Epic Of Gilgamesh Heroism Essay

Erwin Cook asserts, “I suggest that the hymn offers a succinct description, not only of Herakles, but of Greek heroism. The traditional hero thus emerges as a Man of Pain… ” (Cook 149). Being “Men of Pain,” heroes in ancient literature were known for the violent acts that they committed because it gave them kleos. Whether it be the stabbing of Polyphemus’s eye in the Odyssey, or the killing of the Bull of Heaven in The Epic of Gilgamesh, these violent actions proved the man is a hero by his ability to accomplish them. In ancient Hebrew and Greek literature, heroism was measured by the amount of violent acts committed by a hero. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the heroes “Gilgamesh and Enkidu mount an armed expedition against the monster Humbaba because of Gilgamesh’s belief that he would thereby maintain his role as a warrior, experience the excitement of adventure, and win fame.”(Abusch 617) They
As Achilles fights Trojans by the river, Skamandros speaks, “O Achilleus, your strength is greater, your acts more violent than all men’s… For the loveliness of my waters is crammed with corpses… since I am congested with the dead men you kill so brutally.”(Homer 446) Skamandros acknowledges Achilleus possesses strength unlike any other warrior, and inflicts bloodshed more than any other man. As a result of Achilles’s massacre, the river is packed with the bodies of the Trojans that Achilles has slaughtered. The congested river is a representation of Achilles’s brute force, and his ability to kill countless Trojans. The extent of his actions causes Skamandros, the river god to admits Achilles has great strength and more violent acts than any other Trojan or Achaeans, and shows the name Achilles has made for himself. His reputation obtained from his violent acts is acknowledged from even a god, and shows the extent of his violent acts has earned him great respect for his strength and heroic