Ishtar

With all things brought about by the passage of time, change seems to be the one that remains constant. Shown in history, the role of women has completely transformed from in the era of ancient epics to modern day. A product of how the female gender was viewed in this time period, women were not seen as equal to men in any aspect. Fortunately, in modern society women can play any role they want. Depicted in Greek, Hebrew and Mesopotamian texts, women are portrayed in many different ways while…

An epic poem features heroic deeds and a character (typically considered a hero) that has a character flaw that is typically resolved by the end of the poem. In the epic poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero, Gilgamesh goes on a journey in which he begins to find himself. In order for Gilgamesh to find himself, he had to go through a tragic event which made him realize that he needed to change. The search for immorality is one of the main tops that this epic poem expresses. Immortality is having…

Like in many ancient civilizations, men had more rights than women. Women were sometimes treated like slaves. Yet they still seemed to have lots more freedom than the women in most ancient civilizations. They could conduct business and even go on trips if they were granted explicit permission from their husbands or fathers. Children were alse treated fairly well but they were considered property of their parents. In times of need, their parents could sell them as slaves to make some money. The…

Gilgamesh and current day society hold many similarities in grieving rituals, showing how humans have something we all share even being apart in history. Gilgamesh finds a way to cope with his feelings for a while, “Six days and seven nights I mourned over him and would not allow him to be buried until a maggot fell out of his nose.”(Gilgamesh Tablet 7 In. ) Gilgamesh experiences one of the stages of grief, denial. Many people go through these stages of griefs, to deal with the loss. This is a…

sides. Another thing they believed was that the universe was born by the waters. The mesopotamians were also polytheistic, they believed in many gods. They worshiped four primary gods Anu, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursag. Along with three sky gods Inanna/Ishtar, Nanna/Sin, and Utu/Shamash. The wind demon Pazuzu was used to protect women in childbirth even though he was an evil demon. As part of Mesopotamian religion, they fed daily meals for their god Anu and Uruk. It was a ritual that the god was…

therefore we connect those ideas to real life Mesopotamia believing that the people of Mesopotamia also thought very highly of their gods. Many natural forces are said to be the works of gods. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh denies the goddess Ishtar. Ishtar, being very upset by the rejection, forces her father to send down the bull of heaven to earth to destroy all crops and water sources as well as many people (George, 1999, pg. 48). This story is said to describe and represent the…

Sumerian art was ornate and complex. The mediums that were used were sculpture and painting. The figures and paintings showed their reverence towards the gods and a religious culture. Most sculptures were made of clay and “the bodies were cylindrical and not differentiated by gender, uplifted heads and hands clasped – pose of supplication – wanting or waiting on something” (“Sumerian”). Practically all sculptures were used for religious rituals or religious adornment. “The Warka Vase, is the…

Greek and Sumerian (Mesopotamian) cultures can demonstrate two completely different ideologies as they existed and thrived in two different time periods. However, because it existed in two different time periods, it does not mean that it cannot give the readers an idea of what they regarded their virtues at the highest standard. Whether it discusses the stories of great men, evil tyrannical lords, hypocritical gods, or the contradiction of how they viewed women, both stories discussed some of…

The Many Empires of Mesopotamia Through constant war, Mesopotamia was crudely shaped through cookie-cutter fashion of each empire’s peak, earning her the rightful place as a cradle of civilization. Her cultures changed with every dawning era, and her views grew more perceptive until a final, ethical Zoroastrianism. Whether Sumerian, Babylonian, Chaldean, or Persian, Mesopotamia cradled each, defining the meaning of civilization through life and the gods. Ultimately, introducing the basic way…

Throughout almost all of literature, fictional and nonfictional, women have been treated as property. A mere prize to claim during wars, they were mindless bed-warmers, a man’s simple-minded play thing; however let’s not focus on the sexism of literature, that’s all old and repetitive news. Instead, let’s center our attention on the idea of how powerful (even when being portrayed as average) the female really is, how vital their roles are in the tales of heroes. Unfortunately though we will not…