Preview

Comparing Gilgamesh And Ovid's Metamorphosis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
574 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Gilgamesh And Ovid's Metamorphosis
The Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis 6-9 and Ovid’s Metamorphosis are three classics in which the gods are discontented with the actions and manners of men, and take extreme action in the form of a flood to rid the world of those that unworthy in their eyes, sparing only a select few. In all three of these stories, a flood is sent to wipe out humanity, sparing only a select few. The motivation of the gods for the floods is different, however. Through comparison of these motives, the moral fiber of divinity in these three stories will be analyzed.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods are simply unhappy. Man is bothersome and a nuisance. Enlil is ‘aroused by the clamour [because the] uproar of mankind is intolerable...So the gods agreed to exterminate

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    3. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gods came off as powerful and they interfered with the lives of the humans in their own way. There are many examples in this epic poem of the Gods trying to control the lives of the humans. An example is the complications of Gilgamesh as bin the ruler. Many people complained that Gilgamesh was a ruler who did not treat his people well. To fix this situation, Aruru the Goddess of Creation created Enkidu in hopes of fixing this problem. The Gods use their powers to affect daily situations of the humans, Gilgamesh was trying to be like a God. He…

    • 682 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The myth of the Five Races of Humankind further demonstrates humanity’s helplessness at the hands of Zeus. Hesiod contends that humanity is now in the 5th stage of moral decline since the “golden” age of men, in which men were like the gods in that they lived “free of sorrows, far apart from effort and pain”(97). Men in the golden age were peaceful and good but presumably the evils brought by Pandora took root in humans and caused a degeneration of morality. Hesiod laments having been born in this 5th age of men because it is full of cruel people, who commit evil against family, friends, guests and even the gods. Perhaps the most telling reason for Hesiod’s sadness is his belief that Zeus would “destroy this race of evil people too”. Not only…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In many of the stories and poems that contain some form of physical transformation, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses to Marie de France’s Bisclavret, power and voice, as a form of articulate language used to express complex ideas, have been intricately linked and they themselves are usually connected to community and one’s status in the community. In most of the stories previously studied, a loss of voice resulted in a lack of recognition and led to a loss of power and freedom. As such, one would think that the opposite would be true too, and that by gaining a voice, gaining language and the power to communicate complex thoughts would result in a gain of power. This is not the case in the Island of Doctor Moreau, where although language, power and…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    They not only question mortality, but they also question the decisions of the divine. Why are the fates of some favored over the fates of others? The gods favored Gilgamesh over Enkidu, and flooded the entire earth while saving only Utanapishtim and his wife. Comparably, God allows Jacob to be blessed over Esau and saves only Noah and his family during the flood. Both Eve and Enkidu are seduced and tricked into enlightenment, then eventually punished for playing the fool. Whether Gilgamesh influenced the stories of Genesis, or their striking resemblances are coincidental, the critical reader cannot denounce their…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gilgamesh tyrannically terrorizes the people of Uruk over which he rules. "when the people of Uruk complain about Gilgamesh's arrogance, the goddess aruru creates enkidu to contend with the king and absorb his energies." (heading for the battle with Humbaba). So, this guy oppresses his people into fearful prayer, yet through those prayers a savior comes to the occupants of Uruk. Enkidu ends up being friends with Gilgamesh and they purge the land of several evils. Eventually Enkidu dies and strikes fear into the heart of Gilgamesh. "how can I rest, how can I be at peace? Despair is in my heart. What my brother is now that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid of death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtim whom they call the faraway, for he has entered the assembly of the gods." (ll. 4-10 of The Search For Everlasting Life). The selfishness of this man to think that he deserves to be immortal. He eventually fails in his quest and…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sex, power, and fear of the unknown has motivated human kind for our entire existence. This is what drives man to act as we do today. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, we can relate more than a few key points of the story to something that is happening in the modern world today. Sex being a passage into civilization in the story is as true now as it was back then. Power is something humans crave and would do anything for. Fear of the unknown is something Gilgamesh experienced as he went on a quest for immortality. Today we still have this fear of death and what will happen to us. Brace yourself as we slightly rewind to parts of history and watch them replay in modern society today.…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jean’s work starts with an account of things that he did during the course of his life. He says that he is about to embark on a journey, and he chooses to confess all of the in the process. This shows that his work is a combination of his life experiences in this world and he later discusses very important matters that help the reader to know the importance of doing well and avoiding evil. This is because Jean seeks forgiveness now that he about to enter a new world where there will be judgment and he is afraid for he wonders if he will be forgiven for the things that he had done while he was in the world. In Metamorphoses, Ovid starts with focusing on how the earth was formed and the things which took place. He divides these seasons into…

