The Epic Of Gilgamesh Analysis
The Epic of Gilgamesh
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a legendary king of Uruk in South Baby-lonia (van Reeth 1994). He was the fifth ruler of Uruk after the deluge and possibly ruled Uruk around 2800 BCE (van Reeth 1994).
The Epic itself was originally conveyed in oral form, but was written down in Sumerian using cuneiform writing on clay tablets around 2000 BCE (Hooker
1996). Many fragments of the epic also survive in other languages such as Hurrian and Hittite (Hooker 1996). The most complete surviving version of the Epic was written in Akkian on twelve tablets (Hooker 1996); these were “Written down according to the original and collated in the palace of Ashurbani- pal, King of the tablets is named: Shin-eqi-unninni (Hooker …show more content…
Gilgamesh wisely refuses, pointing out that Ishtar is immortal and her love for him will soon fade. And when it does, her treacherous heart will seek someone else and she will get rid of Gilgamesh, as she has done with all her other husbands in the past.Seething with rage at Gilgamesh 's rejection, Ishtar goes to her father Anu and demands to have the Bull of Heaven so she can set it upon Gilgamesh 's city and watch it kill Gilgamesh. Anu is surprised at Ishtar 's anger, as he knows all of the things Gilgamesh has said to her to be true. He cautions her daughter, warning that the bull will unleash seven years of famine. Throwing herself into a rage, Ishtar threatens to unleash all of the dead in the underworld to prey upon the living if her father does not let her use the bull. Finally, Anu consents.A crack opens up in the ground and swallows one hundred men. The bull emerges, bellowing and shaking the entire city of Urk. Another crack opens up and swallows another one hundred men. But before the bull can do this a third time, Gilgamesh engages it in battle, grabbing it by the horns. He calls to Enkidu and together the wrestle the bull to the ground and kill it. Gilgamesh then tears out the bull 's heart and sacrifices it as an offering to Shamash. Ishtar screams in rage, but Gilgamesh threatens to do the same to her if she comes any closer. After scrubbing the gore from their bodies, Gilgamesh and Enkidu parade around the city and bask in the praise of the citizens of Urk.However, Enkidu wakes up troubled in the middle of the night. The gods have called a counsel, and he nervously wonders
The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a legendary king of Uruk in South Baby-lonia (van Reeth 1994). He was the fifth ruler of Uruk after the deluge and possibly ruled Uruk around 2800 BCE (van Reeth 1994).
The Epic itself was originally conveyed in oral form, but was written down in Sumerian using cuneiform writing on clay tablets around 2000 BCE (Hooker
1996). Many fragments of the epic also survive in other languages such as Hurrian and Hittite (Hooker 1996). The most complete surviving version of the Epic was written in Akkian on twelve tablets (Hooker 1996); these were “Written down according to the original and collated in the palace of Ashurbani- pal, King of the tablets is named: Shin-eqi-unninni (Hooker …show more content…
Gilgamesh wisely refuses, pointing out that Ishtar is immortal and her love for him will soon fade. And when it does, her treacherous heart will seek someone else and she will get rid of Gilgamesh, as she has done with all her other husbands in the past.Seething with rage at Gilgamesh 's rejection, Ishtar goes to her father Anu and demands to have the Bull of Heaven so she can set it upon Gilgamesh 's city and watch it kill Gilgamesh. Anu is surprised at Ishtar 's anger, as he knows all of the things Gilgamesh has said to her to be true. He cautions her daughter, warning that the bull will unleash seven years of famine. Throwing herself into a rage, Ishtar threatens to unleash all of the dead in the underworld to prey upon the living if her father does not let her use the bull. Finally, Anu consents.A crack opens up in the ground and swallows one hundred men. The bull emerges, bellowing and shaking the entire city of Urk. Another crack opens up and swallows another one hundred men. But before the bull can do this a third time, Gilgamesh engages it in battle, grabbing it by the horns. He calls to Enkidu and together the wrestle the bull to the ground and kill it. Gilgamesh then tears out the bull 's heart and sacrifices it as an offering to Shamash. Ishtar screams in rage, but Gilgamesh threatens to do the same to her if she comes any closer. After scrubbing the gore from their bodies, Gilgamesh and Enkidu parade around the city and bask in the praise of the citizens of Urk.However, Enkidu wakes up troubled in the middle of the night. The gods have called a counsel, and he nervously wonders