A Comparison Of Love In Sappho And The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Through the Looking Glass: The Different Perceptions of Love and Companionship

Companionship and love, although both present in Sappho and the Epic of Gilgamesh, had differing views encased in opposite ends of the spectrum demonstrations of love. The materialism and emotions revealed within the texts, illuminates the view of rationality and irrationality of love. If we consider how the gods attributed to this view, the problems of accuracy in the portrayal of love can be resolved. The Epic of Gilgamesh illuminates how cold and rigid of an incorrect view Ishtar has on love in contrast to Sappho's more accurate view. This can be seen through how love was received and demonstrated within the text itself. Within this paper, in order to make
This contrast of moral standing allows the reader to see the negativity associated with Ishtar and her perception of love. In Fragment 6 of Sappho, she compares love’s embrace to that of the sun. This comparison reveals her love as soft, warm, and bright, as well as virtuous. “I believe Love has his share in the Sun’s brilliance and virtue”(Bernard6). Here, Sappho is not only firmly stating that this is her belief(shaped by her experience with love), but also explaining how good and pious love can be. Also, this goodness and piousness can be felt, which is something that Ishtar is lacking in when attempting to bargain with Gilgamesh. Initially, in Fragment 6, Sappho uses the word “caress” when referring to love. The word itself has a soft and meaningful connotation, which heavily contrasts with Ishtar’s punishment towards her lovers that was previously mentioned. In another one of Sappho’s descriptions of her experiences with love, she explains that although lovely, love is incredibly powerful: “…soft as she is she has almost killed me with love for that boy”(Bernard12). Sappho’s description is not only personal, but holds real, accurate emotion. One of the main questions that Gilgamesh asks of Ishtar is “’Which of your lovers did you ever love forever?’”(10). This question brings to light how odd Ishtar’s love life is. The word lover implies love, which Ishtar so easily abandons and crushes. When speaking of one of her lovers, Gilgamesh describes what she did as loving him, “’…but still you[she] struck and broke his wing…’”(10). This demonstrates that although Ishtar can love, her version of love includes betrayal and abandonment. Lastly, he asks, “’…should not I be served in the same fashion as all these others whom you loved once?’”(10). This validates that how Ishtar is showing love is incorrect,