Essay Comparing The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Beowulf

Heroes have captivated the minds of people throughout time. They fill the lore of cultures in all time periods and give societies a beacon of hope. The Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf are cultural examples of heroes. These stories gave their respective cultures hope and the thrill of a higher stratosphere of ability and honor. More importantly, these heroes help present day historians learn more about the cultures that idolized them. The Epic of Gilgamesh begins by narrating the rule of Gilgamesh, King of Uruk. Gilgamesh if two thirds god and one third man. He lords over his people—forcing the people to build temples to him and raping any woman that strikes his fancy. Upon hearing the groans of the people, the gods send down a wild man to humble Gilgamesh named Enkidu. This is were the story begins. Enkidu is more beast than man in many ways. However, a woman tames him and he enters society only to find that he does not like the ruling behaviors of King Gilgamesh. He confronts Gilgamesh and the two have a tremendous battle that King Gilgamesh narrowly wins. Eventually though, the two become close friends and experience many adventures together including the killing the terrifying demon Humbaba. After a time, …show more content…
Cultures create heroes out of idealized personification of the values that they hold in the highest esteem. Beowulf and The Epic of Gilgamesh give historians a better idea of the cultures that made them up. Beowulf was created by the
People create heroes by either recognizing someone as a representation of desired cultural values, or by inventing one who accomplishes the same objective. Therefore, observing who a civilization respects shows something about the character of the civilization itself. In Gilgamesh, the tale starts immediately with both the mention and the description of the deeds and prowess of
Gilgamesh. The “Prologue” consists of describing his deeds and commanding the listener to