Epic of Gilgamesh Is Literature,

Epic of Gilgamesh is literature, history, and an insight into the basis for human civilization. It is an epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia, thought to be one of the first areas in which humans urbanized. Most scholars believe it was a combination of Sumerian legends and poems gathered into a longer Akkadian epic, but it is among the earliest known literary works in human history. The most complete version still in existence is a 12-clay tablet collection from 7th century Assyria, but the earliest Sumerian versions date from as early as 2150 B.C. (Dalley, 41-42).

Historical and Geographic Background -- the word Mesopotamia is Greek and means "the land between two rivers," in this case, the Tigris and Euphrates river systems. This area is considered to be the cradle of civilization. It was one of the first verifiable areas of organized cities and domestication of plants and animals. Modern scholarship has extended the actual area of influence for Mesopotamia as far north as parts of Southeastern Turkey and parts of Khuzestan, forming a much larger area of organized civilization (Dlott). The Sumerian period dominated the Middle Eastern region from approximately 3100 BC to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC. During this period, of course, there were a number of peaks and valleys within the civilization, but the basics of modern culture were established within that time (law, medicine, formal writing, mathematics, etc.). The Mesopotamian Civilization included much of what is now modern Iraq, parts of Iran, and Turkey, and into some of the mountains of Armenia (Pollock).

Relationship to Previous Periods -- it is likely that primitive hunter-gatherers decided to experiment with some of the grains that grew naturally around the banks of the two rivers, and found that with the proper are, they could have a more regular source of food than relying on daily foraging (Dalling). Around 10,000 years ago, it appears that the tribes of this region began to plant crops; possbly because of a climate change, possibly due to a particularly mild winter, or other social issue that caused them to remain in one place for longer than a few weeks or months. This was more of a strategy for survival, scholars believe, than a planned out series of events. Because of the lack of evidence, it is difficult to say just why hunters and gatherers in this region turned to agriculture. One theory indicates that in settled areas that were developed around a political or religious leadership, populations increased, infant mortality decreased, and the division of labor increased. Additionally, as populations grew, more pressure existed on the local food supply, requiring more coordination and organization that eventually led to political structure (Kreis).

Contribution(s) to Western Civilization -- There are numerous "firsts" for Mesopotamia: the invention of writing and record keeping (in cuneiform); basic architecture (city planning and building of ziggurats (pyramids); establishment of domestication techniques for plants and animals; the basis of religion, myth, and literature; the establishment of a Code of Law (Code of Hammurabi, c. 1780 BC); formation of formal government; economic rules and regulations; technology (copper working, glass making, water storage, irrigation); formal medical system including written diagnosis and planning (Museum). The Hammurabi Code though was the first important record of humans granting contracts, rights to families and other individuals, and even though a male dominated society, to understand a primitive concept of human rights (Van De Mieroop). Of major importance, was the invention of writing and keeping records. Farmers needed to keep inventories of their livestock, products, grain yields, etc. And once commerce began, it was important to find a way to use some sort of "token system" in which to account for trade goods. Out of this grew a rather advanced system of writing, which then led to even more advances -- literature, formal religion, and a way to pass down cultural activities from generation to generation in ways other than oral traditions (Woods).

Gilgamesh as Part of the Human Experience - One very interesting aspect of the human experience is the manner in which certain themes appear again and again over time in literature, religion, mythology, and culture -- regardless of the geographic location, the economic status, and the time period. Perhaps it is the human need to explain and explore the known and unknown. But to have different cultures in time and location find ways of explaining certain principles in such similar manner leads one to believe that there is perhaps more to myth and ritual than simple repetition of stories. In a sense, then, to envision the future, we must re-craft the past, and the way that seems to happen is in the combination of myth and ritual (Bittarello).

The idea of myth is so tied into culture that even our motion picture industry has the need for particular stories to remain focal themes. Whatever the genre, even if those genres did not exist when the particular story originated, the classic nature of the values of certain subjects continues to resonate for human audiences (Voytilla).

One of the foremost functions of myth is to establish models for behavior. The figures described in myth are sacred and are therefore worthy role models for human beings. Thus, myths often function to uphold current social structures and institutions: they justify these customs by claiming that they were established by sacred beings. Another function is to provide people with a religious experience. By retelling myths, human beings detach themselves from the present and return to the mythical age, thereby bringing themselves closer to the divine. In fact, in some cases, a society will reenact a myth in an attempt to reproduce the conditions of the mythical age: for example, it will reenact the healing performed by a god at the beginning of time in order to heal someone in the present (Moyers).

