Cultures are each unique in their own way, however there are some similarities between all of them. Each culture has its own religion and their god(s) that they pray to and different religious habits. In some respects, it seems that all cultures are more similar than different. For example, almost all have a flood story that they have made their own. The flood stories have all been made to conform to their culture, but still have some similar qualities. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew flood story are two examples. We all know the story of the Genesis flood, but I don’t think we have all noticed how similar it is to the Epic of Gilgamesh. Genesis is the story of how God created mankind, everything else on this Earth and what punishments …show more content…
The flood story was told to Gilgamesh by Utnapishtim because it was how be became immortal. The gods sent the flood because they were outraged with the people always asking the gods for things and never being pleased with what they received. The god passed on the instructions of how to prepare before the flood. He said, “Wreck house, build boat, forsake possessions and seek life… take aboard the boat seed of all living things, the boat you shall build, let her dimensions be measured out: let her width and length be equal, roof over he over like the watery depths” (The Norton Anthology of World Literature, …show more content…
So the Lord said, “I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the bird of the air, for I am sorry that I made them” (Genesis 6:7) Noah was instructed to build the “ark of gopherwood… length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits and its height thirty cubits” (Genesis 6:14-15) Noah’s sons, his wife, his son’s wives, and one male and female of each animal should be put on the ark. The flood lasted for forty days and forty nights. At the end of the forty days, Noah sent out a raven to see if it was able to find dry land. It continued to fly around in the sky and then Noah sent out a dove. It too was not able to land and had returned to him. Noah released the dove seven days later and it returned to him that night, he then waited another seven days and it returned to him with an olive leaf in its bill. God told Noah to leave the ark and bring his family and all the animal onto the dry land and his life began again. Once Noah reached land he built an altar for the Lord and offered up many sacrifices. “When the Lord smelled the sweet odor, he said to himself: ‘Never again will I doom the earth because of man’…” (Genesis
Perhaps the most popular comparison with Noah's Flood is that of an ancient Babylonian story of a similar flood. A quick look at the text does show some key similarities between them however there are also some pointed differences. I will show you both and let you decide whether there is or is not a connection.
Not doing suitably what you are advised to do, are human downfalls having no recompense; whereas, following the rules on timely basis will be the most worthwhile outcome. Contrasting the Benjamin R. Foster’s and Stephen Mitchell’s translation “Gilgamesh,” to the Robert Altar’s translation “The Flood,” each story has a very different emphasis and draws a different moral. The emphasis of “Gilgamesh,” becoming eternal and what steps can be taken to receive it. However, the emphasis of “The Flood” is true righteousness will give a prolonged life. The different emphasis of each story causes the moral of each story to be different. For instance, “Gilgamesh” teaches; not doing what is advised will cause lost opportunities and “The Flood” teaches; righteousness will cause unforeseen blessings.
After reading the two stories I concluded that forty days and forty nights was too long for it to rain without stopping; that is why the flood in Gilgamesh is more realistic. The length of the rains in the flood story in The Epic of Gilgamesh is easier for someone to believe than the length of the rains in Genesis. Even though the stories were different there was many similarities in the stories.
The Gilgamesh Epic is an ancient Mesopotamian story about life and the suffering one must endure while alive. Included in the story, is a tale of a great flood that covered the earth, killing all but a select few of it’s inhabitants. This story of a great flood is common to most people, and has affected history in several ways. It’s presence in the Gilgamesh Epic has caused many people to search for evidence that a great flood actually happened. It has also caused several other religions and cultures to take the same basic story, claiming it for their own.
The Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, after two and a half millennia of dormancy, was resurrected by British archaeologists in the nineteenth century. Amid the rubble of an Assyrian palace, the twelve clay tablets inscribed the adventures of the first hero of world literature – King Gilgamesh, whose oral folk tales go back to at least 3000 years before Christ (Harris 1). Tablet XI contains the story of the Flood. In this essay let us compare this flood account to the more recent Noah’s Flood account in Genesis of the Old Testament.
The rendition of the historic, worldwide Flood recorded in Genesis of the Old Testament is similar to the account recorded on Tablet 11of the Sumero-Babylonian version of the epic of Gilgamesh, discovered in the 1800’s by British archaeologists in Assyria. Let us compare the two in this essay.
The Epic of Gilgamesh records a story of a world-wide flood and pre-dates Genesis. So some claim that this invalidates the Genesis record. But P.J. Wiseman presents an interesting theory in this regard in his book Ancient Records and the Structure of Genesis (New York: Thomas Nelson, 1985).
The two stories closely parallel each other, though Gilgamesh was written down before 2000 BCE and the version in Genesis was compiled ca. 400 BCE. Biblical writers probably knew of the much older myth but revised it so that it fit with their own history and worldview. They intended it to fit with their own mythology. Despite the many similarities between the two stories, this difference in intention is revealed in a number of motifs that distinguish the biblical story from the ancient myth:
The closest parallel to the Biblical story of the flood occurs in the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh, our fullest version of which is furnished by an Akkadian recension prepared, in the seventh century B.C. for the great library of King Ashurbanipal at Nineveh. The story itself is far older. We have fragments of versions dating as much as a thousand years earlier, and we possess also portions of a Summerian archetype.
Many have heard and have the read the stories in the Bible, e.g. the story of the Garden of eden and of Noah’s ark — where Noah saved the world from a flood that would have eradicated all life on earth; but, what many forget to keep in mind, is that the stories in the Bible contain many motifs as the the Epic of Gilgamesh — a much more ancient piece of writing. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh, the protagonist, is illustrated as a cruel and tyrannical dictator of the city of Uruk — a city he built himself. He was so horrible, to the end that his people prayed to the “Gods” to send a nemesis that will over power Gilgamesh. Their prayers were answered.
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.
Firstly, the ancient Mesopotamians were perpetually caught between the bounty of their river valley and the misery of its floods and droughts. In these ways, the Epic of Gilgamesh actually revealed the values and struggles of the culture in which it was created. It was created as a mirror of the society which formed it. Overall, this story is very indicative of the environment of Mesopotamia, as the violent, unpredictable, and harsh nature of the gods reflects the unpredictable and sometimes devastating floods of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Mesopotamia means “the land between two rivers,” and as humanity grew and flourished along the banks of these rivers, ancient people learned of both the wrath and the fruits of their natural
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.
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
One obvious distinction between "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and Genesis can be traced back to the cultures of the authors. The Gilgamesh epic comes from a culture and religion that is polytheistic. The author (and thus the characters in the epic) believed in a pantheon of gods and goddesses, each possessing human attributes and vices. The Hebraic culture that gave us Genesis revolved around the belief in one Almighty God. The Hebrew God was above man in every way: He was omniscient and all-powerful and yet retained compassion for the humans He had created. While Noah had but one God to serve, Gilgamesh was responsible to many. It seems that many human-like gods each command less respect than one all-powerful God. This idea can be examined by looking at Ishtar's advances to Gilgamesh. This goddess desired the mortal Gilgamesh and he responds by shunning her, thereby being disobedient to his gods. Gilgamesh may be king of Uruk and two-thirds god but that does not make him an equal. "Come to me Gilgamesh, ...