LitWiki - User contributions [en]

Medea

2005-04-02T22:45:10Z

Whobbs: /* Characters */

== Summary ==

[[Image:MedeaChariot.jpeg|thumb|Medea’s Chariot]]Medea’s husband has left her for another woman. The daughter of King Kreon. She despises him for doing so, and curses him and his father. King Kreon has allowed her to stay in Corinth one more day, as long as she doesn’t do any evil. Jason was trying to tell Medea he was doing it for her and the children. Marry into prosperity. Then they would have brother and sisters of royalty. Medea says it is still evil to betray your wife in that way. Jason offers her some alimony, child support, and contacts with his friends that will help her once she and the kids have left the city. Medea refuses to take anything from him. Her friend Aigeus visits Medea. She asked him to make an oath to the gods that if she escapes her city on her own will; he will keep her with him safely and will not turn her over to her enemies (Jason & Kreon). Medea plans to kill the bride with poison. Medea sends the children with Jason to the bride with the poison dress and crown. She and her father die an awful death with suffering as well. Medea then kills the children, even though the chorus told her not to do so. Jason returns looking for Medea. She is on a chariot built by her father, and ready to flee to Aigeus. Jason desperately wants to kiss his dead children or even bury them but Medea refuses to give him the satisfaction. Medea succeeds in her plan and Jason is lonely and tormented.

== Themes and Motifs ==

== Historical Context ==

== Feminist Concerns ==

== Characters ==
* [[Jason]]

* [[Medea]]
Medea is the princess of the Isle of Colchis.(642) She falls in love with a man named Jason when he reached the land of Colchis in pursuit of the Golden Fleece.(642) Medea falls in love with Jason, helps him steal the Golden Fleece from her own country and leaves with him.(642) She eventually marries Jason and has children with him as they have moved to live in exile in Corinth.(643)

Medea learns Jason has been dipping his noodle in the King of Corinth’s daughter.(643) She learns he has intentions of marrying her and leaving Medea and the kids to fend for themselves.(647) Kreon, King of Corinth, hears of Medea’s anger with Jason and the king’s daughter.(648) Kreon approaches Medea and sentences her to exile.(648)

Nothing like a woman scorned as Medea in her angered state plans for the demise of her husband, his new bride to be, and her father.(658) Medea first covers her base by finding a safe place to live in exile. (656) King Aigeus, King of Athens, agrees that if she can find her way to his doorstep she can stay forever and be safe.(656)

Now Medea plans the way to kill Jason’s bride to be and anyone who touches her.(658) She plans to poison two bridal gifts for Jason’s new bride and have the children hand deliver them to her.(659) Jason falls for the plan and takes the children to his bride to be where she receives her gifts and puts them on falling to her death.(664) The children return to Medea where she kills them right before Jason returns to find out what dastardly deed she has done.(669) Medea escapes Corinth with her dead children on a dragon drawn chariot given to her by Helios, her father’s father to protect her from her enemies.(670) She escapes to live in Athens and Jason never sees his children again.(670)

== Commentaries ==
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000320.shtml Euripides' ''Medea'': Patriarchal Terrorism]]

== External Links ==

[[Category:World Literature]]

Medea

2005-04-02T22:44:15Z

Whobbs: /* Characters */

== Summary ==

[[Image:MedeaChariot.jpeg|thumb|Medea’s Chariot]]Medea’s husband has left her for another woman. The daughter of King Kreon. She despises him for doing so, and curses him and his father. King Kreon has allowed her to stay in Corinth one more day, as long as she doesn’t do any evil. Jason was trying to tell Medea he was doing it for her and the children. Marry into prosperity. Then they would have brother and sisters of royalty. Medea says it is still evil to betray your wife in that way. Jason offers her some alimony, child support, and contacts with his friends that will help her once she and the kids have left the city. Medea refuses to take anything from him. Her friend Aigeus visits Medea. She asked him to make an oath to the gods that if she escapes her city on her own will; he will keep her with him safely and will not turn her over to her enemies (Jason & Kreon). Medea plans to kill the bride with poison. Medea sends the children with Jason to the bride with the poison dress and crown. She and her father die an awful death with suffering as well. Medea then kills the children, even though the chorus told her not to do so. Jason returns looking for Medea. She is on a chariot built by her father, and ready to flee to Aigeus. Jason desperately wants to kiss his dead children or even bury them but Medea refuses to give him the satisfaction. Medea succeeds in her plan and Jason is lonely and tormented.

== Themes and Motifs ==

== Historical Context ==

== Feminist Concerns ==

== Characters ==
* [[Jason]]

* [[Medea]]
Medea is the princess of the isle of Colchis.(642) She falls in love with a man named Jason when he reached the land of Colchis in pursuit of the Golden Fleece.(642) Medea falls in love with Jason, helps him steal the Golden Fleece from her own country and leaves with him.(642) She eventually marries Jason and has children with him as they have moved to live in exile in Corinth.(643)

Medea learns Jason has been dipping his noodle in the King of Corinth’s daughter.(643) She learns he has intentions of marrying her and leaving Medea and the kids to fend for themselves.(647) Kreon, King of Corinth, hears of Medea’s anger with Jason and the king’s daughter.(648) Kreon approaches Medea and sentences her to exile.(648)

Nothing like a woman scorned as Medea in her angered state plans for the demise of her husband, his new bride to be, and her father.(658) Medea first covers her base by finding a safe place to live in exile. (656) King Aigeus, King of Athens, agrees that if she can find her way to his doorstep she can stay forever and be safe.(656)

Now Medea plans the way to kill Jason’s bride to be and anyone who touches her.(658) She plans to poison two bridal gifts for Jason’s new bride and have the children hand deliver them to her.(659) Jason falls for the plan and takes the children to his bride to be where she receives her gifts and puts them on falling to her death.(664) The children return to Medea where she kills them right before Jason returns to find out what dastardly deed she has done.(669) Medea escapes Corinth with her dead children on a dragon drawn chariot given to her by Helios, her father’s father to protect her from her enemies.(670) She escapes to live in Athens and Jason never sees his children again.(670)

== Commentaries ==
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000320.shtml Euripides' ''Medea'': Patriarchal Terrorism]]

== External Links ==

[[Category:World Literature]]

Helen

2005-02-20T21:13:40Z

Whobbs:

Helen of Sparta was the woman that launched a thousand ships and started one of the most memorable wars of literary history. She was the wife of Menelaus. She lived happily with him for a number of years and had a daughter with him, Hermione.

During a visit to Menelaus's home, the King of Troy's son, Paris saw her and was attracted to her. There are many different accounts of Helen. Some have us believing she was abducted by Paris. In others she ran off with him.

Regardless, Paris swept her off her feet took her back to Troy with him where she became his wife. This was the making of Helen of Troy. Helen had several children with Paris. She stayed with him until the Acheans seized the city of Troy almost 19 years later. Here she was reunited with Menelaus and remained at his side for the balance of their lives.

'''Works cited:'''
(www.pantheon.org, 1/10/2004)
(www.about.com, 2004)
(www.bulfinch.org, 1996-2004)

The Odyssey

2005-02-05T21:47:38Z

Whobbs: /* Characters */

[[Image:Chagall-odyssey.jpg|thumb|The Odyssey, by Chagall]] [[Homer]]’s [[The Odyssey|Odyssey]] is a ''nostos'', or an [[Epic Poetry | epic]] of return, and asks can one come home again, especially after years of bloody war? In fact, an odyssey is now meant generally as a long journey home, much like Odysseus’ after the fall of Troy. The [[The Odyssey|Odyssey]] attempts to remake order after the chaos of war. [[Odysseus]], a young man when [[Agamemnon]] and [[Menelaos]] recruited him for the campaign against Ilium, is now a middle-aged survivor and veteran of that war who must be smarter than the champion Achilles and the leader [[Agamemnon]] in order to return home and set his lands in order. War almost seems easy in the light of [[Odysseus]]’ journey — at least in war, he knew his enemies. Enemies during peacetime wear many masks; [[Odysseus]] must do the same if he is to survive.

== Internal Links ==

* [[Homer]]
* [[The Odyssey Summary]]

=== Characters ===
* [[Kalypso]]
* [[Telemakhos]]

== External Links ==
* [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Odysseus.html Odysseus] — A background on the ''Odyssey'' and Odysseus
* [http://www.davidclaudon.com/odyssey/questions.html A Study Guide by David Claudon]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000167.shtml Myth and the Odyssey]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000314.shtml The Odyssey: General Notes]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000313.shtml The Telemachiad] (books 1-4 of the Odyssey)
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000038.shtml Odysseus and the Poet]: Notes on Book VIII
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000316.shtml The Odyssey: Notes on Book IX]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000317.shtml The Odyssey: Notes on Book X]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000215.shtml Poor Confusing Elpenor]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000318.shtml The Odyssey: Notes on Book XI]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000318.shtml The Odyssey: The Lessons of Hell] (more on Books XI and XII)
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000319.shtml The Odyssey: Odysseus’ Return]

[[Category:World Literature|Odyssey]]

Kalypso

2005-02-05T21:43:50Z

Whobbs:

Kalypso, also known as the queenly nymph, is said to be the daughter of Atlas. Kalypso was in love with Odysseus and caused him much sadness. Odysseus's ship was smashed and all his shipmates were drowned. He washed ashore on Kalypso's island, Ogygia. Kalypso loved him and wanted to keep him as her immortal husband but he was determined to return to his home in Ithaka and to his wife Penelope and son Telemakhos. Kalypso, tried to charm Odysseus, but as the years passed, he cried for his lonely son and wife. (www.messagenet.com, 1998)