The Nature of Myth, Legend, and Folktale - the main characters in myths are usually gods or supernatural heroes. As sacred stories, myths are often endorsed by rulers and priests and closely linked to religion. In the society in which it is told, a myth is usually regarded as a true account of the remote past. In fact, many societies have two categories of traditional narrative: "true stories," or myths, and "false stories," or fables. Myths generally take place in a primitive age, when the world had not yet achieved its current form. They explain how the world gained its current form and how customs, institutions, and taboos were established (Doty).

Legend and folktale are related to myth, but are different types of traditional stories. For instance, folktales can take place at any time and in any location, and simply told as moral plays without consideration for veracity. Legends are stories that are traditionally true, set in more recent times and told as verifiable fact. Legends typically feature humans as the main character, in contrast to myths which usually focus on an ubermensch or super-human, figure (Dundes)

Distinctions between myth, legend, and folklore are meant only as a tool to group traditional stories since, in many cultures it is unnecessary to divide their stories. Even myths and folktales are not completely differentt; a story may be considered culturally true -- and therefore a myth, in one society, but fictional -- and therefore a folktale, in another. This is particularly true when a myth evolves into or away from a part of a religious system; often taking on more traits of folktales or legends; the formerly divine characters reinterpreted as human supermen, giants, or mythical creatures. The opposite is also true; many scholars believe that some of the Ancient Mideastern myths (Sumer, Assyria, etc.) "lent" some of their mytos to Genesis (Rosenberg, 450-60).

Gilgamesh the Archetype -- as part of the tradition of heroes and myth, cultures create "supermen" to exemplify trials and tribulations of their particular civilization -- usually with a number of tasks to perform, ultimately successful, but often at the cost of their own lives. Beowulf, Odysseys, Gilgamesh, Achilles, Cu Chulainn, Sigurd (would become Siegfried), and more all vie within their own cultural mythology to be heroic. Gilgamesh, for instance, is thought to have been the fifth king of Uruk (Ancient Sumer). In Mesopotamian mythology, Gilgamesh is credited with having been a demigod of superhuman strength who built a great city wall to defend his people from external threats and travelled to meet a sage who had survived the Great Deluge (the flood).

The complication of plot, subplot, storylines, and different characters all suggest that Gilgamesh was a compilation of tales. Briefly, Gilgamesh is a passionate ruler of the city-state Uruk. His ego and libido cause him to demand Uruk's brides before they consummate their marriage. The Gods recognize that this is not helpful to congenial civilization, and attempt to tame his lust with Enkidu, a wild man with whom the Gods hope will take Gilgamesh on adventures and distract him. Enkidu represents all stages of civilization -- he is a nomad who becomes a shepherd, hunter, and then city dweller. 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 Shamash's winds. Victorious Gilgamesh now rejects the passion goddess Ishtar, Enkidu ridicules her, and she responds by sending the Bull of Heaven to devastate Gilgamesh's lands. Spurning Ishtar implies rejection of heterosexual passion, obviously wrong for continuing a heroic race of mortals. When they kill the bull, Gilgamesh and Enkidu also realize their mortality. Enkidu is the first to die, and Gilgamesh first suffers deep depression, and then undertakes a solitary journey to an underworld realm in search of immortality. Utnapishtim, human survivor of the great flood, tests Gilgamesh, but the hero fails and Utnapishtim cannot give him the secret. He does entrust Gilgamesh with a flower of immortality, however, which Gilgamesh loses to a treacherous serpent. He had wanted to share the gift with his townspeople (Ibid; Heidel; Tigay).

The Significance of Gilgamesh to Modern Audiences -- Literature is one way to build bridges from one culture to another, from one time period to another, and to understand the roots of human development and individuality. Gilgamesh, as allegory or myth, tells us that the basis of humanity is a spark that was shared by humans, just like us, but with a different language and culture, over 5,000 years ago. What is fascinating is the manner in which countless stories, old and new, repeat this tale. It is almost as if humanity needs to understand its own relationship with itself and its creator in a way that pushes one out of the comfort of the warm and dark womb into the harshness of now needing to breathe, eat, move, grow and learn. For instance, who cannot understand and empathize with Gilgamesh as he yearns for a deeper understanding of reality because of the pain he experiences when his friend Enkidu dies?

