In the Epic of Gilgamesh and in the Iliad there were two relationships going on with two different meaning behind them. One relationship was based on lust and the other was based on love. As the epic begins in Gilgamesh you notice Enkidu and Shamhat relationship, the reader could already see how that relationship could become problematic in the end. In the Iliad the reader read about Achilles and Briseis relationship, which was a little different from Enkidu and Shamhat relationship. As the story progresses the reader will see some similarities and differences of each relationship. Also, they reader will see why one relationship is more problematic than the other.
In Gilgamesh the gods created a creature, Enkidu, to match Gilgamesh’s strength and to challenge his evil actions. When Enkidu came to earth, he lived alone in the wild with the animals and was a part of nature, as a representation of the gods. “Aruru wet her hands, she pinched off clay, she tossed it upon the steppe, she created valiant Enkidu in the steppe” (1.93-95). Gilgamesh heard of Enkidu existence and sent a harlot, Shamhat to seduce him. This is where Enkidu and Shamhat relationship differs from Achilles and Briseis their
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relationship was not based on just sex they both cared and love each other. Unlike Enkidu and Shamhat they may have cared for each other but not like Achilles and Briseis did. Their love for each other was different compare to Achilles and Briseis they did not have plans to wed. Shamhat was only there to seduce him and talk Enkidu into a friendship with Gilgamesh. Shamhat and Briseis are different in so many ways with their relationships. The reader sees that Shamhat, was sent to Enkidu by Gilgamesh to seduce him so that the animals of that land would not trust in him anymore. “Go, hunter, take with you Shamhat the harlot, when the wild beast draw bear the water hole, let her strip off her clothing, laying bare her charms” (1.154-156). When the reader think of Shamhat one would think of her a harlot who only wants to seduce and have sex with Enkidu. Achilles was in love with Briseis, but as for Enkidu, Shamhat wanted him to lust over her for seven days he did. If it was not for Shamhat Enkidu would not know how to survive outside of the wild. The war caused a lot of women to become men personal sex slave, but Briseis was more than a war prize to Achilles.
Achilles and Briseis have fallen in love with each other. Although, Briseis and Achilles were being to fallen in love she and Shamhat shared similar traits by using their body for sex. Achilles promised to marry Brisies when they returned back to Achilles home of Phthia. “You would not let me sorrow, but said you would make me godlike Achilles wedded lawful wife, that you would take me back to the ships to Phthia and formalize my marriage among Myrmidon” (19.287-300). This quote is an example of how Brisies showed her mutual love for Achilles. The love Brieis has for Achilles shows how different their relationship is from Enkidu and Shamhat
relationship. Shamhat was more of a downfall to Enkidu, which was more problematic than Achilles relationship with Brieis. After, Enkidu slept with Shamhat, he lost his connection with nature, he was no longer a part of nature, and no longer close to god. This quote shows the reader how Enkidu beast shunned him, “when they saw him, Enkidu, the gazelles shied off, the wild beast of the steppe shunned his person” (1.189-190). Sleeping with Shamhat eventually led to Enkidu death. As for Achilles the love he had for Briseis made him stronger. When Briseis was taking away from him he lost a part of himself, because he genuinely loved her. When Agamemnon took Briseis away from Achilles he did not want to fight the war anymore. He then withdrawal from the war and he became furious and wanted the men to fight without him. This was problematic because they needed his help to fight the battle they could not do it without him. Sex is not the only thing that transformed Enkidu and Shamhat relationship she motived him as well. This is where the reader can see how Shamhat personality emerges. When Enkidu comes back to her after failing to rejoin the animals, Shamhat continues to initiate him into the ways of humankind. Throughout the story she seems to be mainly thinking about what is good for Enkidu she wanted him to learn how to live life and how to survive on his own. This caring personality is similar to Briesis when Achilles was killed. Even though, Achilles killed Briesis family she still showed that she cared and love Achilles which she prepared him for the afterlife. This act showed her love for Achilles and her will to forgive him for what he done. The relationship between Breisis and Achilles and Enkidu and Shamhat may be different in many ways, but they are also similar. Briesis love for Achilles was unconditional. As for Shamhat she may seduced Enkidu to, but she also cared about his well-being. Both relationships had a different meaning behind it, one was based on love and compassion and the other was based on lust. Briesis and Achilles build a love for each other, rather than Shamhat who seduced Enkidu to sleep with him to ruin his relationship with the wild. Both of the women were caring at some point of the story. Shamhat was surprisingly caring to Enkidu she wanted him to live life after being rejected from the animals. Instead of taking advantage of that she encouraged him to go to Uruk to befriend Gilgamesh. As for Briesis she wanted what was best for Achilles even after he killed her family she still loved him unconditional. This shows the reader that one could still love after being hurt. There goes to show that love can come in many different forms you do not have to be with the person to love them, shown by Enkidu and Shamhat.