The grey-eyed goddess, Athena, told Zeus that her heart was broken for Odysseus as he was trapped on Kalypso's island. She asked Zeus to help. He responded by sending Hermes to the Island to tell Kalypso to free Odysseus. (Norton Anthology World Masterpieces, 7th edition, The Odyssey, Book 1, pp.210-211)

Kalypso, greeted Hermes and they ate and drank. Hermes told Kalypso of Zeus's request and even though she didn't want to lose Odysseus, she would grant do as Zeus wanted. She hoped to win over the love of Odysseus. She wouldn't provide a way for Odysseus to return home. However, she provided tools for Odysseus to build a raft. Odysseus built the raft for himself. Upon preparing to leave, Kalypso, in her loving nature, gave Odysseus provisions and sent him on his way with a good wind to speed him home. Kalypso and Odysseus had 2 daughters. (www.kalypsosilk.com)

The Odyssey

2005-02-05T21:23:07Z

Whobbs: /* Internal Links */

[[Image:Chagall-odyssey.jpg|thumb|The Odyssey, by Chagall]] [[Homer]]’s [[The Odyssey|Odyssey]] is a ''nostos'', or an [[Epic Poetry | epic]] of return, and asks can one come home again, especially after years of bloody war? In fact, an odyssey is now meant generally as a long journey home, much like Odysseus’ after the fall of Troy. The [[The Odyssey|Odyssey]] attempts to remake order after the chaos of war. [[Odysseus]], a young man when [[Agamemnon]] and [[Menelaos]] recruited him for the campaign against Ilium, is now a middle-aged survivor and veteran of that war who must be smarter than the champion Achilles and the leader [[Agamemnon]] in order to return home and set his lands in order. War almost seems easy in the light of [[Odysseus]]’ journey — at least in war, he knew his enemies. Enemies during peacetime wear many masks; [[Odysseus]] must do the same if he is to survive.

== Internal Links ==

* [[Homer]]
* [[The Odyssey Summary]]

=== Characters ===
* [[Kalypso]]

== External Links ==
* [http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/Odysseus.html Odysseus] — A background on the ''Odyssey'' and Odysseus
* [http://www.davidclaudon.com/odyssey/questions.html A Study Guide by David Claudon]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000167.shtml Myth and the Odyssey]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000314.shtml The Odyssey: General Notes]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000313.shtml The Telemachiad] (books 1-4 of the Odyssey)
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000038.shtml Odysseus and the Poet]: Notes on Book VIII
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000316.shtml The Odyssey: Notes on Book IX]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000317.shtml The Odyssey: Notes on Book X]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000215.shtml Poor Confusing Elpenor]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000318.shtml The Odyssey: Notes on Book XI]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000318.shtml The Odyssey: The Lessons of Hell] (more on Books XI and XII)
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000319.shtml The Odyssey: Odysseus’ Return]

[[Category:World Literature|Odyssey]]

The Iliad

2005-01-29T21:10:58Z

Whobbs: /* Mates of Helen and Clytemnestra */

[[Image:Achilles-chiron.jpg|thumb|Achilles and Chiron the Centaur]] The ''Iliad'' (a song about Ilium, or Troy) along with its companion [[Epic Poetry|epic]] the [[Odyssey]] form the foundation of ancient Greek culture and address the extremes of human experience through war and peace. Both [[Epic Poetry|epic]] are primary, or oral, [[Epic Poetry|epic]] that draw on an enormous wealth of cultural stories in unified structures that we attribute to the poet [[Homer]], in eighth century B.C.E. The [[Epic Poetry|epic]] are written in an unsentimental style: the ''Iliad'' depicts the ambivalence of war in meticulously accurate details. Both the nightmare of war and its excitement find expression in the ''Iliad'', just as the [[Odyssey]]’s pages quest for a home, or a peace that seems hard-won after the devastation of war.

As the narrator states first thing: the subject of the ''Iliad'' is the rage of [[Achilles]] and the consequences of that rage for both the Achaeans and the Trojans. War effects not only the men who fight the battles, but also the women and children whose lives are then shaped by its outcome. War represents the worst and, ironically, the best of humanity: ugly brutality and terrible beauty. We both pity with [[Hector]] and sympathize with [[Achilles]]; neither side of the war holds all of our sentiments. The final outcome of the war, then, becomes truly tragic: only one culture can continue while the other is destroyed or enslaved.

The ''Iliad''’s participants are the nobility of both cultures, or the ''aristoi'': “the best people.” They are the hereditary holders of wealth and power, and their decisions effect all of the culture. For example, [[Agamemnon]]’s decision to infuriate [[Achilles]] at the outset of the ''Iliad'' has lasting effects on the Greek warriors during the last weeks of the Trojan War. Like most [[Epic Poetry|epic]], of which the ''Iliad'' is really the definitive example, the action begins [[in medias res]], a few weeks before the end of a ten-year campaign, with all of the [[Epic Poetry|epic]]’s traditional accouterments. The ''Iliad'' poses questions, as will the [[Odyssey]], about the nature of political order and what humans must do to maintain that vision and structure. The initial contention in the ''Iliad'' is between the Greek champion [[Achilles]] and the Greek commander [[Agamemnon]]. Who has the stronger claim to right: [[Agamemnon]] who has the hereditary position, or [[Achilles]], the one with merit? Ultimately does it matter? When swords are drawn, reason becomes irrelevant.

In book one of the ''Iliad'', we discover that because of [[Agamemnon]]’s refusal to relinquish Chryseis, [[Apollo]] has rained a plague upon the Achaean forces. Because he is eventually challenged by [[Achilles]] — who represents the wishes of the rest of the men — [[Agamemnon]] decides to claim [[Achilles]]’ prize (a girl named Briseis) to reassert his authority and put [[Achilles]] in his place for his challenge. [[Achilles]] shows cunning and restraint — qualities that are usually associated with [[Odysseus]] — in his argument with [[Agamemnon]], while the latter rages and rails like a wounded child. Yet, when [[Agamemnon]]’s men take Briseis, [[Achilles]], also child-like, begins to pout by his ships, cries to his mother, and refuses to play the war game anymore. This final decision precipitates the death of many Achaeans, including [[Achilles]]’ friend [[Patroclus]]. [[Achilles]]’ resulting rage ends with the death of [[Hector]] in book twenty-two, and [[Achilles]]’ own apocryphal death under the bow of [[Paris]] before the war’s end.

The brutality of [[Achilles]] and its consequences are most evident in Book XXII of the ''Iliad''. [[Achilles]]’ rage blinds him to anything but the death of [[Hector]], the Trojan champion that kills [[Patroclus]]. Replete with [[Epic Poetry|epic]] [[simile|similes]] of the hunt, book twenty-two illustrates [[Hector]]’s own reluctance to do what he sees as his duty to face [[Achilles]], yet thinks only of himself and what his people might think if he doesn’t face the Greek killing machine (cf. ll. 108-156). [[Hector]]’s resolve is soon shaken as he sees [[Achilles]] closing, bloody rage the only thing that [[Achilles]] sees. [[Hector]] flees, but is soon tricked by [[Athena]] into stopping to face [[Achilles]], perhaps a commentary on [[Hector]]’s need for companionship and [[Achilles]]’ desire for only personal vengeance and renown. [[Hector]] is mercilessly murdered in front of Troy’s walls, like a fawn at the jaws of a lion.

The death of [[Hector]], then, is given a final cultural context from [[Hector]]’s widow [[Andromache]]. She now sees the demise of Troy, but personally she sees no future for their son [[Astyanax]]. The death of the father, then, is a weighty metaphor for the Trojans: the order that they secured will soon be rendered useless by the barbarity of war; the father’s death leads to the destruction of social order. This theme will be taken up in the [[Odyssey]] as well: what is the responsibility of the son for maintaining order in the absence or death of the father? As [[Andromache]] sees no future for [[Astyanax]], life does continue even after the carnage of war, yet a new order is imposed on the losers — those who escape death. This theme of continuity is also addressed by [[Virgil]] in his [[Aeneid]].

Is war, then, a necessary component of human life? Just because it has been historically up until this point, are we to be like [[Achilles]] who could not hear reason through his bloody thoughts: “No truce / till one or the other falls and gluts with blood” (XXII.313-14)? When do we decide that war is better than order?

== Characters ==
=== Achaeans ===
* [[Achilles]]
* [[Agamemnon]]
* [[Ajax]]
* [[Menaleus]]
* [[Nestor]]
* [[Odysseus]]
* [[Patroclus]]

=== Mates of Helen and Clytemnestra ===

Agamemnon and Menelaus were sons of King Atreus. Agamemnon married the sister of Helen, Clytemnestra while
the brother of Agamemnon, Menelaus, married Helen of Sparta. Menelaus and Agamemnon were not only brothers but brothers-in-law, just as Helen and Clytemnestra were not only (half) sisters, but sisters-in-law. (Gill, N.S., http://ancienthistory.about.com)

=== Paris and Helen of Troy ===

Paris was the son of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba. "He was rejected at birth, and raised as a shepherd on Mt. Ida. While living the life of a shepherd, the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, appeared to him asking him to award the "fairest" of them the golden apple that Discord had promised one of them. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe, but the bribe offered by Aphrodite appealed to Paris most, so Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. Aphrodite had offered Paris the most beautiful woman as bride. This woman was Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was the bride of Menelaus." (Gill, N.S., http://ancienthistory.about.com)

This all professed further as Paris visited the court of Menelaus in Sparta as a guest. There Paris encountered Helen and ran off with her back to Troy. Thus beginning the Trojan War. Helen of Sparta became Helen of Troy. (http://www.bullfinch.org)

=== Trojans ===
* [[Hector]]
* [[Hecuba]]
* [[Helen]]
* [[Paris]]
* [[Priam]]

== Internal Links ==

* [[Homer]]
* [[The Iliad Summary]]

== External Links ==

* [http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/homer.htm Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000312.shtml The Iliad: Rage and War]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000503.shtml Hector: Family Man, but Hero First]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000456.shtml Fighting Beyond Their Fates]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000297.shtml Friendship and Two Epics]

----
[[Category:World Literature]]

The Iliad

2005-01-29T21:06:32Z

Whobbs: /* Achaeans */

[[Image:Achilles-chiron.jpg|thumb|Achilles and Chiron the Centaur]] The ''Iliad'' (a song about Ilium, or Troy) along with its companion [[Epic Poetry|epic]] the [[Odyssey]] form the foundation of ancient Greek culture and address the extremes of human experience through war and peace. Both [[Epic Poetry|epic]] are primary, or oral, [[Epic Poetry|epic]] that draw on an enormous wealth of cultural stories in unified structures that we attribute to the poet [[Homer]], in eighth century B.C.E. The [[Epic Poetry|epic]] are written in an unsentimental style: the ''Iliad'' depicts the ambivalence of war in meticulously accurate details. Both the nightmare of war and its excitement find expression in the ''Iliad'', just as the [[Odyssey]]’s pages quest for a home, or a peace that seems hard-won after the devastation of war.

