The Hero in Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad
'One and the same lot for the man who hangs back
and the man who battles hard. The same honor waits
for the coward and the brave. They both go down to Death,
the fighter who shirks, the one who works to exhaustion.' (IX,385-88)
Thus muses Achilles, one of epic poetry's greatest heroes. Epic poetry, one of the earliest forms of literature, began as an oral narration describing a series of mythical or historic events. Eventually, these stories were written down and read aloud to an audience. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh was composed approximately fifteen hundred years prior to the Iliad, the heroes of both epics possess strikingly similar characteristics. Indeed, Gilgamesh and Achilles, as epic heroes, exemplify godlike qualities, great personal power, and fierce pride and loyalty.
In Gilgamesh, we find a hero who is created by the gods; yet he is part human: "Two thirds they made him god and one third man" (14). He seeks the protection of the gods and draws upon their wise counsel. Achilles is also of mortal-immortal heritage. Although he is often referred to as "son of Peleus" (a mortal), his mother, the sea nymph Thetis, had dipped him as a child in the River Styx causing him to be immortal everywhere except the heel by which she held him (?Achilles? par 2). Not unlike Gilgamesh, Achilles seeks the wise counsel of the gods and entreats his mother to use her diplomatic skills to gain favor with the other gods. He attempts this when he tells Thetis, "Go to Olympus, plead with Zeus/ if you ever warmed his heart with a word or any action" (I, 468-69).
In addition to the gods' influence, Gilgamesh and Achilles are protected...
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... based upon historic events, the protagonists portrayed here perpetuate the idea that man has always chosen for his super-heroes the qualities which he desires for himself: power, near-perfection, pride and loyalty. We celebrate theism as heroic qualities in the twentieth century. Will there ever be different qualities, qualities that might preserve a civilization longer than the civilizations that created these two brutal epics?
Works Cited
"Achilles." Gods, Heroes and Myth: Mythologies of Many lands. 10 June 2003. Internet. 23 June 2003.
http://www.gods-heros-myth.com/godpages/achilles.html>.
The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. N.K. Sanders. London, England: Penguin Books, 1972.
Homer. The Illiad. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition?Volume I. ed. by Maynard Mack. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1995.
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.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or Mad Cow Disease (BSE), degenerative brain disorder of cattle. Symptoms in cows include loss of coordination and a typical staggering gait. Affected animals also show signs of senility, for example, lack of interest in their surroundings, the abandonment of routine habits, disinterest in feed and water, or unpredictable behavior. Affected cattle show symptoms when they are three to ten years old.
Of the many conflicting philosophies, morality, when referring to one's sense of ethics, is the greatest and most intriguing disparity between the Ancient Greek ideologies of heroism and the contemporary views of today. By the standards of the Greeks, Achilles was a Hero. He was the embodiment of the individual, a man of unwavering principle, not only unwilling but incapable of allowing his values to become compromised. His credo and the actions determined though it, while certainly irreconcilable with present ethical standards, are strongly rooted in his own idea of justice. Jason, the archetype of the tragic hero, used Medea for personal gain, and then discarded her, but in so doing, avenged his family and freed a kingdom from a tyrant. Heracles, despite having killed his children and wives, rose above the confines of mortality through heroic deeds, and excruciating pain, both physical and emotional, to transform into an immortal god. The Ancient Greeks did not differentiate between the Hero and the Anti-Hero, judging them not by their methods but by their justness.
Immortality, since the beginning of time, has been the ultimate quest for redemption in humanity. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh clearly portrays the importance of the concept of everlasting life, conquering of humanity's greatest fear: Death. Achilles and Gilgamesh are both on the search for glory, making the search consume their whole existence and ultimately forms a crisis in the men's lives. Gilgamesh’s desire to kill Humbaba, his search for glory and immortality and Achilles’ insistence in participating into the war although there is a huge risk of death, are good examples for these character’s crises. In a sense, they are both seeking forms of immortality and enjoy violence and putting themselves in the face of death. Achilles and Gilgamesh, both being part divine, are similar in rage and egomania, however they different in the motives of what drives them to their tragic behaviors.
Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984.
Letter From Mendel Dear Dad. I’ve been in the Monastary discovering the basics of genetics. I’ve been experimenting with my garden peas for the past couple of years. The organisms that are used as the original mating in an experiment. and short plant) are called the parental generation in abbreviation is.
Homer. ?The Odyssey,? World Masterpieces: Expanded Edition. Maynard Mack ed. Ed. Coptic St.: Prentice, 1995.
In the beginning of the Iliad and The Epic of Gilgamesh there are similarities in the behavior of the leading characters. Gilgamesh and Achilles both have problems managing their emotions. For Gilgamesh the issue is in the form of sexual conquest and abuse of power. For Achilles it is pride and fury that causes problems for the hero. It could be said that these behaviors show how the heroes deal with and internalize feelings as well as emotions. Another similarity is how the loss of their comrades causes a transformation in the protagonists. In the Iliad the hero Achilles suffers the loss of his close comrade, Patroclus, and likewise in The Epic of Gilgamesh he experiences the death of Enkidu. The deaths of these comrades serve as a catalyst
The Growth and Development of Ideas on Race Without examining the past, our views today would be shallow and misleading. In making comparisons it is important to look at aspects of history to provide a more in depth understanding of certain social phenomenon. As comparisons are made, ideas emerge which can raise our levels of such understanding. In this way, by examining the meaning of race two hundred years ago, we can discover that the concept of ‘race’ has evolved; it has changed over time and remains ever changing. Concepts like ‘race’ demand us to study broader social structures and their interaction with smaller social life; in order to do this, we must understand history.
When tales are told of valiant heroes in history, a handful stand out as some of the most well-known and revered of them all. Although the two in the title are not as famous as Superman or Spiderman, this does not make their tale any less epic. Both Achilles and Beowulf brought a new style of hero to the table. The two heroes had their flaws, however paid it back in spades with the bravery displayed in their respective epics. What is interesting about these two heroes is that their stories were written in completely different time periods, by peoples who were geographically extremely far apart. Beowulf was written in the estimated early eighth century in Denmark, while The Iliad, Achilles tale, was written by Homer many millennia ago in ancient Greece. However both heroes exemplify the qualities most heroes attempt to exhibit. The following are short summaries of both the stories of Beowulf and Achilles as well as their respective heroic traits.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Schein, Seth L. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer's Iliad. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984. Segal, Charles.
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.
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare The idea of courtly love based in Shakespeare's 'Twelfth night' involved a woman being put on a pedestal and worshipped from a distance like she was goddess who could not be attained. Only by very long devotion and lots of trials could a man get this kind of woman. The woman quite often appeared to be both cruel and fair. Courtly love was a sexless kind of love and was more idealised.
Homer. The Iliad: the Story of Achilles. A Signet Classic. New American Library. August 1966.
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