What Is The Similarities Between The Odyssey And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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Mortal and immortal women inspire many of the events that take place in The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh. For example, without the harlot, who “tames” Enkidu, the story of Gilgamesh would not be, as we know it. A chapter entitled, “Women in Ancient Epic” from A Companion to Ancient Epic by Helene Foley compares Ishtar in Gilgamesh to Calypso and Circe in The Odyssey. By comparing the role of immortal and mortal women in both The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh, one will be able to discern how the feminine figures have played a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of the epic heroes, as well as, understanding the interrelation amongst the female figures of both ancient epics. The harlot in Gilgamesh and Helen in The Odyssey both highlight …show more content…

Instead, I would suggest that prefiguration is at play. As discussed in the Return of Ulysses by Edith Hall, prefiguration is similar to foreshadowing. According to Hall, “ . . . an element in an ancient text (e.g. Odysseus ' wanderings) can in a mysterious but profound manner prefigure things that happen later (Columbus 's voyages of exploration)” (Hall 6). Although, there may be no empirical evidence of Homer taking ideas from The Epic of Gilgamesh to formulate The Odyssey, the similarities between both epics go without notice. Enkidu and Gilgamesh go through a long and perilous journey, fight for their mortality, contend with the sexual advances of Goddesses, sail across deadly waters, and are offered immortality. Moreover, both Enkidu and Gilgamesh are at peace and become humble men at the end of their …show more content…

However, his journey isn’t over yet. This last leg of Odysseus’s journey is perhaps the most important and crucial. Odysseus’s nurse and maidservant, Eurycleia is the first woman in Ithaca to know that Odysseus is back after she recognizes the scar on his leg while she is washing him. Eurycleia vows to keep his identity a secret. Odysseus’s wife, Penelope has stayed faithful to Odysseus for all the years that he was gone. Penelope was consistently unweaving her web to the delay the suitors. The reader even grows sympathetic for Penelope as “we see her struggle to make the virtuous choice about her marriage, despite pressures from her suitors, her son’s endangered situation, and her own uncertainty about Odysseus’s survival” (Foley ). Finally, Odysseus reveals his identity and Penelope is bewildered, but quickly embraces her husband after he tells her the secret of their immovable bed. It is the faithfulness of Penelope and nurse Eurycleia that insures Odysseus’s survival to the very end. Both, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey are a balance of the male and feminine principles. It is the prostitute that brings humanity to Enkidu and it is Athena that shields Odysseus from all harm and brings him safely back to Ithaca. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey take place in a rigid patriarchal society, but both epics reveal the hidden workings of the feminine figure throughout journey. Perfectly said: “ . . . the initiatory journey of the hero,

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