertainment. There are some distinct differences between the stories, however, it is the similarities that bring unrelenting debate to the controversial subject of creation of man and earth. The first story, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is on a quest for immortality and he is on a quest to find Uta-napishti, the man who has earned

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“Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception (Carl Sargon)”. According to The Epic of Gilgamesh and Genesis, unprecedented floods occurred in both stories. The exception fell on the kind men, Utnapishtim and Noah: they survived the powerful event of destruction. However, in the same theme of the stories, there are sources of similarity and differences.

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Literature, art, and music have always found ways to transcend the physical barriers and borders humans put up. They influence cultures other than the ones of their origins. Similarities between religions, mythologies, and folk stories have been noted often throughout time by academics and historians. The holy texts of some major religions like The Old Testament and the Quran share many overlapping literary themes and events with older religions and folk tales, like the ancient Sumerian poem; “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. Many examples of overlapping themes is the presence and references to great floods, supernatural influences, otherworldly gardens, and battles between good and evil.

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However, this leads to the epitome of childish behavior from the divine goddess Ishtar when she makes advances at Gilgamesh and is insulted by him about her treatment of past lovers and she goes to her father Anu and request the mighty bull of heaven so she may “… kill Gilgamesh on his home ground” (64). Since Gilgamesh is merely a man modern beliefs would indicate he would not prevail, but by joining forces with Enkidu they dispatch the bull easily. Though Anu conceded and gave Ishtar the bull only after her pleading he changes his opinion of Enkidu and Gilgamesh and he decides that one of them must die. Shamash the god who originally sent the two to slay Humbaba which ultimately resulted in Ishtar wanting to be with Gilgamesh defends the pair and is accused by Enlil of being their friend and not a

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