Ishtar

Gilgamesh expresses sorrow to Ur-shanabi over losing the regenerative plant. Gilgamesh’s human side opens up more as the story continues and becomes prominent especially in his lament over the plant. Gilgamesh used to dominate nature and all its animals as his godly self but now he is more of a mere human vulnerable to the wild. Gilgamesh had “toiled [his] arms so hard” that he “ran dry the blood of [his] heart” (XI 311-312). His blood running dry implies he was close to death. Gilgamesh’s…

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem that tells a story of the hero and historical figure Gilgamesh, a king who ruled over the Sumerian city of Uruk sometime around 2700 B.C.E, as well as his companion Enkidu. The epic poem explores many themes, mainly humankinds coping with the inevitably of death, as well as their struggle against the natural world and the gods. Throughout the Epic, Gilgamesh uses Technology cultivate the natural world around him and bring it to a state of civilization. One…

Chapter Six Chango Other Names: Shango, Xango. A War god, connected with Mars, claimed to give victory over adversaries and perform powerful punishment upon them. He is called mostly for men in all issues to do with victory and sensuality, to be seductive to women. Chango may perhaps be the best recognized of the Orishas. He rules dance, drums fire, lightning and thunder. Chango is a warrior Orisha of knowledge and intellect, has hot-tempered nature and is the personification of manhood. Chango…

Gilgamesh was seeking for everlasting life, hoping that Utnapishtim would disclose the secret, but his answer was not anticipated. Utnapishtim explained the calamity of the flood that devastated mankind and his path to his everlasting life. The flood in Utnapishtim’s story represented how death can easily befall mankind according to God’s will. The God’s survival symbolizes how a man can die, but mankind will continue to survive regardless of any disaster. Utnapishtim explains how nothing is…

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu both endure tests that reflect their prideful nature and doubt in themselves. These conflicts reveal the tendency of human nature to give into the weaknesses of the human flesh. Being able to determine what is ultimately right from wrong can lead us to triumph or loss. Pride plays a large role in the downfall of many great people, two being Gilgamesh and Enkidu. After Enkidu enters the kingdom of Uruk, Gilgamesh does not think twice when Enkidu…

Gilgamesh is an epic poem about the struggles of a tyrant. Gilgamesh, a two third god, one third human that is a tyrant over his civilization in Uruk. Gilgamesh was so harsh that his people cried out to the gods for help. The gods responded quickly, sending the goddess of creation, Aruru, to create a double of Gilgamesh to balance out the tyrant. The double, named Enkidu, does not do his job, but instead encourages Gilgamesh to be brave and try to control nature. He boosts Gilgamesh’s ego enough…

Rebellion and madness set in the period of one of the darkest periods of human life since the Neolithic revolution; Aguirre, the Wrath of God takes us back to a time of conquistadors and the blatant disregard for human life while one tries to permanently cement their name in the history books and trust me Don Lope de Aguirre has succeeded in that regard though perhaps not as well as his initial commander in this film, Francisco Pizarro. Power is something that we as humans always desire, even…

In the epic genre of storytelling there are two character archetypes that represent a civilization’s view of the unquestionably good and evil. The unquestionably ‘good’ archetype is that of the ‘Hero’ character who is representative of a civilization's values and ideas. This hero is the wholly just, fearless, and godly man which every human strives to emulate. The other archetype is that of the unquestionably ‘evil’ character who represents the ideas or forces that exists to undermine everything…

An individual’s understanding of death goes through various stages. In the beginning, one is consumed with abstract ideas pertaining to death, existing in thought but with no actual physical evidence. Then as one experiences life, their views on death begin to change and shape as they experience the world, thus forming a physical reality where everyone is subject to death. The tales of both Ivyn Ilych and Gilgamesh capture their experiences and subsequent confrontation with death. Each character…

Mesopotamians and Israelites may seem to be vastly different societies due to their separate development, but in actuality both are shockingly similar with several instances of cultural overlap. One region where this overlap is significantly stronger is in both cultures religious beliefs and practices. Although the Mesopotamians were polytheistic and the Israelites were monotheistic, their gods were akin in characteristics. The main god of Mesopotamia was Ea or Enki, and he can be compared to…