Relationships in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis
The general attitude towards a relationship in the Epic of Gilgamesh (Gilgamesh) is that as long as a man marries a woman and has children with her, sexual relations with other men, women, children and animals are permitted. The concept of a beastial sexual relationship in the Ancient World is also justified in the beginnings of the Book of Genesis (Genesis), however, throughout Genesis it is seen that the concept of sodomy as well as fornication is intolerable. Obsession is also a topic of discussion within both texts and overall, romantic desire is a concept which is not socially accepted in the community.
In the Ancient World, it is believed that in the beginning, humans
…show more content…
and animals are so intimate with each other that they can have a sexual relationship with each other. In Genesis, Adam is initially created without a female mate, which results in God presenting Adam with some of the other animals he created as potential wives. This suggests that at the very early stages of the creation of mankind, it is admissible for a human to have a sexual relationship with another species. Nevertheless, as the story of Genesis progresses, it is made clear that beastiality is seen as something which is sexually perverted in the eyes of God. Culturally, it is a man and a woman’s duty to have sexual intercourse in order to reproduce, and beastiality prevents humans from doing just that. From a religious point of view, beastiality is perceived as a sin in Judaism. An example of this is when God asks two angels to go and destroy Gomorrah, a city where beastiality is rampant. In contrast, throughout Gilgamesh beastiality is seen as socially acceptable. Right before Enkidu’s death, he talks about his animal wife and their seven children and blames the harlot for making him abandon his family. Shamash’s response to Enkidu’s curse shows that from a religious perspective, the Gods care more about wrongful cursing than beastiality. Furthermore, no humans in Gilgamesh express disgust towards the idea of beastiality and instead accept it as an alternative lifestyle. While homosexuality is identified as an abomination from a religious point of view in Genesis, the people and Gods in Gilgamesh do not perceive sexual attraction to the same gender with a bad connotation.
Before Gilgamesh and Enkidu meet each other, Gilgamesh has dreams of being sexually attracted to a meteor and an axe. When his mother, Ninsun, interprets his dreams, she says the items represent Enkidu, who will become his companion. While Gilgamesh never explicitly states that Gilgamesh and Enkidu are sexually involved with one another, the text implies that sexual attraction between two men is accepted in Uruk. Religiously, the reader sees same-sex intimacy get approved by Goddess, Ninsun, and culturally, there is no outcry or public shaming when Gilgamesh and Enkidu “embrace” at the end of the first chapter. Unlike Gilgamesh, the reader sees cultural and religious disapproval of homosexual behavior in Genesis. When homosexual behavior is rampant in Sodom, God seeks to destroy the city. He views this act of sodomy as a sin, as it is the cultural norm and duty for a man and woman to reproduce, so that the Hebrew bloodline can proliferate. In Genesis, punishment is inflicted upon those who act in sodom ways. Not only is this exemplified in Genesis 19, but also in Genesis 38 when the son of Judah, Onan, is punished for his acts of sodomy with his wife. God is displeased with Onan for pulling out during sex with Tamar, so the lord takes his …show more content…
life. Acts of fornications take place in both Gilgamesh and Genesis. While both texts discern this action with disapproving eyes, the people in Gilgamesh are too fearful to voice their censure as Gilgamesh actively performs acts of fornication with virgins the night before their weddings. Instead, they prayed to Gods Aruru and Anu. The Gods from this polytheist religion hear their lamentations and created Enkidu as an equal opponent, with the hopes he would challenge Gilgamesh and re-establish the peace in Uruk. Although the people of Uruk disapprove of Gilgamesh’s actions, from a religious point of view, the Gods did not necessarily care about the act of fornicating itself, but are more concerned over how Gilgamesh is affecting and treating his people. On the contrary, both the people and the God in Genesis uniformly frown on fornication. In Genesis 38, widowed Tamar fornicates with her father-in-law, Judah, without his knowledge of her identity. Although the cultural belief of Judah’s tribe for fornication is for the woman to be burned or stoned to death due to her sin, when it is revealed that Judah is the father, she is spared and allowed to raise their twins. The people in Genesis perceive fornication as a sin because God says it is so. When a girl is married off, it is expected in the culture that she be a virgin and that when she is married, she is loyal to her husband and does not commit adultery. Even if her husband dies, she must wait and not have sex while she is unmarried. The Ancient World believes that romantic love is a dangerous concept for various reasons.
