Metaamorphoses And Gilgamesh Comparison Essay
The epic of "Gilgamesh," the book of "Genesis" and Ovid’s "Metamorphoses" poem all have several similarities; some are the creation story, a story of a fall, and a flood. Among these similarities, there are also distinct differences. In terms of similarities, all three stories present the creation story of the world out of chaos. "Genesis" and "Metamorphoses" state that man was created on god's image and that’s when humans were first brought into life. On the other hand, looking at some differences, Adam and Eve were created by god in "Genesis". In "Gilgamesh", mankind was already in presence then the gods created Enkidu because Gilgamesh was treating mankind very harshly and unfairly.
Ovid opened his poem by saying, “He who saw the wellspring…”
(38.1). That god was yet unknown had ended chaos. Ovid's started by describing how the world was created. How the ground was separated from skies and the seas from lands. Then, he talked about the creation of humans, the four ages of early humanity, followed by the great flood that wiped out everything. “Genesis” describes the creation as a six-day process and rest on the seventh day. Both stories talk about the creation and separating land from oceans. Humans were created last after all creatures on earth. In “Genesis”, there was the serpent that god cursed from, all the animals, by making it crawl on its stomach. Similarly, the Python in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, terrified people until another god, Apollo, killed it.
In terms of the fall, in "Genesis", Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. That’s when Eve was convinced by the serpent to eat and feed Adam from the tree that god prohibited them to eat from. Similarly, in "Gilgamesh", Enkidu is like Adam and Eve, he was tempted by a prostitute to have an affair with her. He left everything behind because of the temptation of the prostitute after living in peace with the animals. In contrast, Ovid's description of the fall, refers to Icarus' fall the son of Daedalus. Daedalus and his son, tried to escape king Minos’s captivity. Unfortunately, Icarus forgot his father's warning and tried to fly, he flew too close to the sun. The powerful heat of the sun melted Icarus wings’ and the feathers came loose. Icarus fell down to his death.
Another similarity between the three stories is the flood. In “Genesis”, god saw how the moral of humankind had become very wickedness and decided to wipe every living thing on earth. However, Noah, found favor in god's eyes. Noah was told by god to build an ark for him, his family, two of all living animals and seven pairs of all clean animals to stay in it to be rescued from the flood. The flood lasted forty days and forty nights.
Ovid opened his poem by saying, “He who saw the wellspring…”
(38.1). That god was yet unknown had ended chaos. Ovid's started by describing how the world was created. How the ground was separated from skies and the seas from lands. Then, he talked about the creation of humans, the four ages of early humanity, followed by the great flood that wiped out everything. “Genesis” describes the creation as a six-day process and rest on the seventh day. Both stories talk about the creation and separating land from oceans. Humans were created last after all creatures on earth. In “Genesis”, there was the serpent that god cursed from, all the animals, by making it crawl on its stomach. Similarly, the Python in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses”, terrified people until another god, Apollo, killed it.
In terms of the fall, in "Genesis", Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. That’s when Eve was convinced by the serpent to eat and feed Adam from the tree that god prohibited them to eat from. Similarly, in "Gilgamesh", Enkidu is like Adam and Eve, he was tempted by a prostitute to have an affair with her. He left everything behind because of the temptation of the prostitute after living in peace with the animals. In contrast, Ovid's description of the fall, refers to Icarus' fall the son of Daedalus. Daedalus and his son, tried to escape king Minos’s captivity. Unfortunately, Icarus forgot his father's warning and tried to fly, he flew too close to the sun. The powerful heat of the sun melted Icarus wings’ and the feathers came loose. Icarus fell down to his death.
Another similarity between the three stories is the flood. In “Genesis”, god saw how the moral of humankind had become very wickedness and decided to wipe every living thing on earth. However, Noah, found favor in god's eyes. Noah was told by god to build an ark for him, his family, two of all living animals and seven pairs of all clean animals to stay in it to be rescued from the flood. The flood lasted forty days and forty nights.