Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Q & A, Friday April 25th

Gilgamesh Concluded

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tablet XI, The Story of the Flood, is very similar to the story of Noah in the Bible. Compare these two stories. Do you find it strange that Gilgamesh was written around the same time of the flood in the Bible?

Chris said...

Tablet XI, Who intercedes on Gilgamesh's behalf? What secret is revealed to Gilgamesh?

Chris said...

Tablet XI, How would you characterize the nature of gods in the story of the flood?

Anonymous said...

I feel that the nature of the gods after and during the flood is comical because they retrieved to the heavens of anu. It states they were cowering like dogs and I would think they would be unafraid of something like a flood. And just stating about the Bible thing, I don't know the answer to that but it was written long ago like the Bible so it could be just a branch of a story.

Kimberly Phillips said...

this answer takes place for the quiz i'll miss on friday april 25.

I too found it strange that the gods were terrified of the flood. But then again gods can produce destructive and powerful things and maybe the other gods thought that the flood would destroy them too. As far as the two flood stories being similar I don't think they should be taken seriously. Some believe that the story of the flood in the Bible is something that didn't really happen but it is just a story to teach lessons. With that said what kind of lesson is there in Gilgamesh?

Unknown said...

In comparing Noah and the Ark to the flood in Gilgamesh, you can see some similarities and a few significant differences. Some of the similarities are; they both occurred in the same place, in both stories a divine being(God) told the main character to build a boat and save his family and animals, in both stories birds were sent out to see if the water had dried up and the boats landed in the mountains. There are also some very significant differences that make it hard to believe that these stories are the same. One is the difference in the duration of the flood. In Gilgamesh the flood only lasted 3 weeks, in the story of Noah and the Ark it lasted about a year. Another difference is the reasoning behind the flood. In Gilgamesh the god enlil ordered the flood because mankind was too loud and noisy, where as in Noah and the Ark God sent caused the flood because mankind had become increasingly violent due to the evil and wickedness that filled their hearts. This seems like a much more logical reason. And a third difference is that of the dimensions of the ships. If those of the ship in Gilgamesh are correct (200x200x200), then it would have been shaped like a square and very top heavy, making it a very unseaworthy ship. The ship in the story of Noah, on the other hand (450x75x45), was much more likely to be a functioning vessel.

Karen Raiford said...

Utnapishtim's wife begs her husband to have mercy on Gilgamesh. The secret is Utnapishtim used to be a mortal, he was saved from the flood by Ea, and Enlil turns him into a god

Cary Longstaff said...

I do find it strange that this part of Gilgamesh was written around the same time as the story in the Bible. I don't think that they are the same, because this is just another idea of the flood int he Bible.

This question is for the one I've missed.

Why do you think the Gods were scared and do you think they actually created something that they could not control.

paulinoa said...

do you think that the snake taking the plant "The Old Man Becomes A Young Man" was a punishment for gilgamesh because he was no longer concerned about his lost friend Enkidu or anyone else, he was only worried and concerned about himself?

Tim Porter said...

Gilgamesh and Enkidnu have a very close relationship. The text betrays the two as friends, though other writings like The Lord of the Rings have been cited as having implied homosexual feeling between key characters. Do you think that exist here or not? Do you know any other novels to television show that have relationships that seem less that just "friendships"? and what do you think about these underlying themes if they exist?

Tim Porter said...

I do indeed believe that the characters the Epoch of Gilgamesh are supposed to have some sort of homosexual relationship because that kinda of same-sex relationship was easily accepted in early mesopotamian culture. Another good example of this very deep friend ship is the relationship between Gatsby and Nick in The Great Gatsby. I do not think that it is an implied homosexual relationship. Nick was kind of in love with the idea of Gatsby, though. Gatsby's death, Enkidnu's death, and Frodo's departure from middle earth all mirror in each other. Perhaps this is a pattern for these unexpressed relationships. Also, even if they dont exist, i like these kinda of MAYBE's it makes text analysis more fun

Erica Sherrill Owens said...

In reading the epic of Gilgamesh, we notice that there are many passages missing. Also, the translation reverts to other versions, such as the ancient Babylonian. Do you think that the fact that pieces are missing take away from the full story? Or do you think they don't really matter in the big picture? Also, do you think that the numerous translations tarnish the story? For example, there are several passages and words that are just assumed...

Chris said...

I do believe that when the snake took the vine for a punishment towards Gilgamesh. It was a test throughtout the journey and the gods felt that Gilgamesh did not accomplish what they ultimately wanted him to accomplish.

Erica Sherrill Owens said...

I don't find it strange that the flood stories are similar...I find it interesting. They did supposedly occur at similar times in history, so it is not surprising that there are different variations of it. However, there are differences as well, which were touched on in an earlier post. A lot of the facts in there early stories also depend on how the stories were recorded.

Erica Sherrill Owens said...

Staying with the Bible theme...what do you think about the many similaritie in symbolism between this epic and the Old Testament in the Bible? Not just the flood, but the snake, afterlife, etc...