In Genesis, this obsession is potentially dangerous as it can result in two unmarried adolescents claiming to have feelings for each other. Marriage is a social arrangement organized by the parents of the bride and groom to be. It is seen as a way to maintain purity in a religion or race, as well as a way to make alliances and business deals with other families. Moreover, romantic love did not play a factor in who a person would spend the rest of their life with. It is also important to the Hebrews in Genesis for a woman to be a virgin when she is married off. Therefore, romantic love can potentially jeopardize a marriage arrangement, purity of a race and the virginity of a woman. However, once a person is married, people did not care if a person fell in love with their spouse. Even though Jacob is married to both Leah and Rachel, he favors Rachel over Leah and loves her more as she is beautiful and the person he originally wanted to marry. Jacob’s love for Rachel also results in favouritism towards the sons they share together, Joseph and Benjamin. Similarly to Genesis, obsession to one person is not socially acceptable in Gilgamesh, and romantic love is okay after a person is married. It is believed that obsession is dangerous as it can lead to a person doing stupid things for another person. Unlike romantic obsession, sexual desire is seen as something that is normal and
deeply religious in the Ancient World. Sex is seen as something that is divine because the act results in a person going into an alternative state, a state that is much stronger and more powerful than a person’s original thought process. In Gilgamesh, this divine act also represents the loss of innocence, which is apparent when Enkidu has sex with the harlot for six days and seven nights. In conclusion, although romantic love is viewed in a similar manner in Genesis and Gilgamesh, there is a contrast in perception when it comes to beastiality, homosexuality and fornication. In Genesis, sodomy and fornication are intolerable in the Hebrew community as God claims these are acts of sin in Judaism. Contrarily, in Gilgamesh, there isn’t a monotheist belief that enforces rules on these topics, so the people of Uruk are allowed to have sex with an animal, someone of the same gender or someone they are not married to, without judgement.
Centuries ago, two books were written with similar and different ideas. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Job have different settings although they both discuss friendship, death and mortality, pain and suffering, and characters, but individually the book of Job examines where human beings stand in the world.
Merriam- Webster online dictionary defines an epic hero as, “ A grand and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or effected by grand events.” The same dictionary also defines an epic poem as, “a story told about a hero or exciting events.” The Epic of Gilgamesh is often considered the oldest story on earth; which would make Gilgamesh, the story’s controversial main character, and the world’s oldest epic hero. This epic set a precedent for all epics to follow; it displayed most of the traits that society commonly perceives an epic hero and epic poem should have. The Epic of Gilgamesh exhibits tendencies of an epic poem through its inclusion of an epic hero, multiple gods and goddesses, and it’s vast array of settings across the world. Additionally, Gilgamesh presents attributes of an epic hero through his quest for immortality, his noble birth and his battles with superhuman foes.
As human beings, we are designed to belive in something. Although the belief in a higher power or religion is diverse, many theologies share common themes. “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and the Hebrew book of “Genesis” are seemingly polar opposites. Christianity, demonstrated in Genesis, is monotheistic, and the Hebrews base their faith on their relationship with God. On the other hand, Sumerian philosophy, found in Gilgamesh, is polytheistic, and the Sumerian people base their theology on fear. Ancient polytheistic literature forms an archetypical pattern of the mortals trying desperately to please the gods. A mortal’s entire existence rests in the hands of the sometimes childish gods. In spite of this, these two stories
The tale of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamia poem that is considered to be the oldest surviving piece of literature. It is an epic tale about a demigod known as Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, and his close friend, Enkidu, a wild man who was originally created by the gods to fight against Gilgamesh and to stop him from mistreating the people of Uruk. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are depicted as strong and powerful male characters who go on epic journeys, face great battles, and suffer great hardships. Their epic tale and characteristics can be seen as in-depth and admirable, and this creates an interesting tale to be read, but the tale is mainly male-centric and the females depicted in it, are hard to find admirable
The amazing stories of the great flood that are described in The Epic of Gilgamesh which is translated by N.K. Sandars and “The Story of the Flood” which is the King James version, both stories similarly. Many of the events of each story are very similar in ways and very different in some of them. From reading both stories I concluded that there was a huge flood that took place in that area of the world. Even though the way both stories describe the flood; The Epic of Gilgamesh is more imaginable. I say that because it is more realistic to have rain for six days, six nights than for forty days, forty nights. Both flood stories have a major similarity and difference though. Both stories described the same flood but they did it in different ways.
In the beginning of the book, Gilgamesh appears to be selfish. Gilgamesh’s “arrogance has no bounds by day or night” (62). Even though he is created by the Gods to be perfect, he misuses his powers and gifts for his own earthly pleasure. He has sexual intercourse with all the virgins of his city even if they are already engaged. Through all Gilgamesh’s imperfections and faults, he learns to change his amoral personality. The friendship of Enkidu helped to change his ways, for only Enkidu, who “is the strongest of wild creatures,” (66) is a match for Gilgamesh. Through this companionship with Enkidu, Gilgamesh starts to realize his incapabilities and need for his friend. When they fight Humbaba, they both give moral support to each other when the other is scared. Another event that changes Gilgamesh’s character is the death of Enkidu. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh goes through the suffering of losing a loved one. Gilgamesh experiences a pain, which no worldly pleasure can ease. By this experience Gilgamesh starts to understand his vulnerability toward death and pain. Losing his best friend causes Gilgamesh to be melancholic. At this point Gilgamesh is humbled by the fact that even he could not escape the wrath of death. Gilgamesh goes from this arrogant king to a lonely grieving person with fear of death in his heart.
