Shamash

The chosen Sound Box from Sumerian Lyre, from Ur.Ca. 2685 BCE; Mesopotamia structure was dated back to the third millennium B.C. found in the tomb of Queen Puabi from the Royal Cemetery of Ur in southern Iraq by an archaeologist Leonard Woolley and his men between 1922 and 1934 called “The Great Lyre” in PG789 (Clark, 2014). The Sound Box of Lyre had disintegrated, leaving only an impression in the soil, which Woolly called them death pits known as “Kings’ Graves” (Penn Museum, n. d.).…

life. Gilgamesh blatantly states, “I am afraid of death.” Gilgamesh has fought guardians and creatures sent by the gods but in the end he was defeated by the mere thought of death. While Gilgamesh hunted for everlasting life, he came across Shamash. Shamash says to him, “You will never find the life for which you are searching.” Gilgamesh is searching for a life that excludes death so he does not have to live his life in fear. Yesterday’s heroes do not always satisfy today’s ideals. Even…

Before the second millennium, pastoral nomads and settled people had very little contact. They would trade goods that the other society did not possess. Eventually, the pastoralists came to the conclusions that living a settled life was more beneficial. Being in a settled area was better for organized government and growing crops. Pastoral nomads invaded the city-states around them and eventually took over. Now, there are primary sources historians can use to discover what was life like when all…

This concept is seen heavily in the epic of Gilgamesh. “So Shamash accepted the sacrifice of his tears; liked the compassionate man he showed him mercy. He appointed strong allies for Gilgamesh, sons of one mother, and stationed them in the mountain caves. The great winds he appointed: the north wind, the whirlwind, the stone and icy wind, the tempest and the scorching wind” (Page 8, paragraph 2, lines 1-3). This is an example of Shamash, god of the sun, helping Gilgamesh by appointing him…

Ishtar becomes angry and decides to free the bull of the heavens to kill Gilgamesh. Enkidu and Gilgamesh give the heart of the bull to Shamash. That night Enkidu has a dream the gods are upset and are having a meeting. The next day the two men find out the gods are angry and feel someone should be punished. Enkidu becomes very ill and curses the hunter who found him. Shamash informs Enkidu that once he dies Gilgamesh will be filled with grief and sadness, and he will leave his city and wander…

Gilgamesh, the one who is two thirds god and one third man, is king of the ancient Sumerian city-state of Uruk. The gods made him perfect. They gave him a perfect body, beauty, courage, and strong. Creating such a creature does have negative side effects. Gilgamesh became extremely cocky, he’d spend all his time wearing out the young men of the city with endless athletic contests and sexually exploiting the young women. The people became scared of him and eventually started crying out to the…

In many epics, women play different roles. Some roles of women that occur are: The ‘Fatal Woman’/ The Temptress, The Earth Mother, The Unfaithful Woman/Whore, The Wife, and The Priestess/ Prostitute. In the epic, Gilgamesh, the Sumerian views of woman can be identified. Gilgamesh approaches different women on his journey to kill Humbaba/ Bull of Heaven and to find eternal life. Some of the woman help Gilgamesh while others repress his journey. Ninsun, Gilgamesh’s mom, helps Gilgamesh on his…

There are many characteristics that make a person human. Pride, compassion, friendship, sickness, overcoming of a conflict, fear, and the ultimate fear, death. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, some of these characteristics are inferred as to what makes a person a mortal human being. These characteristics are what separate the immortal from the mortal. The compassion Gilgamesh feels towards the people of Uruk prevented him from obtaining eternal life. The fear and loneliness Gilgamesh feels after…

Friendship Gilgamesh and Enkidu is the main characters of an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia. In the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” a story written by Martin Puncher who reveals the special chemistry of both characters throughout the story. In this astonishing story, a person brutal actions can reveal who a person really are but also can change an individual lifestyle through friendship and love. People mostly choose what type of friendship they want, however in this epic story Gilgamesh and Enkidu…

The argument of the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Both have many important similarities and differences. However, the difference between the two civilization serve as a clear evidence to the existence of multiple routes to civilize life. Furthermore, the argument will show how the ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt were different in form of social classes, law codes, geography, however they both believe in more than one god . The law code for the Mesopotamian is Hammurabi and Egypt is…