Mythology In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Aisha Esse
Peter O'Brien
CLAS 1100/2100 RELS 1200
28th September 2015
Nowhere to Hide: What Is Mythology
There are various answers to the question "What is Mythology?" the most popular answer is that mythology is a "study of myths," which is a collection of stories or legends that are told generation after generation. Myths are sometimes associated with or belong to certain religions or cultures; it is even part of some tradition to tell these stories to the younger children in the households. Mythology is a broad subject, the most crucial aspect of what mythology is is part of what it contains. Most myths contain Gods and Goddesses, humans, horrific creatures and a place or world in which they reside in which is called the "cosmos." The Cosmos
Myths are different and similar to each other as most stories are, except myths don't necessarily have an endpoint. Myths are not easily understood as some stories are; they often have a hidden meaning or need more analyzing than most written pieces, similar to poetry in a way. An example of this is in the book (or myth) Epic of Gilgamesh, in one scene there is a fight between Gilgamesh and Enkidu; Gilgamesh wins what seems like a fight based on ego/strength, but the two embrace at the end. To a reader, this scene, in particular, may not seem important or relevant to the myth but it actually has a deeper meaning. This particular fight and encounter are what carries on following with amazingly deep and strong connections between the two until the end of the myth, which is why they embrace one another at the end. This is a clear example of the deeper meaning and analysis behind some myths and is important in studying
Part of what makes a myth is the contradicting actions or events that take place; a prime example of this is the Greek God Zeus. Zeus is a famous God in Greek myths and he is known for being the all-powerful and wise in fact he is a the ruler of the Gods however even with all this power there are some scenes in certain myths where he is easily overpowered or seduced/tricked by many Goddesses showing his vulnerability. This is also why myths are very important because myths prove that nothing is unordinary or out of the question anything is possible. The whole idea of mythology is special and mostly far-fetched stories that one could not even believe, and some people find a little hope in that.
Myths are furthermore important because they are deeply rooted in particular cultures and traditions. In history myths also overlapped with religious contexts and this is seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh. In chapter five, pg108-113(of the Penguins Classics version of the book) a God named Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh his story in gaining his God ship-this story is very similar to the Biblical story of Noah's ark which proves the importance it has to people of different religions that believe in this