Western literature has few epics of any real greatness. Of these, The Epic of Gilgamesh is by far the oldest.

The heroical of Gilgamesh

Western literature has few epics of any real greatness. Of these, The Epic of Gilgamesh is by far the oldest. The standard version of the epic, preceded Homers Iliad and Odyssey by centuries. And the business relationship of Gilgameshs deeds is much older then that, maybe as old as the cult religion that worshipped Gilgamesh as a deity around 2600 B.C.E.

But what does it mean to call Gilgamesh an epic? The epic form itself is sometimes traced to Homer, to define five putting green features to epics: 1) there is a hero of great national or even universal importance; 2) there is a large canvas, a setting that may be the whole human beings or larger; 3) the plot involves battles involving powerful deeds or a long, difficult journey; 4) gods or other marvellous beings are interested and involved; 5) there is a ritualized, performative aspect, a style more ceremonial than ordinary speech. In Gilgamesh we incur a story, older than Homer, which fulfills all of these criteria. Gilgamesh is the mightiest of ancient kings, a pagan hero and, like Achilles, the son of a goddess. Gilgameshs narrative spans non just the known world of Mesopotamia but also the ocean beyond the worlds end, and the tunnels through which the sun travels back to its resting place.



We have superhuman achievements in battle, the defeat of Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, and also a long and difficult journey. We have the active involvement of much of the Babylonian pantheon of gods, including Ea, Enlil, Ishtar and Shamash. And we certainly have a ceremonial style.

Formally, Gilgamesh is a rhythm poem. It is about 3000 lines long, divided in 11 sections, according to how it was to begin with recorded on 11 clay tablets. It is divided into verses, or...

If you take to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com



If you want to get a full essay, wisit our page: write my paper