In the beginning of the story we see Gilgamesh as a womanizer. His submissive behavior is driven by his own self-sufficiency. When Enkidu forces him to see the reality of his own vanity, Gilgamesh withdraws from his obsession and embarks on a new quest with Enkidu; one that will fill his other ego, his masculinity.
A good number of people know the famous story of the Genesis flood, but do they know how it resembles to the Gilgamesh flood story? It is mind bending how the main stories are so alike. The main theme is the biggest similarity between the two. They also differ greatly in the smaller details in the events that take place. In both stories the number of days for events are different, but the same basic event takes place. Along with many other similarities and differences. The stories are very much the same, but when comparing the details within they are very different.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk Gilgamesh was a harsh ruler and would not leave any women in the land alone, so his subjects plead with the gods to create a rival for him, the gods then create Enkidu who is uncivilized and runs free with animals until Gilgamesh uses his servant/slave to civilize Enkidu. A hunter take Shamhat, a servant to Gilgamesh, to Enkidu and she is ordered to sleep with Enkidu and “do for him the primitive man as women do” (GHM, 117). This act of using a woman to cause desire in Enkidu then fulfill his desires demonstrates how men used women for their own needs. From this we can infer that ancient greeks believed women could be used for the sexual desires of men as the harlot Shamhat was. In addition, at the beginning of the story Gilgamesh’s behavior before Enkidu’s arrival supports this claim as well. Gilgamesh is described as not leaving the women of Uruk alone whether they were the daughters of warriors or the brides of young men (GHM, 115-116). Gilgamesh’s use of women to fulfill his sexual needs/desires reflects how ancient greeks believed women should be used for the pleasure of men. Furthermore, in the Phoenician History of Kronos which describes the power struggle between Kronos and his father Ouranos, the beginning of the text discusses how Ouranos would leave his wife
Gilgamesh thinks he has the right to rape young women on their wedding night. He "leaves no virgin to her husband." He violates those women's rights to their virginity. He also takes robs them of their dignity. They are supposed to lose their virginity to their husband's on the night of their marriage. These young women did not spend all of their lives saving their virginity to give to Gilgamesh, a terrible man with no remorse for the crimes he commits every day.
Love and Death in The Epic of Gilgamesh Abstract: The most interesting stories invariably are about love and death. These two themes underlie the Epic of Gilgamesh, a mythic tale of the quest for immortality. Gilgamesh, profoundly affected by the death of his friend Enkidu at the hands of the gods, questions the injustice of life. Finding no answer, he of course tries to change—indeed, eliminate—the question by seeking immortality.
In Greek culture the primary sexual deviation was homosexuality, though it isn’t quite that simple. Homosexual relations were acceptable in a limited form, known as pederasty, between a mature man and adolescent boys who had not yet reached full maturity (Freeman, 218-219). There were even courtship rituals in place for these pederastic relationships (Freeman, 219). Yet homosexual actions that did not constitute as pederasty, or engaging in homosexual prostitution, were both considered so highly unacceptable that the offender would lose his citizenship if caught (Freeman, 219 & 254). In contrast to Athens, there was the Spartan and Thebian culture which also appear to have engaged in homosexual relationships, but under the auspices of brotherhood and soldiering (Freeman, 227 & 305). While it is theoretical speculation, it appears that prior to marriage the Spartan males engaged in homosexual relationships, and that their consummation ritual suggests a crossing over from homosexuality into the heterosexual world of marriage (Freeman, 227). Thebian homosexuality existed among their elite warriors, who were homosexually pair-bonded with each other (Freeman, 305). There are several other notable mentions of deviant behavior in Greek history, among them necrophilia and incest, yet these are considered deviations in almost every culture throughout history (Freeman, 165,
The Epic of Gilgamesh has many similarities to the Bible, especially in Genesis and it’s not just that the both begin with the letter “g”’! One major similarity being the flood story that is told in both works. The two stories are very similar but also very different. Another being the use of serpents in both works and how they represent the same thing. A third similarity being the power of God or gods and the influence they have on the people of the stories. Within these similarities there are also differences that need to be pointed out as well.
Love and companionship with a mix of morality, death, and fear are the motivating factors that caused change within Gilgamesh. “The goddess Aruru, mother of creation, had designed his body, made him the strongest of men - huge, handsome, radiant, perfect.” (72; Book I), however, Gilgamesh lacked compassion and knowledge. Gilgamesh, as king, was able to do as he wanted, from killing innocent men, or getting any women or sexual act, solely because he had power over his people.
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 Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.