ENG 2205
Paper Prospectus
Theme: From Gilgamesh to The Iliad to Ovid’s Metamorphoses, women of the ancient world
have been used and manipulated by both ancient Gods and men.
Working Thesis: Although The Epic of Gilgamesh, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Homer’s Iliad
differ enormously in language, area of origin, and time period created, all three texts demonstrate
a hateful image of feminity. Women in these works are often used by Gods and men, are shown
to be malicious and vengeful, and are viewed as objects to be punished for their beauty.
Primary Texts: The Epic of Gilgamesh, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Homer’s Iliad.
Secondary Sources:
Karahashi, Fumi, and Carolina López-Ruiz. “Love Rejected: Some Notes on the Mesopotamian
Epic of Gilgamesh and the Greek Myth of Hippolytus.” Journal of Cuneiform Studies 58. (2006):
97-107.
This essay highlights key moments in the conflict between Ishtar and Gilgamesh. The essay
elaborates on the scene between Gilgamesh and Ishtar. It talks about how the Goddess of Love
is directly rejected and offended by the hero and seeks to punish him, and the punishment takes
the form of a bull, known as the bull of heaven. I will use this essay in order to give weight to my
claim that the women in The Epic of Gilgamesh are portrayed as vengeful.
Beachy-Quick, Dan. “The Laurel Crown.” Seneca Review 39.1 (2009): 26-35. Humanities
International Complete.
This article speaks of the impact of Daphne's beauty and Apollo. It cites the metamorphoses of
Daphne into a laurel tree after praying to her father Peneus, to change her shape when she
realizes that she cannot get away from Apollo. The article also highlights Apollo’s love for
Daphne in that after her metamorphous he still finds a way to claim her. I will use this article to
help support my claim that beauty in ancient time is a damning quality for women.
Rynearson, Nicholas Charles. “Helen, Achilles and the Psuchê: Superlative Beauty And Value In
The Iliad.” Intertexts 17.1-2 (2013): 3-21.
This essay creates a direct link to the beauty of Helen of Troy and the Trojan War. It also points
out the many lives lost during the war. The essay states: “The Iliad repeatedly emphasizes this
theme of the magnitude of suffering, connecting it explicitly with Helen by contrasting the many
lives lost with the one woman in the eye of the storm.” This essay will be used to give weight to
my claim that beauty can be a horrible thing for women in ancient times and how they can be
punished and shamed by it.
Tsakitopoulou-Summers, Tatiana. “Helen of Troy: At the Crossroads Between Ancient
Patriarchy and Modern Feminism.” Interdisciplinary Humanities 30.2 (2013): 37-56.
One main focus of this article is on how Helen is depicted by Homer, as well as how women
have to be submissive to men. It also details how Homer characterizes Helen as manipulative and
seductive. The article suggests that Helen manipulates the feelings of men around her; because
that is the only way she can validate her own life and happiness.
English 2205
Final Paper
Absolute power can endanger or safeguard the greater good. In the Epic of Gilgamesh
and The Iliad, Gilgamesh and Achilles demonstrate unrivaled strength and courage, but a thirst
for absolute power exposes their deep seated flaws of arrogance and pride. These heroic flaws
usher in humbling repercussions and great demise for their fellow man. On the other hand, in the
Hebrew Bible, Noah and Job demonstrate an unlikely strength and courage through Divine
intervention. As their characters are tested, they succeed by faith, imparted wisdom and
provision from Heaven. Unlike Gilgamesh and Achilles, who defied the gods of their world,
Noah and Job remained humble to the will and absolute power of God Almighty. These heroes’
thirst for righteousness triumphs the adversary, ultimately providing a safe haven and blessings
for their fellow man.
The main characters in Epic of Gilgamesh and The Iliad grapple with the real and intense
issues of humanity like pride, arrogance and poor judgment. Gilgamesh is the warrior king of
Uruk. He was created two-thirds god and one-third man by the gods. Because he was created
one-third man, Gilgamesh and Achilles share a common thread of humanity. Although
Gilgamesh is not fully a god, he is still feared by those around him. In fact, the Epic reads,
“Who is there can rival his kingly standing, and say like Gilgamesh, ‘It is I am the king?’
(Puchner)” The Epic reveals that “the Lady of the Gods drew his form of his figure, while his
build was perfected by divine Nidimmud (Puchner).” His unrivaled position as a king whose
body is perfect in form and build is what leads Gilgamesh to become consumed with the notion
that there is no one like him or greater than him in all of the land. Therefore, the thorns of
humanity, like his pride and arrogance, set in and lead his thoughts and decision making.
Achilles is a man who has a cherished relationship with the gods. In fact, his mother is a
Goddess. Though he is a mortal man, he is considered the mightiest warrior in the Achaean
Army. But he grapples with his humanity as well. Pride and anger cost his Army dearly.
“Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the
Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great
fighter’ souls, but made their body carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was
moving toward its end. Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, Agamemnon lord of
men and brilliant Achilles (Puchner)” Abusch argues that “Both characters cope with issues of an
existential nature like the human drive to achieve, the value of friendship, the experience of loss,
and the inevitability of death (Abusch).” Perhaps the characters’ human drive to achieve coupled
with heroics flaws of pride and arrogance is what contributes most to Gilgamesh’s decision to
lead his friend to his eventual and unnecessary death and Achilles to cause a great and
unnecessary loss of life amongst his fellow warriors.
The minds of Gilgamesh and Achilles are undoubtedly consumed with pride, arrogance
and a gratuitous desire for glory. Pride, arrogance and a desire for glory lead these characters to
believe the notion that absolute power is within their reach and realm. Perhaps they feel no sense
of remorse because they identify more with the egotistical image of who they think they are in
their pride and arrogance versus the way the world around them views them honestly.
Gilgamesh walked back and forth throughout the land of Uruk with his head thrust high in the
boldness of pride and arrogance, harassing young men and rampaging fiercely over his people
with power and glory. His decision to act out in the manner of perceived absolute power harmed
the people he was created for and left those people no choice but to offer up complaints to the
gods for help.
Achilles demonstrates pride, arrogance and a desire for power and glory as well. He
approached his mother, Goddess Thetis, and asked her to persuade Zeus to help bring losses on
the Achaeans at the hands of the Trojans. He asked his mother to do this so that King
Agamemnon would realize how much he needed Achilles. Out of pride, Achilles wanted to hear
Agamemnon beg for his help. A prideful heart and thirst for power leads Achilles to ignore the
dire consequences he would bring upon the greater good all in the name of vanity and his ego. It
is interesting that Thetis does as Achilles requests saying, “Do justice by him, Lord of Olympus.
Give the Trojans the upper hand until the Greeks grant my son the honor he deserves (Puchner).”
Perhaps Thetis spurns more pride in the heart of Achilles by following through with the request.
Instead of having a “deal with it” attitude, she seems to be offended for her son and seeks justice.
This justice, however, will lead to the death of many fellow men – all in the name of Achilles’
honor.
Gilgamesh sets out on an adventure with his friend, Enkidu, to inscribe his name with
everlasting fame. While he seeks a name that will be remembered gloriously and a story that
will be retold again and again by many generations to follow, the result is quite the opposite.
This adventure demonstrates the character’s unparalleled amount of courage and strength, which
are excellent traits, but it highlights the consequences of pride that stem from a wanton desire for
absolute glory. Gilgamesh declares to Enkidu, “As for man, his days are numbered, whatever he
may do, it is but wind (Puchner).” Gilgamesh alludes to the fact that his days are not numbered
and what he will accomplish is superior to man’s accomplishments. He continues, “Here are you
afraid of death! What has become of your mighty valor? Let me walk in front of you, and you
can call to me, ‘Go on without fear (Puchner)!” This clearly demonstrates Gilgamesh’s pride
and arrogance firsthand. He tells his mortal friend who appears to be afraid of the coming battle
with the terrible Huwawa, to stand behind him while he walks ahead. He touts his courage and
strength over Enkidu’s, another evidence to the fact that Gilgamesh feels as if he is not like his
friend. He is better than man. He is greater and deserves greater recognition if, in fact, he
should fall in battle.
Due to his own pride and arrogance, Gilgamesh loses his dearest companion and former
foe, Enkidu, to death during the adventure. If Gilgamesh’s pride caused him to become more
intense and uncontrollable in glory, the loss of his friend and connection to man caused him to
become more troubled and desperate to become immortal. Abusch argues, “He [Gilgamesh] is
thrown into despair and, after failing to bring his friend back to life, he rejects all human
identities and obligations, flees to the wild where he assumes the identity of his dead friend, and
finally goes in search of actual, physical immortality (Abusch).” Furthermore, Van Nortwick
states, “Achilles loses touch with himself due to a bold sense of pride and arrogance as well. His
attempt to fashion his reality by imposing his will on the world is deluded and impossible (Van
Nortwick).” Both characters fully embrace the status and power that the gods have granted
them. But, both realize their fates are sealed in the human realm. Achilles’ mother tells him of
two fates that lie ahead just before his eventual human death.
“If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy,
my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.
If I voyage back to the fatherland I love,
my pride, my glory dies.” (The Iliad)
Faced with the choice, Achilles must make a conscious decision: fight and die in everlasting
glory or flee and lose his pride. Achilles wants to be glorified so badly that he’s willing to die
for it in war.