As the narrator states first thing: the subject of the ''Iliad'' is the rage of [[Achilles]] and the consequences of that rage for both the Achaeans and the Trojans. War effects not only the men who fight the battles, but also the women and children whose lives are then shaped by its outcome. War represents the worst and, ironically, the best of humanity: ugly brutality and terrible beauty. We both pity with [[Hector]] and sympathize with [[Achilles]]; neither side of the war holds all of our sentiments. The final outcome of the war, then, becomes truly tragic: only one culture can continue while the other is destroyed or enslaved.

The ''Iliad''’s participants are the nobility of both cultures, or the ''aristoi'': “the best people.” They are the hereditary holders of wealth and power, and their decisions effect all of the culture. For example, [[Agamemnon]]’s decision to infuriate [[Achilles]] at the outset of the ''Iliad'' has lasting effects on the Greek warriors during the last weeks of the Trojan War. Like most [[Epic Poetry|epic]], of which the ''Iliad'' is really the definitive example, the action begins [[in medias res]], a few weeks before the end of a ten-year campaign, with all of the [[Epic Poetry|epic]]’s traditional accouterments. The ''Iliad'' poses questions, as will the [[Odyssey]], about the nature of political order and what humans must do to maintain that vision and structure. The initial contention in the ''Iliad'' is between the Greek champion [[Achilles]] and the Greek commander [[Agamemnon]]. Who has the stronger claim to right: [[Agamemnon]] who has the hereditary position, or [[Achilles]], the one with merit? Ultimately does it matter? When swords are drawn, reason becomes irrelevant.

In book one of the ''Iliad'', we discover that because of [[Agamemnon]]’s refusal to relinquish Chryseis, [[Apollo]] has rained a plague upon the Achaean forces. Because he is eventually challenged by [[Achilles]] — who represents the wishes of the rest of the men — [[Agamemnon]] decides to claim [[Achilles]]’ prize (a girl named Briseis) to reassert his authority and put [[Achilles]] in his place for his challenge. [[Achilles]] shows cunning and restraint — qualities that are usually associated with [[Odysseus]] — in his argument with [[Agamemnon]], while the latter rages and rails like a wounded child. Yet, when [[Agamemnon]]’s men take Briseis, [[Achilles]], also child-like, begins to pout by his ships, cries to his mother, and refuses to play the war game anymore. This final decision precipitates the death of many Achaeans, including [[Achilles]]’ friend [[Patroclus]]. [[Achilles]]’ resulting rage ends with the death of [[Hector]] in book twenty-two, and [[Achilles]]’ own apocryphal death under the bow of [[Paris]] before the war’s end.

The brutality of [[Achilles]] and its consequences are most evident in Book XXII of the ''Iliad''. [[Achilles]]’ rage blinds him to anything but the death of [[Hector]], the Trojan champion that kills [[Patroclus]]. Replete with [[Epic Poetry|epic]] [[simile|similes]] of the hunt, book twenty-two illustrates [[Hector]]’s own reluctance to do what he sees as his duty to face [[Achilles]], yet thinks only of himself and what his people might think if he doesn’t face the Greek killing machine (cf. ll. 108-156). [[Hector]]’s resolve is soon shaken as he sees [[Achilles]] closing, bloody rage the only thing that [[Achilles]] sees. [[Hector]] flees, but is soon tricked by [[Athena]] into stopping to face [[Achilles]], perhaps a commentary on [[Hector]]’s need for companionship and [[Achilles]]’ desire for only personal vengeance and renown. [[Hector]] is mercilessly murdered in front of Troy’s walls, like a fawn at the jaws of a lion.

The death of [[Hector]], then, is given a final cultural context from [[Hector]]’s widow [[Andromache]]. She now sees the demise of Troy, but personally she sees no future for their son [[Astyanax]]. The death of the father, then, is a weighty metaphor for the Trojans: the order that they secured will soon be rendered useless by the barbarity of war; the father’s death leads to the destruction of social order. This theme will be taken up in the [[Odyssey]] as well: what is the responsibility of the son for maintaining order in the absence or death of the father? As [[Andromache]] sees no future for [[Astyanax]], life does continue even after the carnage of war, yet a new order is imposed on the losers — those who escape death. This theme of continuity is also addressed by [[Virgil]] in his [[Aeneid]].

Is war, then, a necessary component of human life? Just because it has been historically up until this point, are we to be like [[Achilles]] who could not hear reason through his bloody thoughts: “No truce / till one or the other falls and gluts with blood” (XXII.313-14)? When do we decide that war is better than order?

== Characters ==
=== Achaeans ===
* [[Achilles]]
* [[Agamemnon]]
* [[Ajax]]
* [[Menaleus]]
* [[Nestor]]
* [[Odysseus]]
* [[Patroclus]]

=== Mates of Helen and Clytemnestra ===

"Agamemnon and Menelaus were sons of King Atreus. Agamemnon married the sister of Helen, Clytemnestra.
The first likely mate of Helen was the Athenian hero Theseus who kidnapped Helen when she was still young. Later, the brother of Agamemnon, Menelaus, married Helen of Sparta. In this way, Menelaus and Agamemnon were not only brothers but brothers-in-law, just as Helen and Clytemnestra were not only (half) sisters, but sisters-in-law." (Gill, N.S., http://ancienthistory.about.com)

=== Paris and Helen of Troy ===

Paris was the son of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba. "He was rejected at birth, and raised as a shepherd on Mt. Ida. While living the life of a shepherd, the three goddesses, Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena, appeared to him asking him to award the "fairest" of them the golden apple that Discord had promised one of them. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe, but the bribe offered by Aphrodite appealed to Paris most, so Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite. Aphrodite had offered Paris the most beautiful woman as bride. This woman was Helen. Unfortunately, Helen was the bride of Menelaus." (Gill, N.S., http://ancienthistory.about.com)

This all professed further as Paris visited the court of Menelaus in Sparta as a guest. There Paris encountered Helen and ran off with her back to Troy. Thus beginning the Trojan War. Helen of Sparta became Helen of Troy. (http://www.bullfinch.org)

=== Trojans ===
* [[Hector]]
* [[Hecuba]]
* [[Helen]]
* [[Paris]]
* [[Priam]]

== Internal Links ==

* [[Homer]]
* [[The Iliad Summary]]

== External Links ==

* [http://library.thinkquest.org/19300/data/homer.htm Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000312.shtml The Iliad: Rage and War]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000503.shtml Hector: Family Man, but Hero First]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000456.shtml Fighting Beyond Their Fates]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000297.shtml Friendship and Two Epics]

----
[[Category:World Literature]]

Achilles

2005-01-29T20:29:01Z

Whobbs:

'''Achilles'''

The story of Achilles is that his mother, "Thetis, attempted unsuccessfully to make her son immortal. There are two versions of the story. In the earlier version, Thetis anointed the infant with ambrosia and then placed him upon a fire to burn away his mortal portions; she was interrupted by Peleus, whereupon she abandoned both father and son in a rage. Peleus placed the child in the care of the Centaur Chiron, who raised and educated the boy. In the later version, she held the young Achilles by the heel and dipped him in the river Styx; everything the sacred waters touched became invulnerable, but the heel remained dry and therefore unprotected." (Hunter, James,http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/achilles.html, 1/11/2004)

Achilles was the son of the sea nymph, Thetis, and Peleus, king of the Myrmidons of Thessaly.

"When Achilles was a boy, the seer Calchas prophesied that the city of Troy could not be taken without his help. Thetis knew that, if her son went to Troy, he would die an early death, so she sent him to the court of Lycomedes, in Scyros; there he was hidden, disguised as a young girl. During his stay he had an affair with Lycomedes' daughter, Deidameia, and she had a son, Pyrrhus (or Neoptolemus), by him. Achilles' disguise was finally penetrated by Odysseus, who placed arms and armor amidst a display of women's finery and seized upon Achilles when he was the only "maiden" to be fascinated by the swords and shields. Achilles then went willingly with Odysseus to Troy, leading a host of his father's Myrmidons and accompanied by his tutor Phoenix and his close friend Patroclus. At Troy, Achilles distinguished himself as an undefeatable warrior. Among his other exploits, he captured twenty-three towns in Trojan territory, including the town of Lyrnessos, where he took the woman Briseis as a war-prize. Later on Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, was forced by an oracle of Apollo to give up his own war-prize, the woman Chryseis, and took Briseis away from Achilles as compensation for his loss. This action sparked the central plot of the Iliad, for Achilles became enraged and refused to fight for the Greeks any further. The war went badly, and the Greeks offered handsome reparations to their greatest warrior; Achilles still refused to fight in person, but he agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to fight in his place, wearing his armor. The next day Patroclus was killed and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.

Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at Hector. His mother obtained magnificent new armor for him from Hephaestus, and he returned to the fighting and killed Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind his chariot before the walls of Troy, and refused to allow it to receive funeral rites. When Priam, the king of Troy and Hector's father, came secretly into the Greek camp to plead for the body, Achilles finally relented; in one of the most moving scenes of the Iliad, he received Priam graciously and allowed him to take the body away.

After the death of Hector, Achilles' days were numbered. He continued fighting heroically, killing many of the Trojans and their allies, including Memnon and the Amazon warrior Penthesilia. Finally Priam's son Paris (or Alexander), aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound. After his death, it was decided to award Achilles' divinely-wrought armor to the bravest of the Greeks. Odysseus and Ajax competed for the prize, with each man making a speech explaining why he deserved the honor; Odysseus won, and Ajax then went mad and committed suicide.

During his lifetime, Achilles is also said to have had a number of romantic episodes. He reportedly fell in love with Penthesilia, the Amazon maiden whom he killed in battle, and it is claimed that he married Medea." (Hunter, James, http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/achilles.html, 1/11/2004)

Achilles

2005-01-29T20:25:48Z

Whobbs:

'''Achilles'''

The story of Achilles is that his mother, "Thetis, attempted unsuccessfully to make her son immortal. There are two versions of the story. In the earlier version, Thetis anointed the infant with ambrosia and then placed him upon a fire to burn away his mortal portions; she was interrupted by Peleus, whereupon she abandoned both father and son in a rage. Peleus placed the child in the care of the Centaur Chiron, who raised and educated the boy. In the later version, she held the young Achilles by the heel and dipped him in the river Styx; everything the sacred waters touched became invulnerable, but the heel remained dry and therefore unprotected." (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/achilles.html)

Achilles was the son of the sea nymph, Thetis, and Peleus, king of the Myrmidons of Thessaly.

"When Achilles was a boy, the seer Calchas prophesied that the city of Troy could not be taken without his help. Thetis knew that, if her son went to Troy, he would die an early death, so she sent him to the court of Lycomedes, in Scyros; there he was hidden, disguised as a young girl. During his stay he had an affair with Lycomedes' daughter, Deidameia, and she had a son, Pyrrhus (or Neoptolemus), by him. Achilles' disguise was finally penetrated by Odysseus, who placed arms and armor amidst a display of women's finery and seized upon Achilles when he was the only "maiden" to be fascinated by the swords and shields. Achilles then went willingly with Odysseus to Troy, leading a host of his father's Myrmidons and accompanied by his tutor Phoenix and his close friend Patroclus. At Troy, Achilles distinguished himself as an undefeatable warrior. Among his other exploits, he captured twenty-three towns in Trojan territory, including the town of Lyrnessos, where he took the woman Briseis as a war-prize. Later on Agamemnon, the leader of the Greeks, was forced by an oracle of Apollo to give up his own war-prize, the woman Chryseis, and took Briseis away from Achilles as compensation for his loss. This action sparked the central plot of the Iliad, for Achilles became enraged and refused to fight for the Greeks any further. The war went badly, and the Greeks offered handsome reparations to their greatest warrior; Achilles still refused to fight in person, but he agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to fight in his place, wearing his armor. The next day Patroclus was killed and stripped of the armor by the Trojan hero Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.

Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at Hector. His mother obtained magnificent new armor for him from Hephaestus, and he returned to the fighting and killed Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind his chariot before the walls of Troy, and refused to allow it to receive funeral rites. When Priam, the king of Troy and Hector's father, came secretly into the Greek camp to plead for the body, Achilles finally relented; in one of the most moving scenes of the Iliad, he received Priam graciously and allowed him to take the body away.

After the death of Hector, Achilles' days were numbered. He continued fighting heroically, killing many of the Trojans and their allies, including Memnon and the Amazon warrior Penthesilia. Finally Priam's son Paris (or Alexander), aided by Apollo, wounded Achilles in the heel with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound. After his death, it was decided to award Achilles' divinely-wrought armor to the bravest of the Greeks. Odysseus and Ajax competed for the prize, with each man making a speech explaining why he deserved the honor; Odysseus won, and Ajax then went mad and committed suicide.

During his lifetime, Achilles is also said to have had a number of romantic episodes. He reportedly fell in love with Penthesilia, the Amazon maiden whom he killed in battle, and it is claimed that he married Medea." (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/achilles.html)

Epic of Gilgamesh

2005-01-29T19:26:21Z

Whobbs: /* Humbaba */

[[Image:Gilgamesh.jpg|thumb|Gilgamesh]] While composed nearly five thousand years ago (2500-1500 BCE), ''Gilgamesh'' seems very as contemporary in its thematic concerns as it is alien in many of its cultural practices. Many of these themes emerge from a lost mythological tradition and a culture that is equally non-extant, the bonds of friendship, fear of death, and the quest for worldly renown still strike chords with us even in the twenty-first century.

== Historical Context ==

''Gilgamesh'' is a primary epic, composed over a thousand years by cultural stories of the legendary king, Gilgamesh, who is thought to have historically ruled Uruk circa 2700 BCE. The oral stories were probably assembled by a poet and cast into the narrative form of the epic between 2000 and 1600 BCE and finally written on clay tablets in cuneiform during the reign of Assurbanipol in 668-627 BCE.

== Gilgamesh as Epic ==

Can ''Gilgamesh'' be called an Epic? Yes and No.
No, because the term epic is usually applied to exceptionally long poems that are narrated by someone else. ''Gilgamesh'' has three entries that one may consider to be poems. On page 34 ''Gilgamesh'' cries out to the counsellors of Uruk in what I would call a short prayer. On page 43 Ea speaks to Enlil about his misdeeds, the words that are indented have the characteristics of an epic poem. Ea words center on Enlil whose deeds can control the fate of human mankind.

Then again yes, ''Gilgamesh'' could be called a Primary Epic. The story of Gilgamesh has several episodes that are legendary. The first sentence of the story states, "''Gilgamesh'' is a poem of unparalleled antiquity, the first great heroic narrative of world literature."(The Norton Anthology) On Lit muse you will find that Primary Epic means, "The work focuses on the personal concept of heroism, and the self-fulfillment and identity of the individual hero." Gilgamesh was definitely out for self-fulfillment.

== The Role of Enkidu ==
In my eyes Enkidu is the real hero of the epic.On most of the sites I visited for research, I've found that majority of the people tend to downplay Enkidus role.Some call him a wild man made noble by the "great" Gilgamesh and others say he forced Gilgamesh into his adventures or misadventures. Even the gods looked at him as a sidekick and never equal to Gilgamesh, when deciding that he must die for the killing of the Bull of Heaven, and not Gilgamesh.
The reason the Bull was killed was because Gilgamesh was mouthing off to Ishtar and like a true solider Enkidu had to step in a save Gilgamesh. On all the adventures and in all the battles Enkidu was all was the stronger warrior, but Gilgamesh would always receive the praise.Enkidu was brought in as a counterweight to Gilgamesh and ended up being his saviour.Enkidu saves the life of Gilgamesh many times and ends up giving his life for him.

== Thematic Concerns ==

The [[Epic Poetry | epic]] takes as its primary concern Gilgamesh’s wisdom that he acquires during his journeys and the monuments that he constructs upon his return. Like the Homeric epics, Gilgamesh begins ''in medias res'' during the rule of a wild king, two-thirds god and one-third man. While Gilgamesh is strong and an obvious stud — at least in his own mind, his is cruel and naive, needing to discover what it means to be human if he is to become a good ruler and father.

=== Bonds of Friendship ===

His first lesson is one of friendship through the wild man Enkidu, more of an animal than man. Like all good, lasting friendships (at least those that I have had), Gilgamesh and Enkidu first attempt to kill each other when the latter comes to Uruk. Fortunately, they do not, yet Gilgamesh does get the slight upper-hand, and they become great friends. Indeed, while there is an implicit suggestion of Gilgamesh’s superiority over Enkidu, something akin most friendships, there is one who is dominant, choosing adventures, making decisions, and directing the ultimate course of the friendship. Gilgamesh, since he is the [[heroic ideal | epic hero]], seems to take this role, perhaps also suggesting the superiority of the cultured and civilized to the animal, or natural. This motif becomes even more apparent in their first adventure.

=== Quest for Worldly Renown ===

Now that we are friends, we have to party. Enkidu soon gets bored in Uruk — “I am oppressed by idleness” (23) — and Gilgamesh suggests they go get medieval of some evil: Humbaba. This feat will also prove Gilgamesh a real hero by allowing stories to be told about his great feats of manhood:

: I will set up my name in the place where the names of famous men are written, and where no man’s name is written yet I will raise a monument to the gods.

[[Image:Grendel.jpg|thumb|Humbaba]] While Humbaba lives in the Country of the Living, seemingly quite far from Uruk, and is apparently not an immediate threat to Gilgamesh’s people, this endeavor might seem a bit dubious. Perhaps this is a commentary on what men will do when they are bored: let’s go kill something. When we are at peace, we long for war? Humbaba might also represent a “holdfast,” something that while alive or existing — whether an idea or an actual threat — restricts a culture from developing beyond a certain point. Many such holdfasts pop up in western literature, cf. the dragon in Beowulf for one.

