Epic of Gilgamesh
Aylin Sipahi
CMLT C110
Final Essay for Epic of Gilgamesh
February 19, 2013 The Epic of Gilgamesh serves as a great looking glass into a long lost culture in which most artifacts are lost. The story centers on Gilgamesh, a ruthless king who is two thirds god and one third man. As king, he does not meet his potentials of leadership as he is often self-centered and sometimes depicted as inhumane. When his dear friend Enkidu dies, he sets off to find immortality. He eventually fails, but during his journey, he came to terms with his mortality and became a more compassionate person. Even though the main characters are men, the women play small but vital roles along his journey. The women in this epic reveal that they are solely responsible for the civilization of Gilgamesh and Enkidu by means of dream interpretation, sex, and motherly instincts, because the men of this epic do not have the ability to do them on their own. As king, Gilgamesh does things of his own accord and with his own judgment. He terrifies his city with his ruthless behavior, and even upsets the gods. He takes away sons from families, and has his way with newly wedded brides on their honeymoon before the grooms. As Gilgamesh sees women as merely sex objects, it’s difficult to imagine that when he needs direction he goes to his mother, Ninsun “who is well-beloved and wise (page 66).” It is interesting to see that Gilgamesh sees every other woman as a sex object, except his mother. Some theories to support this impression could be that she is different, because she is a goddess. She, unlike, other women, is a divinity. Or perhaps it could simply be the fact that having his way with his mother is a bizarre concept and also a practice of incest. Gilgamesh has these dreams that he always takes very seriously as he sees them as messages. He consults only his mother to interpret these dreams for him. He explains to her his dream where a meteor fell and he couldn’t lift it. He confesses that “it’s
CMLT C110
Final Essay for Epic of Gilgamesh
February 19, 2013 The Epic of Gilgamesh serves as a great looking glass into a long lost culture in which most artifacts are lost. The story centers on Gilgamesh, a ruthless king who is two thirds god and one third man. As king, he does not meet his potentials of leadership as he is often self-centered and sometimes depicted as inhumane. When his dear friend Enkidu dies, he sets off to find immortality. He eventually fails, but during his journey, he came to terms with his mortality and became a more compassionate person. Even though the main characters are men, the women play small but vital roles along his journey. The women in this epic reveal that they are solely responsible for the civilization of Gilgamesh and Enkidu by means of dream interpretation, sex, and motherly instincts, because the men of this epic do not have the ability to do them on their own. As king, Gilgamesh does things of his own accord and with his own judgment. He terrifies his city with his ruthless behavior, and even upsets the gods. He takes away sons from families, and has his way with newly wedded brides on their honeymoon before the grooms. As Gilgamesh sees women as merely sex objects, it’s difficult to imagine that when he needs direction he goes to his mother, Ninsun “who is well-beloved and wise (page 66).” It is interesting to see that Gilgamesh sees every other woman as a sex object, except his mother. Some theories to support this impression could be that she is different, because she is a goddess. She, unlike, other women, is a divinity. Or perhaps it could simply be the fact that having his way with his mother is a bizarre concept and also a practice of incest. Gilgamesh has these dreams that he always takes very seriously as he sees them as messages. He consults only his mother to interpret these dreams for him. He explains to her his dream where a meteor fell and he couldn’t lift it. He confesses that “it’s
Cited: Page Sandars, N.K. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Rev.ed. London; Penguin Books, 1972. Print.