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The Human Condition In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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The human condition is elements that we as humans have to live with and live though. The oldest story “The Epic of Gilgamesh” shows the human condition and teaches us lessons and themes we as humans are still trying to understand to this day. One theme we can learn from the Oldest Story of all time is; we as humans will always have rivalries with the human condition and will sometimes be able to over come it. The Story of Gilgamesh teaches us about the rivalries we have with the human condition and will have to go though as a humanbeing. This is shown when Gilgamesh and Enkidu first meet, Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight Humbaba, and Gilgamesh exploring the unknown and wanting to bring back Enkidu as Enkidu has died due to killing Humababa and the
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Although The Epic of Gilgamesh was written a long time ago, its principle values – namely in relationships – can be seen in many contemporary works, such as the American sitcom known as Brooklyn Nine-Nine. There are several main themes that can be traced throughout each of these works. The first theme can be seen in a seemingly tense, yet somehow lovingly personal, relationship between the main character and an authority figure. The second theme is that the main character seeks out a form of glory/immortality. Finally, in both works, the hero possesses a second-self that lies on the opposite end of the spectrum between order and chaos.

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Everybody in the world needs a friend. “Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative” by Herbert Mason is an ancient Babylonian epic about two friends, Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Gilgamesh is an oppressive king, and Enkidu is like the king of the animals. The establishment of their powerful friendship plays an avid role in the epic. The confrontation between Gilgamesh and Enkidu serves to introduce the theme of friendship as a humanizing element.

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Written by Sumerians on clay tablets thousands of years ago, The Epic of Gilgamesh has been a window for the modern world to see the thoughts and beliefs of these ancient people. The epic’s main characters include Gilgamesh, the arrogant, half-man, half-god king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild beast of a man created by the gods to be Gilgamesh’s opposite and eventual friend. Because the gods control all of the things that happen to humans in the epic, they often revere the gods out of fear alone. However, Enkidu displays several acts of disobedience and trickery toward the gods, which mark him as the least religious character. Through these acts of rebellion toward the gods, tricking of the gods, and the throwing of the Bull of Heaven’s leg at

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The Rise and Fall of Hubris In essence, many of Mesopotamia’s tales focus on Gilgamesh’s epic. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a poem that portrays Gilgamesh’s journey, and ultimate aspiration for immortality despite the inevitability of death. The poem reveals his quest for a purpose and identity, which in turn can be perceived from many different aspects, ultimately molding his character in the epic. He perceives himself as two-thirds divine and one third man at the start of the tale, and progressively gains wisdom on his quest to conquer his aspirations of immortality, until he comes face to face with reality. His state of mind at the beginning of the epic, along with how it changes and matures, reveals the true heroes and villains of the story.

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Someone wise once said, “patience is a virtue.” Virtue is commonly considered to be incredibly moral behavior. By this, one can see that if a character is patient, then that character has virtue. Virtue can also be found in the way the one treats the people around them. Gilgamesh, the main character from the ancient Sumerian tale “Epic of Gilgamesh”, has neither patience nor virtue.

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Gilgamesh is an epic hero because, he part divine, interacts with gods and his story has a series of adventures and superhuman victories. Gilgamesh is a king that shows off his power and enviably shows his weak side in most altercations. Most scholars see him as a historical figure, but I myself think he is definitely an epic hero. He oppresses people who call out to the gods, this is not very heroic, but his other actions will show the truth. Gilgamesh IS an epic hero.

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When one breaks a bone, they momentarily think that all hope is lost of recovering, but in reality, when bones break, they regrow stronger than they were before. Like bones, people are the same; All throughout history, people have failed and recovered, or in some cases not recovered. If they do recover though, they become stronger than they were beforehand. In the Ancient times, if someone fails, they generally learn either to live life with mortal bounds, that actions can have consequences to loved ones, or how overconfidence never helps out.

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. John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton once stated, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” However, the usage of power can be implemented positively or negatively, depending on the intentions of an individual. By definition, power is stated as the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events. Characters from The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sin-Leqi-Unninni and Lysistrata by Aristophanes demonstrate that not all who wield power results in corruption.

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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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The Epic of Gilgamesh is the first epic poem to be written in ancient West Asia. It was written around the third millennium BCE in Mesopotamia by Sumerian people (Spodek, 127). The epic is based on actual an historical figure, a Sumerian king who reigned the city-state of Uruk around third millennium BCE. Ashurbanipal, the last Neo-Assyrian king who was literate, built a great library in his capital and preserved 20,000 tablets including the earliest complete version of The Epic of Gilgamesh (Spodek, 128). Sumerian attitudes towards gods, friendship, and the story of the great flood are revealed throughout the epic.

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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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The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story known to mankind, being written on Sumerian clay almost five thousand years ago (Garone). Since the story was originally known orally, the culture and themes from The Epic of Gilgamesh must have existed long before it was finally inscribed (Mark 4). Having known this, the cultures and themes can be compared to today’s society, discovering about how they have shifted and evolved, and also observe how they are similar. The ancient days of Gilgamesh has brought culture that has greatly influenced today’s society. Because Gilgamesh was set around the time of late Babylonian or early Sumerian society, the Babylonian and Sumerian cultures also play a role in shaping the world into what is is today (Mark).

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Cultural Values A demigod named Gilgamesh, tragically loses his best friend, then he goes on a journey to find the secret of immortality. One could say that these specific cultural values work effectively for the Gods and the people of Uruk, such as rituals, war, and making sacrifices to make this culture successful. Commonly this culture mostly performs rituals for everlasting life or immortality. Gods are afraid of mortality and death itself.

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Yet it holds the same human experiences, same human emotions, and same human ambitions. It holds the same sentiments we hold dear today, such as life and friendship in utmost importance. It speaks of human ambition to be remembered and to live forever, that can be found even up to this day. Gilgamesh attributed his immortality with enduring monuments, such as the city of Uruk, modern day individuals, in the same manner, attribute their immortality with the name they made for themselves. The truth of society, how nature works, and how human beings relate with each other, and how man’s actions can influence other things, are greatly intertwined.

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