While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are successful in killing Humbaba — through episodes of fainting and friendly gibes — its death suggests more of an ambiguity in their success, as if something precious has been slain all for the pride of man (and I do mean man, here). Notice that when Humbaba is killed, the heroes begin cutting down trees: “They attacked the cedars . . . [and] cleared their roots as far as the banks of the Euphrates” (30). Like Enkidu’s education through the wiles of the harlot, this victory suggests that while the heroes accomplished their great victory, something is irrevocably lost because of their endeavor. Through the harlot, Enkidu forever loses his innocence, but what is lost in the killing of Humbaba is a bit more ambiguous. Perhaps this is an ecological statement about clearing rain forests millennia before we knew what effect that practice would have.

The ambiguity continues in the gods’ reaction to the death of Humbaba and the felling of the cedars: Enkidu must die. OK, maybe it has more to do with Gilgamesh’s arrogant dismissal of Ishtar, but regardless, the Bull of Heaven is sent to punish the heroes and Uruk. Even though the bull is defeated, Enkidu must die which precipitates Gilgamesh’s search for immortality — an escape from death. Notice that while Enkidu lays dying that he curses the city (civilization), the harlot (women that led to the destruction of his innocence), and the trapper (who precipitated the education of Enkidu). Enkidu’s curses further call into question the necessity of civilization and heroic quests: perhaps fame is not worth death.

=== Humbaba ===

"Humbaba whose name is 'Hugeness,' a ferocious giant. Enlil has appointed Humbaba to guard the forest and has armed him in sevenfold terrors, terrible to all flesh is Humbaba. When he roars it is like the torrent of the storm, his breath is like fire, and his jaws are death itself. He guards the cedars so well that when the wild heifer stirs in the forest, though she is sixty leagues distant, he hears her. Humbaba is a great warrior, a battering ram. Humbaba, the watchman of the forest never sleeps." (The Norton Anthology, 23)

Humbaba was also know as Huwawa. Humbaba is a monster in the epic of Gilgamesh who guards the cedar forest in the Lebanon mountains. He is a giant being and is sometimes shown with lion's claws, long hair, and a monstrous, hairy face. Humbaba is killed by the hero Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu who journey to the forest to cut down cedar trees. (http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/gods/explore/humbaba.html, 2005)

=== Escape from Death ===

After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh rips his clothes from his body and dons animal skins, symbolic of his repudiation of civilization and renown — that which caused the death of his friend. Gilgamesh’s subsequent journey is a psychological descent into his own psyche to discover his own meaning in a life that must end in death. His epic journey is pretty pathetic as far as epic journeys go: full of tantrums and failed tasks, Gilgamesh seems to return to Uruk empty-handed. Yet, he brings the story of his travel and carves it on the bricks that make up the foundation of Uruk, suggesting that civilization is ultimately built on stories: the written text is the key to progress, friendship, and immortality. Gilgamesh, then, becomes a scapegoat: he journeyed to meet Utnapishtim so his people did not have to. Though his journeys proved ostensibly unsuccessful, he returned humanized, ready to accept his place in the world and finally death when it would come.

''Gilgamesh'' leaves us with its moral: Do not abuse power, “deal justly with your servants in the palace, deal justly before the face of the Sun” (46). ''Gilgamesh'' is both “the darkness and the light of mankind” in that he brought suffering, but ultimately brought life to his people in the form of the story. What directions for life are contained within the epic? How many of these myths do we still live with today? These stories represent the good and the bad of humanity. What do we ultimately think of the stories, myths, codes for life that ''Gilgamesh'' ultimately passes on?

== Importance of Food and Drink ==

== Attitudes Toward Women ==

Gilgamesh's view of women is that of a male chauvinist (according to today’s standards). Not only is he a male chauvinist, but he "is the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal." (The Norton Anthology, 17)"His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute." (The Norton Anthology, 19) The men of Uruk were not happy with his behavior. Even noble Enkidu is upset at the news that Gilgamesh was to take a bride’s virginity before her marriage to her groom.

When Ishtar see Gilgamesh's great beauty she exclaims in glory, "Come to me ''Gilgamesh'', and be my bridegroom; grant me seed of you body, let me be your bride and you shall be my husband."(The Norton Anthology, 30) “She tried to make Gilgamesh her husband, but he refused her and reminded her of her former lovers, whom she mercilessly killed or left injured.” (Lindemans, Micha F. \ “Ishtar” \ www.pantheon.org \ July 25, 2004) He states that he doesn’t just want to be another piece of meat in her escapades of having sex with many men and leaving them. So he declines.

Gilgamesh is a control freak and if he were to marry Ishtar, he would lose that control. Also, Gilgamesh loves virgins and not loose women. This is seen in the opening statments listed above.

As we look at attitudes toward women, we cannot just look at Gilgamesh as an individual but at the whole story. The trapper's son was scared of Enkidu at first. The trapper's son went to Gilgamesh and got a harlot, (loose woman), to take to the watering hole to seduce Enkidu so his peers, the animals, would repel against him.

To humanize Enkidu, the harlot, was sent to seduce him. Enkidu, who ran with the animals and was basically one of them, came upon the harlot at the drinking hole where she exposed her breasts, got naked with him and had sex with him for six days and seven nights. After this, Enkidu had his fill and returned to be with the animals that rejected him and ran off. We hear of Enkidu being weak legged after his sexual escapades and unable to keep up with the animals. (The Norton Anthology, 20)

Women were looked at basically as sexual elements from the beginning of this tale and this has continued throughout time. So, is Gilgamesh really as bad as he was made out to be or is he just the same as some of the men in today's society? Women throughout modern day have used sex to get what they want. This is just an example of how women even back then used sex to get what they desired even if it was for someone else.

== Archetypes in Gilgamesh ==

== Gilgamesh Variations ==

There are many different Gilgamesh interpretations. Some representations of the story have Gilgamesh as an old man. This is incorrect, the reason behind that is whoever wrote that interpretation did not read the original. This is unfortunate because if Gilgamesh was read in the wrong interpretation; a novice reader would not understand one of the major themes of humility throughout Gilgamesh.

== External Links ==

* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000360.shtml The Taming of Nature in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000449.shtml Ecological Themes in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000297.shtml Friendship and Two Epics]
* [http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/eng251/gilgameshstudy.htm Gilgamesh Study Guide]

[[Category:World Literature]]

Epic of Gilgamesh

2005-01-29T19:23:55Z

Whobbs: /* Attitudes Toward Women */

[[Image:Gilgamesh.jpg|thumb|Gilgamesh]] While composed nearly five thousand years ago (2500-1500 BCE), ''Gilgamesh'' seems very as contemporary in its thematic concerns as it is alien in many of its cultural practices. Many of these themes emerge from a lost mythological tradition and a culture that is equally non-extant, the bonds of friendship, fear of death, and the quest for worldly renown still strike chords with us even in the twenty-first century.

== Historical Context ==

''Gilgamesh'' is a primary epic, composed over a thousand years by cultural stories of the legendary king, Gilgamesh, who is thought to have historically ruled Uruk circa 2700 BCE. The oral stories were probably assembled by a poet and cast into the narrative form of the epic between 2000 and 1600 BCE and finally written on clay tablets in cuneiform during the reign of Assurbanipol in 668-627 BCE.

== Gilgamesh as Epic ==

Can ''Gilgamesh'' be called an Epic? Yes and No.
No, because the term epic is usually applied to exceptionally long poems that are narrated by someone else. ''Gilgamesh'' has three entries that one may consider to be poems. On page 34 ''Gilgamesh'' cries out to the counsellors of Uruk in what I would call a short prayer. On page 43 Ea speaks to Enlil about his misdeeds, the words that are indented have the characteristics of an epic poem. Ea words center on Enlil whose deeds can control the fate of human mankind.

Then again yes, ''Gilgamesh'' could be called a Primary Epic. The story of Gilgamesh has several episodes that are legendary. The first sentence of the story states, "''Gilgamesh'' is a poem of unparalleled antiquity, the first great heroic narrative of world literature."(The Norton Anthology) On Lit muse you will find that Primary Epic means, "The work focuses on the personal concept of heroism, and the self-fulfillment and identity of the individual hero." Gilgamesh was definitely out for self-fulfillment.

== The Role of Enkidu ==
In my eyes Enkidu is the real hero of the epic.On most of the sites I visited for research, I've found that majority of the people tend to downplay Enkidus role.Some call him a wild man made noble by the "great" Gilgamesh and others say he forced Gilgamesh into his adventures or misadventures. Even the gods looked at him as a sidekick and never equal to Gilgamesh, when deciding that he must die for the killing of the Bull of Heaven, and not Gilgamesh.
The reason the Bull was killed was because Gilgamesh was mouthing off to Ishtar and like a true solider Enkidu had to step in a save Gilgamesh. On all the adventures and in all the battles Enkidu was all was the stronger warrior, but Gilgamesh would always receive the praise.Enkidu was brought in as a counterweight to Gilgamesh and ended up being his saviour.Enkidu saves the life of Gilgamesh many times and ends up giving his life for him.

== Thematic Concerns ==

The [[Epic Poetry | epic]] takes as its primary concern Gilgamesh’s wisdom that he acquires during his journeys and the monuments that he constructs upon his return. Like the Homeric epics, Gilgamesh begins ''in medias res'' during the rule of a wild king, two-thirds god and one-third man. While Gilgamesh is strong and an obvious stud — at least in his own mind, his is cruel and naive, needing to discover what it means to be human if he is to become a good ruler and father.

=== Bonds of Friendship ===

His first lesson is one of friendship through the wild man Enkidu, more of an animal than man. Like all good, lasting friendships (at least those that I have had), Gilgamesh and Enkidu first attempt to kill each other when the latter comes to Uruk. Fortunately, they do not, yet Gilgamesh does get the slight upper-hand, and they become great friends. Indeed, while there is an implicit suggestion of Gilgamesh’s superiority over Enkidu, something akin most friendships, there is one who is dominant, choosing adventures, making decisions, and directing the ultimate course of the friendship. Gilgamesh, since he is the [[heroic ideal | epic hero]], seems to take this role, perhaps also suggesting the superiority of the cultured and civilized to the animal, or natural. This motif becomes even more apparent in their first adventure.

