Gilgamesh Worldview Research Paper

“What you believe about who you are, where you came from, affects your whole worldview.” (Ham) Although everybody has a worldview, they may not know what shapes it. Throughout history, worldviews have shaped civilizations, which have furthermore shaped their societies. Creation stories and legends often have an immense impact on one’s worldview. The Babylonian, Akkadian, and Hebrew civilizations are among the first with strong, yet contradicting, worldviews. Each of their worldviews developed their views of gods, man, and heroism. These civilizations believed in different creation stories and legends, each outlining how they interpreted the world, both natural and supernatural. A creation story really shapes how people view their …show more content…
This story was not a creation story, but it still portrayed how Akkadians viewed gods, man, and heroes. The Akkadians also believed in many gods, but they also worshiped some humans as gods. Gilgamesh was the main character in this epic; he was a king, but was worshiped as a god. “And who, like Gilgamesh, can proclaim, “I am king!” / Gilgamesh was singled out from the day of his birth, / Two-thirds of him was divine, one-third of him was human!” (Tablet 1, Lines 48-50) There were other full gods in the story, and they were not merciful. However, they were loving within their families. Unfortunately, The Epic of Gilgamesh rarely mentions man as important, and this may have had an effect on how the Akkadians thought of …show more content…
(Tablet 4, Lines 165-168)
Gilgamesh and Enkidu had defeated an undefeated demon. Throughout the story, these two heroes portrayed good characteristics, such as being just, compassionate, and loving. Contrasting to Enuma Elish, The Epic of Gilgamesh was not a creation story, yet it was key in shaping the worldview of the Akkadians. The Bible, which was the book of the Israelites, included both a creation story and many heroic stories throughout. The Bible, and specifically Genesis, had an enormous part in shaping the worldview of the Israelites. Israelites had a solid way of viewing God, man, and heroes. The Israelites viewed God as merciful, loving, caring, and forgiving. “Cain replied to the Lord, ‘My punishment is too great for me to bear! You have banished me from the land and from your presence; you have made me a homeless wanderer. Anyone who finds me will kill me!’ The Lord replied, ‘No, for I will give a sevenfold punishment to anyone who kills you.’ Then the Lord put a mark on Cain to warn anyone who might try to kill him.” (New Living Translation, Gen. 4.13-15) This verse shows that the Israelites believed in one God, who is just, perfect, forgiving, cares for His creation, and believes that it is good. Genesis also outlines how the Israelites viewed man: “Then the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are