Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Gilgamesh epic, 2000 B.C., is a work of three thousand lines, written on twelve tablets that was discovered amid the ruins of Nineveh and relates the adventures of the imperious Glgamesh and his friend Enkidu (Gilgamesh pp). The extraordinary essence of the poem lies not only in its antiquity but also in the quality of the writing and the comprehension of humanity (Jager pp).
The Gilgamesh Epic, the first epic bequeathed to history that antedates the Iliad and the Odyssey by more than a millennium, is of superb literary quality, and "the philosophical intricacy and the psychological depth" of this ancient work is truly remarkable and unequaled in quality and depth (Jager pp). Bernd Jager explains that unlike the gradual developments in other cultural endeavors such as pottery and weaving, "poetry seems to have sprung to life complete in all respects ... Even the oldest fragments of the Gilgamesh poem are lacking neither in subtlety of style nor in the grandeur of their vision" (Jager pp). Moreover, the work's descriptions of the human condition and extraordinary insights into the human soul have lost none of their power through the ages to transform the human heart (Jager pp). The epic is essentially an exploration of the "mysterious paths" that lead humans from "infancy to maturity," from "savagery to civilization," from "narcissism and self-preoccupation...
Moreover, the epic deals with the issues of an existential nature and discusses the "powerful human drive to achieve, the value of friendship, the experience of loss, and the inevitability of death" (Abusch pp).
The poem emphasizes that despite great achievements, humans are powerless against death, and even Gilgamesh, both man and god, must accept his own nature and learn to experience loss and death (Abusch pp).
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells of courageous deed, but does so only to highlight the pain that the deeds caused and the new problems that must be confronted (Abusch pp). As the hero struggles against the world, he is committed to his own personal absolutes as is Achilles, however, there is moral growth, he learns and he changes (Abusch pp). As with Odysseus, the growth is symbolized by…
Work Cited
Castillo, Jorge Silva. "Isdi mati, The Foundations Of The Earth?"
The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 1/1/2001; pp.
Miller, John J. "The world's first story." New Criterion; 10/1/2004; pp.
Westling, Louise. "Women, landscape and the legacy of Gilgamesh in 'Absalom,
Although they still remain a mystery as to their origin, the Sumerians seem to have appeared as a fully developed society with technology and organizational skills far superior to any other societies of that era. The Sumerians evolved from hunters and gathers to communities of farmers who faced an unpredictable and hostile environment, yet their innovations in writing and recordkeeping influenced future civilizations. Not only are they credited with
Epic of Gilgamesh, is about the king Gilgamesh, one of the most powerful of his time, who was two-thirds of god and one-third man. It takes us on the journey of his reign and his succession, with the help of his friend Enkidu, to achieve more strength. While Bhagavad-Gita, spoken by the great Lord Krishna, talks more in terms of spiritual and conscious powers of Krsna and his friend,
Hi arrival at Uruk tames Gilgamesh who now leaves the new brides to their husbands (Hooker). Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the cedar forest to acquire timber for Uruk's walls (this need for protection indicates both increased prosperity and further urbanization), but before doing so they must defeat Khumbaba, the forest's guardian, a primitive, nature deity. They know fear for the first time, triumphing only with help from the god
civilization in the ancient Near East (3500-1000 B.C.E.) and the Mediterranean (1000 B.C.E. - 500 C.E.) shared a great number of similarities as well as numerous differences. These points of comparison covered the political, economic, and social realms, cultural and intellectual ideas, as well as values and institutions. Further, each civilization differed in their specific impact on the creation of Western civilization, and the degree of that impact. Civilization in
Mycenaean Greece's relationship to Crete during the two centuries between 1600 and 1400 B.C. is complex, as both civilizations competed for control of the Mediterranean Sea. "To judge from the known tablets, there appear to have been a number of distinct kingdoms within Mycenaean Greece, all of which seem to have been independent" (Stanley 277). Following the destruction of Knossos in or about 1400 B.C., supremacy was given to
He stated that, "I mean printed works produced ostensibly to give children spontaneous pleasure and not primarily to teach them, nor solely to make them good, nor to keep them profitably quiet." (Darton 1932/1982:1) So here the quest is for the capture and promotion of children's imagination through stories and fables that please as well as enlighten. There is always the fallout that once a child learns to love