    • 2087 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The flood in Gilgamesh had many similarities to the story of Noah ark in Genesis of the Bible. When Gilgamesh was trying to find everlasting life, he went to Utanapishtim to learn how to get everlasting life. Utanapishtim told the story of the great flood and how the people had overwhelmed the earth and upset the gods. In Noah ark, God needed to cleanse the earth because the people had become to corrupted. I feel like the reasons why they flooded the earth was different in both stories because the Gods want to flood Earth because it was to crowed and in Genesis God want to save the people but cleanse the earth from the evil. They both had similar story line. The Gods came to one person to save men kind. In the story of Utanapishtim the god…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Why Does Gilgamesh Change

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages

    the gods are angry with Gilgamesh and send down an equal of himself, they send…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gilgamesh Vs Genesis

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In both The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Genesis, a flood is sent down in order to wipe out the human population. In both, the flood has survivors who replenish the human race, but their goals are different. Although a major flood is present in Gilgamesh and The Genesis, it differs in the reasons behind it and why.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The reasons for the flood depended on the gods who created the flood. In Gilgamesh, the gods were arbitrary because they had no proper reasoning or explanation as to why they sent a flood to kill the human race. Because of this, it can be concluded that these gods did not have the wisdom of other gods, like in the other two works. These gods made rash decisions without thinking about the consequences. Gilgamesh’s Utnapishtim explains his story, “I was king once, a long time ago, / when the great gods decided to send the flood.”(pg181) These gods just decided to send a flood. They don’t give any reasoning. This shows that they don’t have the people in their interest. In Metamorphoses, the god says that people are becoming wicked, “The Iron Age succeeded…and righteousness fled earth.”(pg7) Similar to Genesis, this god is aware of what he is doing because he even came down to earth to survey the situation. This god…

    • 1633 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Ovidian opinion of human nature is that humans will always do something wrong. When this wrong-doing offends one or more of the gods, the punishment typically results in negative changes in the person’s life, and often their ruin or death. In the myths Ovid presents in his Metamorphoses, the wrong-doing is brought about in one of three ways. The first of these ways is by an act of the gods, seen in the myths of Io and Tiresias. The second way is through bad luck, as we see in the myth of Actaeon. The third and final of the ways the wrong-doing comes about is through intentional wrong-doing, in which the humans choose an action that they know is offensive to the gods, as we see in the myths of Lycaon and Pentheus.…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ovid, Metamorpheses

    • 1331 Words
    • 4 Pages

    During the time of Augustus, Greek literature and myths were highly influential throughout the Roman world. In particular, Ovid, a Roman poet born in 43 BC, retells and adjusts much of Greek mythology in a humorous yet personal style to suit himself and his audiences (Plant 2012, p. 298).…

    • 1331 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Epic of Gilgamesh represents a monumental break from traditional Mesopotamian belief. Human life as characterized in the Enuma Elis creation myth, presents a rather bleak outlook on the natural order, and Man’s place within it. Tablet VI of the myth describes Ea fashioning mankind out of the blood of the defeated Kingu, freeing the Anunnaki from toil, man was intended to serve the gods,” After Ea, the wise, had created mankind, he imposed upon them the service of the gods.”1 Thus, the ancient Sumerians perceived themselves as tools for their gods; a means to an end, not an end in themselves. Yet, the epic portrays human life as…

    • 1632 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    While Bearsley describes the artist as an ephemeral agent in material, supplanting pastoral, aesthetic experience; within the Ovidian oeuvre, particularly the ‘Metamorphoses,’ a diuersae artis (diversity of arts) is often portrayed as a vehicle by which to transcend mortal suffering – occurring in spite of artistry - on the “lore legar populi” (“lips of the people”) [Met. 15.877]. Predominantly, however, in the fabulae of Marsyas [Met. 6.382], Daphne [Met. 1.452], Pygmalion [Met. 10.243], Morpheus [Met. 11.633], Byblis [Met. 9.454] and Philomela [Met. 6.451] we encounter a number of contradictory representations of sublunary artistry, equally facilitating and purging the dolour of the human condition, with both aspects frequently highlighted…

    • 2048 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics