Oedipus And Gilgamesh Comparison Essay

One of the first river valley civilizations found itself nestled between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the Fertile Crescent in now modern day Iraq, and Syria the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia thrived for thousands of years. Despite it being such a great civilization researchers have only recently translating cuneiform when Napoleon found the Rosetta Stone on his conquests. Again war in Iraq and conquest have assisted the discovery of many clay tablets in Iraq. These clay tablets telling the story of Gilgamesh, a story that contains friendship, and great grief, that allows researchers to go back and look at what the people of Mesopotamia were like, what they believed in in addition to get a better understanding on the society as …show more content…
It is because of their hubris that causes them to suffer immensely some more than others. Gilgamesh embarks to kill Humbaba to prove that he who is part man part god and his friend Enkidu who is part beats part man is more powerful than the demon. His friend Enkidu tells him “it’s a journey that will take away our lives” warning him of what he knows about the demon and all he brings is death to all those in the forest. Gilgamesh convinces him it’ll be okay and as a good friend Enkidu follows his friend into combat even one that he is so skeptical about.The end result they’re successful however the gods release the bull of the heavens and injures Enkidu they curse him to a slow painful death and he dies. In Oedipus his hubris ended up killing Laius in the road he could’ve let him go ahead of him instead of resulting a conflict setting forth the prophecy. By the end of the play Jocasta already put the pieces together and runs away to her room where she commits suicide, however Oedipus still arrogant and blind to the prophecy is still questioning the prophecy and not believing it until the sheepherder tells him his story, he still denies it however he does believe him. He enters Jocasta’s Chambers sees her died on the floor removes her dresses broches and gulches his eyes out and leaves Thebes ending the plague. If Gilgamesh would’ve listened to his friend Enkidu still would’ve been alive they would’ve grown old together as Gilgamesh wanted instead due to his hubris wanting to fight Hambaba and the loyalty of his friend it costed his life and put Gilgamesh into a deep grief for his friends lose. If Oedipus would’ve remembered the prophecy maybe he could’ve avoided it instead of folding in to it. It is because of his hubris he killed the king his father, set Thebes into a plague, the reason his mother, wife killed