Further, since our modern "Western" culture is based on a Judeo-Christian heritage, it is easy to see that many of the stories in the Biblical Old Testament are either very similar thematically, or very similar in their overall message to Gilgamesh.This is also true when one looks at the tradition coming out of Mesopotamia to Egypt and the Arabian Penninsula, which eventually became Islam.

Scholars like Joseph Campbell and Claude Levi-Strauss believed that myth is a mode of communication between generations, outside the temporal realm and, rather than referring to objective reality over time it may describe an abstract, conceptual or emotional reality. As it tries to describe the unknowable, which changes over time, it becomes a language of symbols, of metaphors, and a language of correspondence meant to communicate truths as opposed to references (Doty). Thus, for society and culture, myth and ritual have four basic functions: mystical/metaphysical, cosmological, sociological, and pedagogical. All of these functions exist in Gilgamesh:

Mystical/metaphysical -- the metaphysical function of myth and ritual is primarily to awaken the mystery of creation, the wonder of the universe, and to attach the individual to a broader, more universal reality that goes beyond our senses. This mystical experience is meant to help humans have a core spirituality that can come as close as possible to envisioning a Supreme Being; to understand that which cannot be communicated directly. Some, in fact, believe that this part of the ritual/mythical experience is what allows humans to communicate in metaphors and think in the abstract (Schillbrack, 86-9). In Gilgamesh this is apparent in the plans of the Gods, and the manner in which the overall metaphysical universe seems preordained for the hero to outline human traits and prove to the Gods that humans are worthwhile.

Cosmological -- This aspect helps humans describe something so vast that we can rarely get our minds "around the concept." The universe, or cosmos, is filled with meaning and significance, nature, the formation of chemical properties, all that happens in the natural world, and yet without mythic structure, we are unable to comprehend even the most basic aspects of the universe. After the Industrial Revolution, for instance (really the post-Enlightenment Developed World), humans turned more towards science to tell us how to define the universe, how to map the cosmos. However, from the beginning of civilization, ritual and myth have described the world -- and may be considered false today, but if looked upon as explanations for the way the world worked, all myths are still metaphorically true. Indeed, as science advances, particularly the subject of physics, the lines blur even more between reality and the notion of myth (Tracy, 285-91). In Gilgamesh this is expressed by the cosmological order of the universe, set up as a template for the journey of Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

Sociological -- Myth and ritual are part of the human acculturation process. That is, to pass down moral and ethical codes for people of that culture to follow, those which help to define that culture, organize the behaviors from generation to generation, and give a sense of belonging and structure to daily life. This was particularly important prior to the modern era, in that when humans were more connected with the natural world they felt more in awe of nature, as well they needed to feel that there was a purpose, that events were not completely random. This validation of culture makes it easy for the history and structure of the tribe to maintain itself through generations. However, this is also a concern in the modern age when life changes drastically, and we do not have a mythos with which to deal with changing times. The rituals allow us organize maturity, to pass and live the stages of life in the appropriate manner, and, without actually speaking of it, to establish the right and wrong way to behave within the group (Campbell, 205-12). As Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey, they learn about culture, law, organization of cities, and interact with different individuals (e.g. cultures).

Pedagogical -- the ritual nature of myth is at the focus of the "teaching" myth -- leading us through rites of passage that define us, and our position within society; from dependency to maturity to old age, to the final stage, our corporeal death. These rites of passage bring us all into oneness, with the universe and with each other since we share them so directly. All of the functions of mythology are tied to this concept, which allows us to know our place in the universe. (Doniger, 20-31). The teaching aspects of Gilgamesh are obvious -- each of the tablets, the minor stories, the journeys, are all parables designed to help humans live in harmony, understand their universe, and prosper.

Nostalgia aside, Gilgamesh is a parable of culture in a microcosm -- the development of civilization, lessons to learn, the process of becoming human, all combined and repeated as a link to humanity's past, present, and future.

Works Cited & Consulted

Ackerman, S. "Gilgamesh and Enkidu." Ackerman, S. When Heroe's Love. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. 47-87.

Bittarello, M. "Re-Crafting the Past: The Complex Relationship Between Myth and Ritual." Pomegranate: The International Journal of Pagan Studies 10.2 (2008): 214+.

Campbell, J. The Hero With 1,000 Faces. New York: New World Literature, 2008.

Dalley, S. Myths from Mesopotamia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Dalling, Robert. The Story of Us Humans, Fron Atoms to Today's Civilization. New York: iUniverse Press, 2006.