=== Quest for Worldly Renown ===

Now that we are friends, we have to party. Enkidu soon gets bored in Uruk — “I am oppressed by idleness” (23) — and Gilgamesh suggests they go get medieval of some evil: Humbaba. This feat will also prove Gilgamesh a real hero by allowing stories to be told about his great feats of manhood:

: I will set up my name in the place where the names of famous men are written, and where no man’s name is written yet I will raise a monument to the gods.

[[Image:Grendel.jpg|thumb|Humbaba]] While Humbaba lives in the Country of the Living, seemingly quite far from Uruk, and is apparently not an immediate threat to Gilgamesh’s people, this endeavor might seem a bit dubious. Perhaps this is a commentary on what men will do when they are bored: let’s go kill something. When we are at peace, we long for war? Humbaba might also represent a “holdfast,” something that while alive or existing — whether an idea or an actual threat — restricts a culture from developing beyond a certain point. Many such holdfasts pop up in western literature, cf. the dragon in Beowulf for one.

While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are successful in killing Humbaba — through episodes of fainting and friendly gibes — its death suggests more of an ambiguity in their success, as if something precious has been slain all for the pride of man (and I do mean man, here). Notice that when Humbaba is killed, the heroes begin cutting down trees: “They attacked the cedars . . . [and] cleared their roots as far as the banks of the Euphrates” (30). Like Enkidu’s education through the wiles of the harlot, this victory suggests that while the heroes accomplished their great victory, something is irrevocably lost because of their endeavor. Through the harlot, Enkidu forever loses his innocence, but what is lost in the killing of Humbaba is a bit more ambiguous. Perhaps this is an ecological statement about clearing rain forests millennia before we knew what effect that practice would have.

The ambiguity continues in the gods’ reaction to the death of Humbaba and the felling of the cedars: Enkidu must die. OK, maybe it has more to do with Gilgamesh’s arrogant dismissal of Ishtar, but regardless, the Bull of Heaven is sent to punish the heroes and Uruk. Even though the bull is defeated, Enkidu must die which precipitates Gilgamesh’s search for immortality — an escape from death. Notice that while Enkidu lays dying that he curses the city (civilization), the harlot (women that led to the destruction of his innocence), and the trapper (who precipitated the education of Enkidu). Enkidu’s curses further call into question the necessity of civilization and heroic quests: perhaps fame is not worth death.

=== Humbaba ===

"Humbaba whose name is 'Hugeness,' a ferocious giant. Enlil has appointed Humbaba to guard the forest and has armed him in sevenfold terrors, terrible to all flesh is Humbaba. When he roars it is like the torrent of the storm, his breath is like fire, and his jaws are death itself. He guards the cedars so well the when the wild heifer stirs in the forest, though she is sixty leagues distant, he hears her. Humbaba is a great warrior, a battering ram. Humbaba, the watchman of the forest never sleeps." (The Norton Anthology, 23)

Humbaba was also know as Huwawa. Humbaba is a monster in the Epic of Gilgamesh who guards the cedar forest in the Lebanon mountains. He is a giant being and is sometimes shown with lion's claws, long hair, and a monstrous, hairy face. Humbaba is killed by the hero Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu who journey to the forest to cut down cedar trees. (http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/gods/explore/humbaba.html, 2005)

=== Escape from Death ===

After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh rips his clothes from his body and dons animal skins, symbolic of his repudiation of civilization and renown — that which caused the death of his friend. Gilgamesh’s subsequent journey is a psychological descent into his own psyche to discover his own meaning in a life that must end in death. His epic journey is pretty pathetic as far as epic journeys go: full of tantrums and failed tasks, Gilgamesh seems to return to Uruk empty-handed. Yet, he brings the story of his travel and carves it on the bricks that make up the foundation of Uruk, suggesting that civilization is ultimately built on stories: the written text is the key to progress, friendship, and immortality. Gilgamesh, then, becomes a scapegoat: he journeyed to meet Utnapishtim so his people did not have to. Though his journeys proved ostensibly unsuccessful, he returned humanized, ready to accept his place in the world and finally death when it would come.

''Gilgamesh'' leaves us with its moral: Do not abuse power, “deal justly with your servants in the palace, deal justly before the face of the Sun” (46). ''Gilgamesh'' is both “the darkness and the light of mankind” in that he brought suffering, but ultimately brought life to his people in the form of the story. What directions for life are contained within the epic? How many of these myths do we still live with today? These stories represent the good and the bad of humanity. What do we ultimately think of the stories, myths, codes for life that ''Gilgamesh'' ultimately passes on?

== Importance of Food and Drink ==

== Attitudes Toward Women ==

Gilgamesh's view of women is that of a male chauvinist (according to today’s standards). Not only is he a male chauvinist, but he "is the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal." (The Norton Anthology, 17)"His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute." (The Norton Anthology, 19) The men of Uruk were not happy with his behavior. Even noble Enkidu is upset at the news that Gilgamesh was to take a bride’s virginity before her marriage to her groom.

When Ishtar see Gilgamesh's great beauty she exclaims in glory, "Come to me ''Gilgamesh'', and be my bridegroom; grant me seed of you body, let me be your bride and you shall be my husband."(The Norton Anthology, 30) “She tried to make Gilgamesh her husband, but he refused her and reminded her of her former lovers, whom she mercilessly killed or left injured.” (Lindemans, Micha F. \ “Ishtar” \ www.pantheon.org \ July 25, 2004) He states that he doesn’t just want to be another piece of meat in her escapades of having sex with many men and leaving them. So he declines.

Gilgamesh is a control freak and if he were to marry Ishtar, he would lose that control. Also, Gilgamesh loves virgins and not loose women. This is seen in the opening statments listed above.

As we look at attitudes toward women, we cannot just look at Gilgamesh as an individual but at the whole story. The trapper's son was scared of Enkidu at first. The trapper's son went to Gilgamesh and got a harlot, (loose woman), to take to the watering hole to seduce Enkidu so his peers, the animals, would repel against him.

To humanize Enkidu, the harlot, was sent to seduce him. Enkidu, who ran with the animals and was basically one of them, came upon the harlot at the drinking hole where she exposed her breasts, got naked with him and had sex with him for six days and seven nights. After this, Enkidu had his fill and returned to be with the animals that rejected him and ran off. We hear of Enkidu being weak legged after his sexual escapades and unable to keep up with the animals. (The Norton Anthology, 20)

Women were looked at basically as sexual elements from the beginning of this tale and this has continued throughout time. So, is Gilgamesh really as bad as he was made out to be or is he just the same as some of the men in today's society? Women throughout modern day have used sex to get what they want. This is just an example of how women even back then used sex to get what they desired even if it was for someone else.

== Archetypes in Gilgamesh ==

== Gilgamesh Variations ==

There are many different Gilgamesh interpretations. Some representations of the story have Gilgamesh as an old man. This is incorrect, the reason behind that is whoever wrote that interpretation did not read the original. This is unfortunate because if Gilgamesh was read in the wrong interpretation; a novice reader would not understand one of the major themes of humility throughout Gilgamesh.

== External Links ==

* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000360.shtml The Taming of Nature in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000449.shtml Ecological Themes in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000297.shtml Friendship and Two Epics]
* [http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/eng251/gilgameshstudy.htm Gilgamesh Study Guide]

[[Category:World Literature]]

Epic of Gilgamesh

2005-01-29T18:59:18Z

Whobbs:

[[Image:Gilgamesh.jpg|thumb|Gilgamesh]] While composed nearly five thousand years ago (2500-1500 BCE), ''Gilgamesh'' seems very as contemporary in its thematic concerns as it is alien in many of its cultural practices. Many of these themes emerge from a lost mythological tradition and a culture that is equally non-extant, the bonds of friendship, fear of death, and the quest for worldly renown still strike chords with us even in the twenty-first century.

== Historical Context ==

''Gilgamesh'' is a primary epic, composed over a thousand years by cultural stories of the legendary king, Gilgamesh, who is thought to have historically ruled Uruk circa 2700 BCE. The oral stories were probably assembled by a poet and cast into the narrative form of the epic between 2000 and 1600 BCE and finally written on clay tablets in cuneiform during the reign of Assurbanipol in 668-627 BCE.

== Gilgamesh as Epic ==

Can ''Gilgamesh'' be called an Epic? Yes and No.
No, because the term epic is usually applied to exceptionally long poems that are narrated by someone else. ''Gilgamesh'' has three entries that one may consider to be poems. On page 34 ''Gilgamesh'' cries out to the counsellors of Uruk in what I would call a short prayer. On page 43 Ea speaks to Enlil about his misdeeds, the words that are indented have the characteristics of an epic poem. Ea words center on Enlil whose deeds can control the fate of human mankind.

Then again yes, ''Gilgamesh'' could be called a Primary Epic. The story of Gilgamesh has several episodes that are legendary. The first sentence of the story states, "''Gilgamesh'' is a poem of unparalleled antiquity, the first great heroic narrative of world literature."(The Norton Anthology) On Lit muse you will find that Primary Epic means, "The work focuses on the personal concept of heroism, and the self-fulfillment and identity of the individual hero." Gilgamesh was definitely out for self-fulfillment.

