Essay on The Role of Sex in The Epic of Gilgamesh - 818 Words

In The Epic of Gilgamesh it seem like the women have all the power. The women have great influences on the men. In Gilgamesh sex plays an important role, and it also seems that sex has a hold on Gilgamesh and also Enkidu - not just a hold on them, but more of an addiction throughout the story of Gilgamesh. In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh has a great lust that leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warriors daughter nor the wife of noble men. To me, the lust in Gilgameshs heart makes him a very selfish person. I think what makes Gilgamesh a selfish person is because the gods made him perfect, he was beautiful and strong as a savage bull and everyone feared Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh knew he had power so he abused it, because†¦show more content†¦Let them contend together and leave Uruk in quiet. Then Aruru makes Gilgameshs better half, Enkidu, from clay and set him down in the forest. For a while everything is fine in Enkidus life until one day a trapper sees Enkidu and notices that Enkidu is preventing the trapper from catching any game. So to his father and the father send the trapper to Gilgamesh to get a harlot to trap Enkidu. And how does she trap Enkidu? By using her womanly powers, sex, and these powers Enkidu cannot resist. When Enkidu tries to return to his home in the forest, roaming with the animals, the animals reject Enkidu. The wild beasts reject Enkidu when he has been with a woman, as if being with a woman is contaminating: When next he comes down to drink at the wells she will be there, stripped naked; and when he sees her beckoning he will embrace her, and then the wild beasts will reject him. So then the woman teaches Enkidu her ways. But then back with Gilgamesh, the power of lust and sex takes Gilgamesh and Gilgamesh try to take another virgin before the husband. Word gets back to Enkidu, who is the good to Gilgameshs evil, and Enkidu travels to Uruk to stop Gilgamesh. When Enkidu arrives Enkidu fights Gilgamesh. Its interesting to me that just as Gilgamesh is going to the bed of a newShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay1400 Words   |  6 Pagesago have always dealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a hard time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George and Monkey translated by Arthur Waley have fantastic examples of women being looked up to for being immortal, powerful, and sexless while other women are looked down upon for having any association with sexual activityRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pagesago have always dealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a har d time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George and Monkey translated by Arthur Waley have fantastic examples of women being looked up to for being immortal, powerful, and sexless while other women are looked down upon for having any association with sexual activityRead MoreGender Roles in the Epic of Gilgamesh Essay679 Words   |  3 PagesGender Roles in the Epic of Gilgamesh In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role. While women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of humans, they still had tremendous influence. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not play a necessarily minor role. With all the women that play a role in the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender is a topic worthy of discussion. The obvious role of men in the Epic of Gilgamesh isRead MoreTheme Of Sexuality In Gilgamesh1484 Words   |  6 PagesSexuality in Gilgamesh: Through history, independent cultures have developed stories, legends and myths that share common roots. From Shakespeares dramas to modern soap operas, the expression of the collective subconscious creates similarities in theme and purpose that transcend differences of time, genre, or race. Among these universal themes, one in particular echoes more than the rest: sexuality, and its importance. In the worlds oldest text, Gilgamesh, sexuality’s role is depicted prominentlyRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh : The Struggle For Women1183 Words   |  5 PagesThe struggle for women to play a significant role in history can be traced from the ancient Mesopotamians to the 1900’s. There has been a continuous battle for women to gain equal rights legally and to be treated equally in all aspects of life. The Epic of Gilgamesh contains some of the oldest recorded accounts of the roles of women and their importance in a functional society. Women have been viewed as anything from goddesses to unwanted servants throughout history, regardless of a variety of changesRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh And The Bhagavad Gita855 Words   |  4 PagesIn The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Bhagavad-Gita, gods play an important role in society and the way of life. In the Bhagavad-Gita, people portray their gods as almighty and perfect beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian people see their gods as imperfect, human-like beings. The way the people depict their gods, determines how long the religion will last and how much power the gods withhold. The fact that the gods in The Epic of Gilgamesh act a lot like humans, their power is minimalRead MoreAnalysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh 1119 Words   |  5 PagesTranslation Comparison Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh has been read and reviewed/ critiqued by numerous authors. I took the articles’ ‘Angiology in the Epic of Gilgamesh’ by Th. Jacobson, and compared it to Benjamin Fosters ‘A New edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh’ These two articles both critique the writings of The Epic of Gilgamesh but in different ways. Foster’s article is a critique on a critique that has been written about The Epic of Gilgamesh, where as Jacobson critiques the epic itself, so we areRead MoreGender Roles During The Epic Of Gilgamesh An Epic Poem 939 Words   |  4 Pages2017 Gender Roles In Gilgamesh, an epic poem, gender roles play a large role in the plot line. Even female goddesses had some key roles through this ancient epic. They might not have necessarily had the same strengths and duties to their male counterparts, but their roles were substantial. Even though the main characters in this epic, Enkidu and Gilgamesh, are male, women still had major roles in their tale. In the story of Ruth, Naomi and her mother-in-law defy gender roles and work forRead MoreAnalysis Of The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Odyssey Essay1548 Words   |  7 Pagesmisogyny into stone. There are some exceptional cases in the famous epic poems, the Epic of Gilgamesh of the Sumerians and Akkadians and the Odyssey from Homer of the Greeks. We all can agree that these epic poems or at most the authors did not view women with our modern perspective – equality among gender. However, we cannot deny that female characters helped set the path of the epic heroes’ journey to their goals . In these epic poems, women are portrayed as figures and themes of knowledge, motherhoodRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh : King Of Uruk1332 Words   |  6 PagesIn the verse narrative The Epic of Gilgamesh the principal character Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, is described as an entity that is two-thirds god and one-third man. Gilgamesh is a hero/protagonist who exhibits many more human features than divine features. This makes him a flawed hero because all humans are flawed. He is even described in human terms. â€Å"A perfect physical specimen, gifted athlete and sex machine† [Davis p.154]. His primary flaws are pride and arrogance with his pursuit for immortality