Essay On The Role Of Women In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Throughout history literature has typically been very male dominated. Although men have dominated, women have still played important roles. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one good example of ancient literature where women have a big impact on the story that is being told. Women such as the goddesses Aruru and Ishtar, and the harlot Shamhat help send The Epic of Gilgamesh in multiple different directions. They are very important to the development of the main characters, Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Without these important female characters Gilgamesh and Enkidu would not have changed in the ways they did. The female characters help make the story much more interesting than it would have been without them. Aruru is just one of the important female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh. She is the goddess that created both Gilgamesh and Enkidu. In the epic the nobles of Uruk call upon her for help getting rid of her creation, Gilgamesh, who has become a huge nuisance to their city. They plead with Aruru to …show more content…
She desires Gilgamesh and tries to seduce him but he rejects her advances. The rejection is taken as an insult and causes Ishtar to ask her father, Anu, to “make me the Bull of Heaven that he smite Gilgamesh”, (Bailkey and Lim 118) threatening to raise the dead if he didn't comply. The bull is sent by Anu but is slain by Enkidu and Gilgamesh. The slaying of The Bull of Heaven is seen as an insult to all of the gods. Ishtar herself is insulted again when Enkidu throws the flesh of the bull in her face. As a direct result of the insults to Ishtar and the other gods, it is decided that Enkidu needs to be killed. The actions of the goddess Ishtar after the initial rejection from Gilgamesh are what lead to Enkidu's death. By causing the death of Enkidu she helped Gilgamesh realize that he is not invincible. This realization is what leads him into the next part of the story, his quest for