== The Role of Enkidu ==
In my eyes Enkidu is the real hero of the epic.On most of the sites I visited for research, I've found that majority of the people tend to downplay Enkidus role.Some call him a wild man made noble by the "great" Gilgamesh and others say he forced Gilgamesh into his adventures or misadventures. Even the gods looked at him as a sidekick and never equal to Gilgamesh, when deciding that he must die for the killing of the Bull of Heaven, and not Gilgamesh.
The reason the Bull was killed was because Gilgamesh was mouthing off to Ishtar and like a true solider Enkidu had to step in a save Gilgamesh. On all the adventures and in all the battles Enkidu was all was the stronger warrior, but Gilgamesh would always receive the praise.Enkidu was brought in as a counterweight to Gilgamesh and ended up being his saviour.Enkidu saves the life of Gilgamesh many times and ends up giving his life for him.

== Thematic Concerns ==

The [[Epic Poetry | epic]] takes as its primary concern Gilgamesh’s wisdom that he acquires during his journeys and the monuments that he constructs upon his return. Like the Homeric epics, Gilgamesh begins ''in medias res'' during the rule of a wild king, two-thirds god and one-third man. While Gilgamesh is strong and an obvious stud — at least in his own mind, his is cruel and naive, needing to discover what it means to be human if he is to become a good ruler and father.

=== Bonds of Friendship ===

His first lesson is one of friendship through the wild man Enkidu, more of an animal than man. Like all good, lasting friendships (at least those that I have had), Gilgamesh and Enkidu first attempt to kill each other when the latter comes to Uruk. Fortunately, they do not, yet Gilgamesh does get the slight upper-hand, and they become great friends. Indeed, while there is an implicit suggestion of Gilgamesh’s superiority over Enkidu, something akin most friendships, there is one who is dominant, choosing adventures, making decisions, and directing the ultimate course of the friendship. Gilgamesh, since he is the [[heroic ideal | epic hero]], seems to take this role, perhaps also suggesting the superiority of the cultured and civilized to the animal, or natural. This motif becomes even more apparent in their first adventure.

=== Quest for Worldly Renown ===

Now that we are friends, we have to party. Enkidu soon gets bored in Uruk — “I am oppressed by idleness” (23) — and Gilgamesh suggests they go get medieval of some evil: Humbaba. This feat will also prove Gilgamesh a real hero by allowing stories to be told about his great feats of manhood:

: I will set up my name in the place where the names of famous men are written, and where no man’s name is written yet I will raise a monument to the gods.

[[Image:Grendel.jpg|thumb|Humbaba]] While Humbaba lives in the Country of the Living, seemingly quite far from Uruk, and is apparently not an immediate threat to Gilgamesh’s people, this endeavor might seem a bit dubious. Perhaps this is a commentary on what men will do when they are bored: let’s go kill something. When we are at peace, we long for war? Humbaba might also represent a “holdfast,” something that while alive or existing — whether an idea or an actual threat — restricts a culture from developing beyond a certain point. Many such holdfasts pop up in western literature, cf. the dragon in Beowulf for one.

While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are successful in killing Humbaba — through episodes of fainting and friendly gibes — its death suggests more of an ambiguity in their success, as if something precious has been slain all for the pride of man (and I do mean man, here). Notice that when Humbaba is killed, the heroes begin cutting down trees: “They attacked the cedars . . . [and] cleared their roots as far as the banks of the Euphrates” (30). Like Enkidu’s education through the wiles of the harlot, this victory suggests that while the heroes accomplished their great victory, something is irrevocably lost because of their endeavor. Through the harlot, Enkidu forever loses his innocence, but what is lost in the killing of Humbaba is a bit more ambiguous. Perhaps this is an ecological statement about clearing rain forests millennia before we knew what effect that practice would have.

The ambiguity continues in the gods’ reaction to the death of Humbaba and the felling of the cedars: Enkidu must die. OK, maybe it has more to do with Gilgamesh’s arrogant dismissal of Ishtar, but regardless, the Bull of Heaven is sent to punish the heroes and Uruk. Even though the bull is defeated, Enkidu must die which precipitates Gilgamesh’s search for immortality — an escape from death. Notice that while Enkidu lays dying that he curses the city (civilization), the harlot (women that led to the destruction of his innocence), and the trapper (who precipitated the education of Enkidu). Enkidu’s curses further call into question the necessity of civilization and heroic quests: perhaps fame is not worth death.

=== Humbaba ===

"Humbaba whose name is 'Hugeness,' a ferocious giant. Enlil has appointed Humbaba to guard the forest and has armed him in sevenfold terrors, terrible to all flesh is Humbaba. When he roars it is like the torrent of the storm, his breath is like fire, and his jaws are death itself. He guards the cedars so well the when the wild heifer stirs in the forest, though she is sixty leagues distant, he hears her. Humbaba is a great warrior, a battering ram. Humbaba, the watchman of the forest never sleeps." (The Norton Anthology, 23)

Humbaba was also know as Huwawa. Humbaba is a monster in the Epic of Gilgamesh who guards the cedar forest in the Lebanon mountains. He is a giant being and is sometimes shown with lion's claws, long hair, and a monstrous, hairy face. Humbaba is killed by the hero Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu who journey to the forest to cut down cedar trees. (http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/gods/explore/humbaba.html, 2005)

=== Escape from Death ===

After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh rips his clothes from his body and dons animal skins, symbolic of his repudiation of civilization and renown — that which caused the death of his friend. Gilgamesh’s subsequent journey is a psychological descent into his own psyche to discover his own meaning in a life that must end in death. His epic journey is pretty pathetic as far as epic journeys go: full of tantrums and failed tasks, Gilgamesh seems to return to Uruk empty-handed. Yet, he brings the story of his travel and carves it on the bricks that make up the foundation of Uruk, suggesting that civilization is ultimately built on stories: the written text is the key to progress, friendship, and immortality. Gilgamesh, then, becomes a scapegoat: he journeyed to meet Utnapishtim so his people did not have to. Though his journeys proved ostensibly unsuccessful, he returned humanized, ready to accept his place in the world and finally death when it would come.

''Gilgamesh'' leaves us with its moral: Do not abuse power, “deal justly with your servants in the palace, deal justly before the face of the Sun” (46). ''Gilgamesh'' is both “the darkness and the light of mankind” in that he brought suffering, but ultimately brought life to his people in the form of the story. What directions for life are contained within the epic? How many of these myths do we still live with today? These stories represent the good and the bad of humanity. What do we ultimately think of the stories, myths, codes for life that ''Gilgamesh'' ultimately passes on?

== Importance of Food and Drink ==

== Attitudes Toward Women ==

Gilgamesh's view of women is that of a male chauvinist (according to today’s standards). Not only is he a male chauvinist, but he "is the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal." (The Norton Anthology, 17)"His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute." (The Norton Anthology, 19) The men of Uruk were not happy with his behavior. Even noble Enkidu is upset at the news that Gilgamesh was to take a bride’s virginity before her marriage to her groom.

When Ishtar see Gilgamesh's great beauty she exclaims in glory, "Come to me ''Gilgamesh'', and be my bridegroom; grant me seed of you body, let me be your bride and you shall be my husband."(The Norton Anthology, 30) “She tried to make Gilgamesh her husband, but he refused her and reminded her of her former lovers, whom she mercilessly killed or left injured.” (Lindemans, Micha F. \ “Ishtar” \ www.pantheon.org \ July 25, 2004) He states that he doesn’t just want to be another piece of meat in her escapades of having sex with many men and leaving them. So he declines.

Gilgamesh is a control freak and if he were to marry Ishtar, he would loose that control. Also, Gilgamesh loves virgins and not loose women. This is seen in the opening statments listed above.

As we look at attitudes toward women, we cannot just look at Gilgamesh as an individual but at the whole story. The trappers son was scared of Enkidu at first. The trappers son went to Gilgamesh and got a harlot, (loose woman), to take to the watering hole to seduce Enkidu so his peers, the animals, would repel against him.

To humanize Enkidu, the harlot, was sent to seduce him. Enkidu, who ran with the animals and was basically one of them, came upon the harlot at the drinking hole where she exposed her breasts, got naked with him and had sex with him for six days and seven nights. After this, Enkidu had his fill and returned to be with the animals that rejected him and ran off. We hear of Enkidu being weak legged after his sexual escapades and unable to keep up with the animals. (The Norton Anthology, 20)

Women were looked at basically as sexual elements from the beginning of this tale and this has continued throughout time. So, is Gilgamesh really as bad as he was made out to be or is he just the same as some of the men in today's society? Women throughout modern day have used sex to get what they want. This is just an example of how women even back then used sex to get what they desired even if it was for someone else.

== Archetypes in Gilgamesh ==

== Gilgamesh Variations ==

There are many different Gilgamesh interpretations. Some representations of the story have Gilgamesh as an old man. This is incorrect, the reason behind that is whoever wrote that interpretation did not read the original. This is unfortunate because if Gilgamesh was read in the wrong interpretation; a novice reader would not understand one of the major themes of humility throughout Gilgamesh.

== External Links ==

* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000360.shtml The Taming of Nature in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000449.shtml Ecological Themes in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000297.shtml Friendship and Two Epics]
* [http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/eng251/gilgameshstudy.htm Gilgamesh Study Guide]

[[Category:World Literature]]

Epic of Gilgamesh

2005-01-29T18:40:23Z

Whobbs: /* Attitudes Toward Women */

[[Image:Gilgamesh.jpg|thumb|Gilgamesh]] While composed nearly five thousand years ago (2500-1500 BCE), ''Gilgamesh'' seems very as contemporary in its thematic concerns as it is alien in many of its cultural practices. Many of these themes emerge from a lost mythological tradition and a culture that is equally non-extant, the bonds of friendship, fear of death, and the quest for worldly renown still strike chords with us even in the twenty-first century.

