Epic of Gilgamesh Theme - 1707 Words

Themes Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Love As a Motivating Force Love, both erotic and platonic, motivates change in Gilgamesh. Enkidu changes from a wild man into a noble one because of Gilgamesh, and their friendship changes Gilgamesh from a bully and a tyrant into an exemplary king and hero. Because they are evenly matched, Enkidu puts a check on Gilgamesh’s restless, powerful energies, and Gilgamesh pulls Enkidu out of his self-centeredness. Gilgamesh’s connection to Enkidu makes it possible for Gilgamesh to identify with his people’s interests. The love the friends have for each other makes Gilgamesh a better man in the first half of the epic, and when Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh’s†¦show more content†¦As the god of wisdom and crafts, Ea is responsible for human attributes including cleverness, inventiveness, and creativity, which enable people to survive independently. Ishtar, too, while a fickle friend, presides over sexual desire, fertility, nurturance, agriculture, and domesticity, which ensure humankindâ⠂¬â„¢s future. For the Mesopotamians, piety and respect for the gods are not true moral obligations. Rather, piety and respect suggest a practical acknowledgment of nature’s power and serve to remind humans of their place in the larger scheme of things. Motifs Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Seductions There are two important seductions in Gilgamesh, one successful and one a failure. When the temple prostitute seduces Enkidu, he loses his animal attributes but gains his self-consciousness and his humanity. In contemporary western society, people often view human sexuality as base and lewd and may be more accustomed to a reversal of roles—with Enkidu seducing a woman, instead of a woman seducing him. Furthermore, Christianity encourages its followers to transcend their bodies and to store up treasures in heaven. Sex played a much different role in the Mesopotamian worldview. The notion of sublimation was entirely foreign to theShow MoreRelatedTheme Of Mortality In The Epic Of Gilgamesh1220 Words   |  5 PagesThe Epic of Gilgamesh: A Hero’s Journey Several themes are addressed throughout the Epic of Gilgamesh, but the most prominent lies within the confrontation and acceptance of mortality. Gilgamesh—king of Uruk, ambitious builder, and bravest of mercenaries—seems to be blessed by a combination of two-thirds godliness and one-third manliness, yet plagued by his very own immoderation and naivety. The hero is witnessed engaging in the molestation of his women and exhausting Uruk’s people with manual laborRead MoreImagery and Themes in the Epic of Gilgamesh1139 Words   |  5 PagesHistorical Context - Imagery and Themes Rosenberg notes that Gilgamesh is probably the worlds first human hero in literature (27). The Epic of Gilgamesh is based on the life of a probably real Sumerian king named Gilgamesh, who ruled about 2600 B.C.E. We learned of the Gilgamesh myth when several clay tablets written in cuneiform were discovered beginning in 1845 during the excavation of Nineveh (26). We get our most complete version of Gilgamesh from the hands of an Akkadian priest, Sin-liqui-unninniRead MoreTheme Of Nature In The Epic Of Gilgamesh824 Words   |  4 PagesNature in the Epic of Gilgamesh appears to be either man’s greatest enemy or his ally, depending on whether he can conquer it at all. Those who cannot conquer nature, fear it greatly. Those who can conquer nature however, seem to gain immense personal power from doing so. Gilgamesh is an example of the latter. There is one aspect of nature that both parties fear, and will both inevitably be conquered by, that aspect is death. Gilgamesh himself is incredibly afraid and leery of death. After Enkidu’sRead MoreTheme Of Gender In The Epic Of Gilgamesh And The Mahabharata1051 Words   |  5 Pagesrepresentation of gender, and filter all chosen texts through this lens. In these two ancient texts, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Mahabharata, womens power is often belittled to the influence of their sexuality and allure to men. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Shamhat is sent by her king, Gilgamesh, to go find Ekidu. Her job was to tame the Wildman with her feminine wiles. The main plot point is Ekidu and Gilgamesh becoming friends and going on adventures together, all of that hinges on Shamhat, which in turnRead MoreThe Battle Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh931 Words   |  4 Pagesthe story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu partaking in their adventure to the edge of the Cedar Forest, and their encounter with a guard, an enemy. Throughout this battle, Gilgamesh loses faith in the couples ability to defeat the guard but is ultimately talked back into his heroic mindset by The Gods. In column VI, having just defeated the guard, Enkidu then finds himself in a similar situation to Gilgamesh, whereby he doubts their ability to defeat Humbaba, and it comes down to Gilgamesh, and his leadershipRead MoreEssay on The Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh847 Words   |  4 PagesThe Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh (Similarities and Differences) Both The Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh are two incredible stories written long ago everyone knows this but what a lot of people dont is that these two epics share many of the same concepts. Such as the nostro (the Greek term for homecoming), xenis (guest/host relationship), oikos (household), and aganoriss (recognition). In both epics these themes are illustrated. In The Odyssey the theme of nostro is very prevalentRead MoreEssay about Comparing Homers Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh816 Words   |  4 PagesComparing Homers Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both The Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh are two incredible stories written long ago. These two epics share many of the same concepts. Such as the nostro (the Greek term for homecoming), xenis (guest/host relationship), oikos (household), and aganoriss (recognition). In both epics these themes are illustrated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In The Odyssey the theme of nostro is very prevalent in this epic. Basically the whole story is based around this conceptRead MoreThe Search for Immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay1500 Words   |  6 Pagesof death and the search for eternal life is a cultural universal. The ideology surrounding immortality transcends time and a plethora of cultures. The theme, immortality appears in stories from the Epic of Gilgamesh, which was composed by ancient Sumerians roughly around 600 B.C., to present day works of fiction in the twenty first century. Gilgamesh, a figure of celestial stature, allows his mortal side to whittle away his power after the death of Enkidu. Undeniably, defenseless before the validityRead MoreAthanasia: Human Impermanence and the Journey for Eternal Life in the Epic of Gilgamesh1740 Words   |  7 PagesAthanasia: Human Impermanence and the Journey for Eternal Life in the Epic of Gilgamesh â€Å"Will you too die as Enkidu did? Will grief become your food? Will we both fear the lonely hills, so vacant? I now race from place to place, dissatisfied with whereever I am and turn my step toward Utnapishtim, godchild of Ubaratutu† (Jackson â€Å"Gilgamesh Tablet IX† 4-9) Gilgamesh so much feared death that he threw away his honor as a warrior in order to obtain immortality. For centuries there have existed individualsRead MoreEssay about Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh with The Odyssey1262 Words   |  6 Pages The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The