He is known for sleeping with virgins before their wedding night, stealing children, and exhausting his men. Upon complaints from the people of Uruk, the god Anu works with the goddess Aruru to create a rival for Gilgamesh. This rival, Enkidu, proves to be a challenge for Gilgamesh. Once Enkidu earns Gilgamesh's respect in battle, Gilgamesh accepts Eniku as a friend.
However, when reading the Iliad, there is a shock factor of how some of the men weren’t as kindly receptive to the influences of women as Enkidu was. Enkidu treasured Shamhat, but Agamemnon treated Chryseis and Briseis as mere objects of pleasure. Chryses was influenced by Chyseis’, his daughter’s, capture to call on Apollo, the health god, to place a deadly plague over the Greeks. This resulted in Achilles confronting Agamemnon who reluctantly stated, “Still, I’ll give her back, if that’s what’s best. / I don’t want to see the army destroyed like this. / But I want another prize ready for me right away. / I’m not going to be the only Greek without a prize,” (1.124-127). Sadly, the prize Agamemnon ended up taking was Briseis, and she originally belonged to Achilles. Because Agamemnon took Briseis, Achilles was angry and went to Thetis, his sea nymph mother, saying “And heralds led away my girl, Briseis, / Whom the army had given to me. / Now you have to help me, if you can” (1.406-408). Thetis went to speak with Zeus and Achilles did not fight in the Trojan War for some time. While Shamhat, in Gilgamesh, influenced Enkidu to fight and be a better man, Chryseis’ influence affected Agamemnon to make a foolish decision, which influenced him to take Briseis, and Briseis being taken influenced Achilles to withdraw from
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, we see a significant transition or development of the main character as the story progresses. Throughout the epic, we see Gilgamesh act as a tyrant, fearless warrior, depressed man, a man filled with fear, and a man who has finally accepted his fate. The epic begins by describing Gilgamesh as a king who tyrannizes his people. “He will couple with the wife-to-be, he first of all, the bridegroom after” (pg 15). We see that Gilgamesh abuses his power as king and terrorizes the people. The people of Uruk plead the gods to ease Gilgamesh’s burden. The gods answered the prayers created an equal to match Gilgamesh. Enkidu a wild-born chimera, part animal and part man, would
Gilgamesh can be viewed as a writing that describes the social scene of the times it was written in. The characters of Enkidu and Gilgamesh are strong males. The roles of women in Gilgamesh are submissive and subtle. Women in this ancient Sumerian tale tend to be passive, but capable of influencing the outcome of events. Enkidu is a mighty force to confront. He is so strong that he is seen as a wild animal in his first appearances in the book. Gilgamesh is as strong or even stronger than Enkidu. He is the king of Uruk and is part god and part man. These dominant male characters command the most attention of the reader.
The epic begins with the men of Uruk describing Gilgamesh as an overly aggressive ruler. "'Gilgamesh leaves no son to his father; day and night his outrageousness continues unrestrained; And he is the shepherd of Uruk, the enclosure; He is their shepherd, and yet he oppresses them. Strong, handsome, and wise. . . Gilgamesh leaves no virgin to her lover.'"(p.18, Line 23-27) The citizens respect him, but they resent his sexual and physical aggression, so they plead to the gods to alleviate some of their burden. The gods resolve to create an equal for Gilgamesh to tame him and keep him in line. This equal, Enkidu, has an immediate impact on Gilgamesh. When they first meet, both having never before met a man equal in stature, they brawl. "They grappled with each other, Snorting like bulls; They shattered the doorpost, that the wall shook."(p.32, lines 15-18) In giving Gilgamesh a real battle, Enkidu instantly changes him; having this equal gives Gilgamesh a sense of respect for another man. These two men fighting each other creates a serious mess, but they both end up without animosity toward the other.
In "The Epic of Gilgamesh" it seem like the women have all the power. The women have great influences on the men. In "Gilgamesh" sex plays an important role, and it also seems that sex has a hold on Gilgamesh and also Enkidu - not just a hold on them, but more of an addiction throughout the story of Gilgamesh. In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh has a great lust that leaves "no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of noble men. To me, the lust in Gilgamesh's heart makes him a very selfish person. I think what makes Gilgamesh a selfish person is because the gods made him perfect, he was beautiful and strong as a savage bull and everyone feared Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh knew he had power so he abused it, because no men could bear Gilgamesh's arms. Also since Gilgamesh was king of Uruk, of which he had built the great city walls, he took what he wanted.
The second significant change in Gilgamesh was caused by the loss of his brotherly companion, Enkidu. Gilgamesh couln't bear the loss of a love so powerful. Despite his astonishing power and leadership, something in his life was missing. Moreover, he wept for seven days and nights, thinking his friend would come back because of his weeping. It is in this stage of the epic that one can see the truly sympathetic and compassionate side of Gilgamesh. The grief in his heart had far surpassed the magnificent pride that he had previously displayed so boldly. Enkidu's death left Gilgamesh frightened and confused. However, the despair in his heart was so great that he could not rest; would he ever be at peace? Thus, he became terrified of his own death.
