The Gods And God's Roles In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story that originates from Mesopotamia. Through out the epic we learn of several gods, the sun-god Shamash that helps Enkidu and Gilgamesh defeat Humbaba, Aruru who creates Enkidu as Gilgamesh’s equal because the people complained about how badly they were being treated by Gilgamesh, Ishtar the god of love, Anu the sky-god etc. There were numerous gods responsible for all areas of life. The gods were an intricate part of human life and affected daily events. Mesopotamians believed that the gods and goddess controlled their lives. Mesopotamians and Egyptians alike worship many gods and goddesses. The Stela of the God Bes is displayed in Gallery 137 - Egypt under Roman Rule, First Century A.D. God Bes is kept in lighted art glass. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts “Bes waves a knife in one hand and in the other grasps a snake, whose long tail curls up toward a round shape, probably the god 's tambourine. A hole remains where a large erect phallus would have been inserted. Considerable …show more content…
The axe represents that of a “battle companion” according to Gilgamesh’s mother the “axe” is a “strong man, a champion”. The sexual connotations symbolize how deep his feelings will be for Enkidu. Tablet VII Enkidu foresees his death through the symbolic dream of the underworld. Enkidu dreams of a man with “a somber face, a face like the lion-headed monster-bird Anzu” in the underworld, and the dead was “dressed like birds in feather garments,” The avian reference reflects a symbolic associate with birds and the souls of the dead. In ancient Egypt the belief was that the human soul was made up for five parts. The Ba being one of the five parts was what makes up a person’s personality. The Ba was in the form of a bird and they believed it would live on after the body died. The bird would fly out of the tomb and rejoin the Ka in the

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