== Historical Context ==

''Gilgamesh'' is a primary epic, composed over a thousand years by cultural stories of the legendary king, Gilgamesh, who is thought to have historically ruled Uruk circa 2700 BCE. The oral stories were probably assembled by a poet and cast into the narrative form of the epic between 2000 and 1600 BCE and finally written on clay tablets in cuneiform during the reign of Assurbanipol in 668-627 BCE.

== Gilgamesh as Epic ==

Can ''Gilgamesh'' be called an Epic? Yes and No.
No, because the term epic is usually applied to exceptionally long poems that are narrated by someone else. ''Gilgamesh'' has three entries that one may consider to be poems. On page 34 ''Gilgamesh'' cries out to the counsellors of Uruk in what I would call a short prayer. On page 43 Ea speaks to Enlil about his misdeeds, the words that are indented have the characteristics of an epic poem. Ea words center on Enlil whose deeds can control the fate of human mankind.

Then again yes, ''Gilgamesh'' could be called a Primary Epic. The story of Gilgamesh has several episodes that are legendary. The first sentence of the story states, "''Gilgamesh'' is a poem of unparalleled antiquity, the first great heroic narrative of world literature."(The Norton Anthology) On Lit muse you will find that Primary Epic means, "The work focuses on the personal concept of heroism, and the self-fulfillment and identity of the individual hero." Gilgamesh was definitely out for self-fulfillment.

== The Role of Enkidu ==
In my eyes Enkidu is the real hero of the epic.On most of the sites I visited for research, I've found that majority of the people tend to downplay Enkidus role.Some call him a wild man made noble by the "great" Gilgamesh and others say he forced Gilgamesh into his adventures or misadventures. Even the gods looked at him as a sidekick and never equal to Gilgamesh, when deciding that he must die for the killing of the Bull of Heaven, and not Gilgamesh.
The reason the Bull was killed was because Gilgamesh was mouthing off to Ishtar and like a true solider Enkidu had to step in a save Gilgamesh. On all the adventures and in all the battles Enkidu was all was the stronger warrior, but Gilgamesh would always receive the praise.Enkidu was brought in as a counterweight to Gilgamesh and ended up being his saviour.Enkidu saves the life of Gilgamesh many times and ends up giving his life for him.

== Thematic Concerns ==

The [[Epic Poetry | epic]] takes as its primary concern Gilgamesh’s wisdom that he acquires during his journeys and the monuments that he constructs upon his return. Like the Homeric epics, Gilgamesh begins ''in medias res'' during the rule of a wild king, two-thirds god and one-third man. While Gilgamesh is strong and an obvious stud — at least in his own mind, his is cruel and naive, needing to discover what it means to be human if he is to become a good ruler and father.

=== Bonds of Friendship ===

His first lesson is one of friendship through the wild man Enkidu, more of an animal than man. Like all good, lasting friendships (at least those that I have had), Gilgamesh and Enkidu first attempt to kill each other when the latter comes to Uruk. Fortunately, they do not, yet Gilgamesh does get the slight upper-hand, and they become great friends. Indeed, while there is an implicit suggestion of Gilgamesh’s superiority over Enkidu, something akin most friendships, there is one who is dominant, choosing adventures, making decisions, and directing the ultimate course of the friendship. Gilgamesh, since he is the [[heroic ideal | epic hero]], seems to take this role, perhaps also suggesting the superiority of the cultured and civilized to the animal, or natural. This motif becomes even more apparent in their first adventure.

=== Quest for Worldly Renown ===

Now that we are friends, we have to party. Enkidu soon gets bored in Uruk — “I am oppressed by idleness” (23) — and Gilgamesh suggests they go get medieval of some evil: Humbaba. This feat will also prove Gilgamesh a real hero by allowing stories to be told about his great feats of manhood:

: I will set up my name in the place where the names of famous men are written, and where no man’s name is written yet I will raise a monument to the gods.

[[Image:Grendel.jpg|thumb|Humbaba]] While Humbaba lives in the Country of the Living, seemingly quite far from Uruk, and is apparently not an immediate threat to Gilgamesh’s people, this endeavor might seem a bit dubious. Perhaps this is a commentary on what men will do when they are bored: let’s go kill something. When we are at peace, we long for war? Humbaba might also represent a “holdfast,” something that while alive or existing — whether an idea or an actual threat — restricts a culture from developing beyond a certain point. Many such holdfasts pop up in western literature, cf. the dragon in Beowulf for one.

While Gilgamesh and Enkidu are successful in killing Humbaba — through episodes of fainting and friendly gibes — its death suggests more of an ambiguity in their success, as if something precious has been slain all for the pride of man (and I do mean man, here). Notice that when Humbaba is killed, the heroes begin cutting down trees: “They attacked the cedars . . . [and] cleared their roots as far as the banks of the Euphrates” (30). Like Enkidu’s education through the wiles of the harlot, this victory suggests that while the heroes accomplished their great victory, something is irrevocably lost because of their endeavor. Through the harlot, Enkidu forever loses his innocence, but what is lost in the killing of Humbaba is a bit more ambiguous. Perhaps this is an ecological statement about clearing rain forests millennia before we knew what effect that practice would have.

The ambiguity continues in the gods’ reaction to the death of Humbaba and the felling of the cedars: Enkidu must die. OK, maybe it has more to do with Gilgamesh’s arrogant dismissal of Ishtar, but regardless, the Bull of Heaven is sent to punish the heroes and Uruk. Even though the bull is defeated, Enkidu must die which precipitates Gilgamesh’s search for immortality — an escape from death. Notice that while Enkidu lays dying that he curses the city (civilization), the harlot (women that led to the destruction of his innocence), and the trapper (who precipitated the education of Enkidu). Enkidu’s curses further call into question the necessity of civilization and heroic quests: perhaps fame is not worth death.

=== Escape from Death ===

After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh rips his clothes from his body and dons animal skins, symbolic of his repudiation of civilization and renown — that which caused the death of his friend. Gilgamesh’s subsequent journey is a psychological descent into his own psyche to discover his own meaning in a life that must end in death. His epic journey is pretty pathetic as far as epic journeys go: full of tantrums and failed tasks, Gilgamesh seems to return to Uruk empty-handed. Yet, he brings the story of his travel and carves it on the bricks that make up the foundation of Uruk, suggesting that civilization is ultimately built on stories: the written text is the key to progress, friendship, and immortality. Gilgamesh, then, becomes a scapegoat: he journeyed to meet Utnapishtim so his people did not have to. Though his journeys proved ostensibly unsuccessful, he returned humanized, ready to accept his place in the world and finally death when it would come.

''Gilgamesh'' leaves us with its moral: Do not abuse power, “deal justly with your servants in the palace, deal justly before the face of the Sun” (46). ''Gilgamesh'' is both “the darkness and the light of mankind” in that he brought suffering, but ultimately brought life to his people in the form of the story. What directions for life are contained within the epic? How many of these myths do we still live with today? These stories represent the good and the bad of humanity. What do we ultimately think of the stories, myths, codes for life that ''Gilgamesh'' ultimately passes on?

== Importance of Food and Drink ==

== Attitudes Toward Women ==

Gilgamesh's view of women is that of a male chauvinist (according to today’s standards). Not only is he a male chauvinist, but he "is the epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal." (The Norton Anthology, 17)"His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior's daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute." (The Norton Anthology, 19) The men of Uruk were not happy with his behavior. Even noble Enkidu is upset at the news that Gilgamesh was to take a bride’s virginity before her marriage to her groom.

When Ishtar see Gilgamesh's great beauty she exclaims in glory, "Come to me ''Gilgamesh'', and be my bridegroom; grant me seed of you body, let me be your bride and you shall be my husband."(The Norton Anthology, 30) “She tried to make Gilgamesh her husband, but he refused her and reminded her of her former lovers, whom she mercilessly killed or left injured.” (Lindemans, Micha F. \ “Ishtar” \ www.pantheon.org \ July 25, 2004) He states that he doesn’t just want to be another piece of meat in her escapades of having sex with many men and leaving them. So he declines.

Gilgamesh is a control freak and if he were to marry Ishtar, he would loose that control. Also, Gilgamesh loves virgins and not loose women. This is seen in the opening statments listed above.

As we look at attitudes toward women, we cannot just look at Gilgamesh as an individual but at the whole story. The trappers son was scared of Enkidu at first. The trappers son went to Gilgamesh and got a harlot, (loose woman), to take to the watering hole to seduce Enkidu so his peers, the animals, would repel against him.

To humanize Enkidu, the harlot, was sent to seduce him. Enkidu, who ran with the animals and was basically one of them, came upon the harlot at the drinking hole where she exposed her breasts, got naked with him and had sex with him for six days and seven nights. After this, Enkidu had his fill and returned to be with the animals that rejected him and ran off. We hear of Enkidu being weak legged after his sexual escapades and unable to keep up with the animals. (The Norton Anthology, 20)

Women were looked at basically as sexual elements from the beginning of this tale and this has continued throughout time. So, is Gilgamesh really as bad as he was made out to be or is he just the same as some of the men in today's society? Women throughout modern day have used sex to get what they want. This is just an example of how women even back then used sex to get what they desired even if it was for someone else.

== Archetypes in Gilgamesh ==

== Gilgamesh Variations ==

There are many different Gilgamesh interpretations. Some representations of the story have Gilgamesh as an old man. This is incorrect, the reason behind that is whoever wrote that interpretation did not read the original. This is unfortunate because if Gilgamesh was read in the wrong interpretation; a novice reader would not understand one of the major themes of humility throughout Gilgamesh.

== External Links ==

* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000360.shtml The Taming of Nature in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000449.shtml Ecological Themes in Gilgamesh]
* [http://litmuse.maconstate.edu/~glucas/archives/000297.shtml Friendship and Two Epics]
* [http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/eng251/gilgameshstudy.htm Gilgamesh Study Guide]

[[Category:World Literature]]