Fertile Crescent Could Be Addressed as Both

Fertile Crescent could be addressed as both a geographical location and as symbolic terminology. Ultimately, both options unite to refer to the region in the Middle East also identified as the cradle of civilization. Stretching in the shape of an arc from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates, the region encompasses an ancient fertile land which is said to have stood at the basis of man's evolution. Nature's contribution to the evolutionary steps of humanity was rendered indefinite which is why ancient rites sought to prevent and otherwise control the unpredictable forces. Personifying natural phenomenon enabled mankind's link to the divine forces. For the Sumerians, fertility was not ensured by one single god or goddess, rather it came about as a cooperative result of all the forces of nature. Fertility rites often encompassed sexual rituals which were sought to bring about fertility of the land. Sexuality thus was religiously associated with abundance and it symbolized the unity of cosmic forces that secured renewal. While the woman was an expression of the goddess, the king is sought to have represented the fauna -- flora image of the world. Therefore, the male and the female were expressions of the cosmos, two representative components of the regenerative process. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu, ?the savage man from the midst of the wild? (George, I 175, p. 7) who, ?with the gazelles he grazed on grasses? (George, I 175, p. 7) as a child of the ?wilderness, ? is tempted by the harlot so that ?his herd will spurn him, though he grew up amongst it. (George, I 185, p. 7) Subject to human metamorphosis, having lain with the harlot ?for six days and seven nights, ? Enkidu can be associated with the taming of nature. By uniting with the harlot, nature is thus tempered and civilization can continue its evolution. Enkidu, created as a counterpart for Gilgamesh, and the latter, as a symbol of civilization, are images of the interrelationship between the forces of nature and humanity. Enkidu's domestication through sexuality which is common unto man as well as unto animals can be related to the ancient rites. In opposition to the wilderness, the civilized world in the Middle East was a factor of the fertility. Depending on the flourishing of the land, cities were able to advance. Egypt's irrigation system allowed its development as a great civilization. City -- states like Ur were the accomplishments of the agricultural settlers of Sumer. Irrigation and flood control allowed specific areas to become habitable. It was usually the king, accompanied by the priestly class, who was attributed this responsibility. In the Epic, the giant is the representation of the wild and dangerous forces of the wilderness that stand in the way of human progress: Humbaba, his voice is the Deluge, / his speech is fire, and his breath is death. (George, Y 110, p. 18) When Gilgamesh and Enkidu destroy him, civilization can commit itself once more to cultivating lands and ensure their communities' continuity and technological development. The Egyptians built pyramids, the Mesopotamians ziggurats. Although the latter differ in terms of actual pyramidal structure, they are nevertheless referred to as Mesopotamian pyramids. The two civilizations also developed writing systems which also differed from one another. For a very long time, it was believed that Egyptian hieroglyphics were man's earliest writing endeavor. However, it is now acknowledged that Sumerian cuneiform represent the first writing system. The Epic of Gilgamesh thus transposes the Sumerians' thoughts and reflections upon the world as they had come to experience it. Enkidu's death, as revealed by the poem, stands to testify that knowledge, despite bringing about civilization, it also projects uncertainties related to man's unanswered questions of life, mortality, the overall cycle of living. We have grown accustomed to review ancient writings as metaphorical transpositions; however, there is no denial that myth and facts related to ancient civilizations is marked by a line of refined imagination and fantasizing. Either way, the analogy between human and nature interrelationship, as revealed by the Epic of Gilgamesh, prevails some thousands of years after the great emergence of these civilizations.