The epic poems The Odyssey‚ written by Homer‚ and Gilgamesh‚ translated by David Ferry‚ feature the struggles and triumphs of two epic heroes‚ Odysseus and Gilgamesh. Epic heroes exemplify six common traits. They are all strong fighters‚ complete with physical beauty and intimidation. The epic hero is dangerous yet protects ordinary people. There is always an encounter with death and the cosmos. They are superhuman‚ but they are not supernatural‚ although they come in contact with the supernatural
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characters; Gilgamesh and Enkidu from Epic of Gilgamesh‚ and Achilles and Patroclus from The Odysseys have similar things. Achilles and Gilgamesh have some very basic similarities of their positions in life. Each is the son of a goddess and amoral man‚ a king‚ who happens to be far away from the action in the epic. Gilgamesh is described as two-thirds god and one-third human‚ which makes him as a special character that exists in two worlds‚ which is the divine world and the mortal world (Gilgamesh 1.145)
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Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative Gilgamesh crucially abused his power as King of Uruk and ruled as a “tyrant to his people” (15)‚ much like many leaders have before‚ but after meeting Enkidu‚ he grew as a person‚ saw things differently‚ and adjusted his concepts of holding the responsibility of leadership. He grew to come to terms with his struggles and accept them‚ which is what leaders are looked up to for. The idea that one can make mistakes and repent for them‚ being mortal and vulnerable
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Women in Gilgamesh and The Odyssey Although men are the Epic characters of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey‚ women also play a very important role in both stories. In general‚ these two stories portray women as being overly sexual‚ deceptive‚ and having a power over men. Women use their sexuality to hold control over men‚ to confuse and deceive them. One example of a female character using her sexuality to control a male character is Shamhat in her relations with Enkidu in Tablet I of Gilgamesh. Shamhat
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Since the two inspiring stories‚ The Epic of Gilgamesh by Beers & The Odyssey by Homer are similar to each other‚ what events happen in both of the stories and what lesson does one learn? The Epic of Gilgamesh & The Odyssey are similar to each other because events that happened in The Epic of Gilgamesh also happened in The Odyssey. Some events that happened in both of the stories include that they both had to overcome monsters and obstacles to get to their destination. Both of the powerful heroes
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religion and have been passed down for generations in their respective cultures. Striking similarities are readily seen between the Book of Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh of the Hebrews and Sumerians respectively. Both sources include a tale of a great flood that was to clear the earth of its inhabitants. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh predates the Book of Genesis by hundreds of years‚ the Sumerian text probably had a profound influence over the latter. Genesis‚ the first book of the Old Testament
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contemporary writers of that time. That is why I chose Epic of Gilgamesh‚ Homer’s Iliad‚ and Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince as works that I would include in my syllabus if I was a World Literature instructor. I feel that no matter where in the world an instructor is teaching at‚ he or she has to include the world’s earliest known written literature in their syllabus. That is one of my main reason for including the Epic of Gilgamesh in my syllabus. The culture and civilization that wrote
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Compare and contrast at least two of the epic heroes that we have studied so far: Gilgamesh‚ Rama (or Sita)‚ and Achilles (or another heroic figure from the Iliad). What makes these figures heroic in the eyes of their cultures‚ and what does does their heroic character reveal about the priorities or values of their cultures? There are many stories of heroes out there that exhibit the unique qualities that each one of them possesses . A hero is someone that exposes a behavior controlled by wisdom
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The flood in Genesis is not the only story of its kind‚ other mythological versions have a very similar act to tell. The flood in Genesis shows that the one existing God (Yahweh) controls all things‚ and in the mythological story of the Epic of Gilgamesh‚ the god Enlil needed other gods to help control all things. The overall point in the stories come to a similar conclusion -humanity was corrupt or bothersome and needed punishment- but the differences are in how the God (Yahweh) or gods demonstrate
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companionships present in the myth of Gilgamesh‚ such as Shamhat and Enkidu‚ none is more significant to the story as the bond between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. In Stephen Mitchell’s translation of The Gilgamesh‚ the relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh fully reveals the character development of Gilgamesh over the course of the story. The ensuing friendship that is created between the two conveys the human side of the semi-divine Gilgamesh. From the outset of the story‚ Gilgamesh is portrayed as a powerful
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