The Epic of Gilgamesh in Comparison to the Enuma Elish Essays

The epic of Gilgamesh makes reference to the Enuma Elish, because both stories include gods and heroes. With expressing all details in a clear and obvious way, leaving no doubt as to the true intended meaning one can easily identify an explicit view in the Epic of Gilgamesh, when the main character, Gilagamesh tries to defeat a giant, similar to how Marduk tried to defeat Tiamat in the Enuma Elish. Both wanted to show that they have power, but more so Gilgamesh wanted show that he deserves to be immortal and that he should live with no limits. Gilgamesh was created by several gods in their likeliness with only one problem, he was not immortal. He continued to live his life to the fullest just like Marduk. The Sumerians viewed some gods†¦show more content†¦The only difference was that the deaths that happened, the death in the Enuma Elish is a death upon evil and in the Epic of Gilgamesh the death was between the giant and the destruction of nature. The epic of Gilgamesh extolled the virtues of being the first civilization is based on how Gilgamesh was created and based on how their city was built along with the writing system and religion. Different gods and goddesses created Gilgamesh, but they created him in their likeness. Nintu, the great Mother Goddess who had fashioned the first human beings out of clay, had also created Gilgamesh. Shamash, god of the sun, had given him great beauty. Adad, god of the storms, had given him great courage. Ea, god of wisdom, had given him the capacity to learn from his experiences and to become the wisest of men. All of his creators represent something that was first made in the world. It is obvious that the people of Uruk take much pride in their city walls because in the Epic of Gilgamesh it stated â€Å"Notice the strong walls of our city of Uruk†, the people wanted others to see foundation of their city and what they have as compared to what other civilizations have. Another statement is â€Å"Examine the fine brickwork. These walls, too, surpass all others! No human being, not even a king, will ever be able to construct more impressive walls than Gilgamesh built around our city of Uruk!† Again this brags about the arrogant way of Gilgamesh and howShow MoreRelatedGENESIS AND ANCIENT MYTHS OF THE NEAR EAST930 Words   |  4 Pagesmyths were initiated. Comparison to writings contemporary to the people of Israel, can offer a deeper understanding of the meaning of their stories of origin as they give a point of reference from similar cultures. There are a number of ways that one could view the writings of the ancient Near East for the purpose of interpreting each culture. Because there are many parallels among the creation and flood stories of the ancient Near East, this will be the focus of comparison. 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