After the loss of Enkidu, Gilgamesh goes into a state of mourning as evidenced by the removal of his clothing and the act of putting on a loincloth. The symbolism of the removal of clothing and putting on a loincloth is that Gilgamesh is becoming one with nature thus completing the emotional side Enkudu filled. Afterwards, he roams the plains to live a simple life in honor of Enkidu. In the Iliad, Achilles mourning of Patroclus turns into rage after seeing the body of his dead comrade: “When Achilles learns of the death of Patroclus, he bursts into tears, tearing his hair and throwing himself on the ground. His sorrowful lament is heard by his mother, Thetis, and she comes to comfort him.” (Homer 179). The showing of tears shows the intensity of the mourning that Achilles had. Also the changing of emotions quickly shows he is quick to change feelings. This quick emotional change shows that he is very spontaneous. This quote shows the length that Achilles would go for Patroclus as he had great love for his comrade in
In the epic of Gilgamesh, there are many complex characters. Every character involved in the story has their own personality and traits.
Gilgamesh was two thirds of a god who possessed beauty, a gorgeous body, and great amounts of courage and strength that surpassed all other humans. His greatness was established through the wonderful walls he built around Uruk, a rampart, and a temple for Anu and Ishtar (Gilgamesh & Sandars, 61). Enkidu on the other hand was initially an uncivilized man created by the goddess of creation, Aruru. His appearance was strictly barbaric with his long hair and hairy body, whose innocent mind knew nothing of a civilized human culture (Gilgamesh et al., 62). He ate grass and lived among the other animals in the woods until a trapper spotted him while trying to catch his game and noted to his father that he “was the strongest man in the world [and] is like an immortal from heaven” (Gilgamesh et al., 62). The trapper indicated his feeling of inferiority to Enkidu in the woods as he says he is afraid of him. One could say that Enkidu rules the woods of the uncivilized just as Gilgamesh rules over the city of Uruk; over the civilized. Both men are characterized as powerful, strong men in their domain yet Gilgamesh is in fact stronger and more powerful than his brother, Enkidu whom he calls his servant, fore he is the king of Uruk and is two thirds god. Enkidu also dies halfway through the adventure the two have while Gilgamesh, who is afraid of death, goes on to find a way to live immortally. Though inferior to his king brother, Enkidu completes the other half of Gilgamesh: while Gilgamesh knows the ins and outs of the city he rules, he is not familiar with the woods or nature in the ways that Enkidu is. Though they are different from each other, they both hold parallels with one another by bringing out the best in each other, thus reasonabl...
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Shamat plays the significant role of a temple prostitute. The trapper was fed up with Enkidu coming back and forth to his watering hole. As the trapper spoke with his father about the problem he was informed to send Enkidu to the hole with Shamat. According to his father, Enkidu will lose his wild ways if he were to engage with the temple prostitute. After Enkidu engages in a sexual relationship with Shamat for six days and seven nights, he realizes that he is not as fast as he once was. He’s civilized.
Enkidu and Gilgamesh were the main characters in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the city of Uruk, King Gilgamesh was a merciless ruler, a strong man, and had long, beautiful hair. Under Gilgamesh’s rule, the people asked the gods to generate their tyrannical king’s competitor. To cease Gilgamesh from dominating people, Enkidu was developed. Enkidu was a hairy-bodied man raised by animals. He was prepared to accept the challenge. The two men were almost iden-tical in their courage and physical abilities. Gilgamesh had a vision ...
The beginning of the Epic finds Gilgamesh hunting immortality through the ways of old. He is trying to achieve everlasting life through the fertility of young virgins promised to another. This action by Gilgamesh caused the people of Uruk to call for the gods to restore the order which the traveler from abroad had destroyed (pg.62). From the sacred order of the goddess Aruru's mind Enkidu emerges from the profane wilderness (pg. 63). It is told that a trapper came "face to face" with the chaotic ways of Enkidu and was "frozen with fear". It is only through the love of one woman that order is brought to the life of Enkidu. He is then declared wise enough to challenge Gilgamesh and restore the order to "strong walled Uruk" (pg.65). So, when Gilgamesh is headed to the bridal bed to partake...
In the epic of Gilgamesh the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is very complex and necessary. Their friendship brings animal, human, and god together. Gilgamesh is changed by his friendship with Enkidu. He becomes a better person and a better ruler because of Enkidu. Enkidu’s life is enriched because of his friendship with Gilgamesh. Enkidu was created to balance out Gilgamesh, and he accomplishes this goal. The two men are very close, and love each other deeply. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu benefit from their friendship.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a moving tale of the friendship between Gilgamesh, the demigod king of Uruk, and the wild man Enkidu. Accepting ones own mortality is the overarching theme of the epic as Gilgamesh and Enkidu find their highest purpose in the pursuit of eternal life.