Gilgamesh seeks to be immortal like the gods, but his pride and arrogance cause him to
ignore the fact that he is one-third man. Any attempt at achieving immortality is futile for a man
and Gilgamesh realizes this after he loses the magical plant on his quest to become immortal.
What happens after proves to be a pivotal point in his life, a wake-up call, a moment of total
truth. In fact, his fate was sealed by the sea as described in the Epic (290-295) “The sea cast him
up on his home shore.”
In their final days, Gilgamesh and Achilles are forced to face the fact of life that every
mortal must face. It is the inescapable human connection to and inevitability of death. The
tavern-keeper tells Gilgamesh, “The life you seek you will never find (Epic of Gilgamesh).” The
immortality he seeks is not something that was given to man, or to him, by the gods. Since he
was created part man, he must realize his human connection and decide whether or not to
embrace it. In speaking to the tavern-keeper, it is as if Gilgamesh is looking into a mirror,
staring into what could be the future of the King.
The tavern-keeper offers an alternative for the King of Uruk. Instead of continuing on his
quest to seek immortality like the gods, the tavern-keeper reveals to Gilgamesh that he will not
find the immortal life he seeks because he is not a god. He shares wisdom on how to embrace
his humanity, not deny it out of pride and arrogance as he is doing. He reveals to Gilgamesh
how to enjoy the human experience and revere the opportunity to live happily day and night. He
advises the King to esteem to raise a family, embrace his mortality and look away from a longing
for an unattainable immortal state of being. He tells the King to live in the now, seek the
benefits of a compassionate relationship he could have with a wife and bask in the pleasures that
come with this sort of human experience. Instead of taking the tavern-keeper’s advice, the King
of Uruk remains at conflict with himself and, thus, cannot escape the insurmountable struggle
with pride and the ever longing thirst for glory and immortality.
Like the King of Uruk, Achilles is a mighty and heroic warrior, successful in virtually
every battle he faces. Salyer states, “Achilles owed his success in battle to the fact that his iron
armor was superior to the bronze armor of the Trojans (Salyer).” While the armor he wears on
the exterior is solid during each and every battle, the character flaws he deals with on the inside
are in a constant state of conflict. The constant state of internal conflict is perhaps the driving
force behind his decisions which harm the greater good and which center primarily on himself
and his own emotional state. In essence, the armor is supposed to protect due to its strength.
But, pride is a character flaw which does not protect others. In fact, it destroyed others’ lives in
Achilles’ case. We get a sense of these such flaws as he interacts with other characters in the
story, namely Patroclus. Patroclus represents a compassionate side of Achilles. However,
Ledbetter states, “Achilles berates his compassionate side (Ledbetter).” By rebuking his
compassionate side, Achilles is prone to be more enraged and arrogant and more likely to cause
harm on others.
Just as Gilgamesh rebukes the wisdom of the tavern-keeper, Achilles rebukes the human
condition of compassion. Gilgamesh is reduced by pride and Achilles is reduced by anger and
arrogance. These two characters suffer viable flaws. However, each is given an opportunity of
escape by making known the flaws that they can either face and overcome or ignore and be
defeated by.
Noah and Job, like Gilgamesh and Achilles, are created by a higher power. They have a
connection to their Creator, the God of Israel. He sees them in their humanity, but plans to
accomplish the superhuman through them. They indeed were chosen and set apart to do His will.
With their fates at stake and their futures in the balance, they depend on the wisdom of their God.
They choose to rely on His wisdom. Because they realize they were created man, they embrace
the gift of free will and their destinies have positive meaning for the greater good.
Unlike the former characters, Noah and Job enter into and forge an eternal relationship
with God. The foundation of this relationship is one of acknowledgement, faith and submission.
Job asserts, “Naked I came out from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The
LORD has given and the LORD has taken. May the LORD’s name be blessed (Puchner).” Noah’s
relationship with God began before the Great Flood and prevailed even after the destruction took
place. In Genesis 8:20, we see this relationship play out clearly. “And Noah built an altar to the
Lord and he took from every clean cattle and every clean fowl and offered burnt offerings on the
altar. And the Lord smelled the fragrant odor and the Lord said in his heart, “I will not again
damn the soil on humankind’s score. For the devising of the human heart are evil from youth.
And I will not again strike down all living things as I did as long as all the days of the earth
(Puchner).” They rely on the strength and power of the Almighty while placing their bodies and
spirits on the path of obeying His will. Both characters fully embrace their humanity and are
heroes because they submitted to the absolute power of God. They do not hold the power to save
themselves from the consequences of humanity, like death, but God can work through them to
save them, their families and the greater good.
In the book of Genesis, God makes known his absolute power. Genesis 6:18 reads, “But
I [God] will establish my covenant with you (Puchner).” Notice that God not only created Noah
for a purpose, but He also established a one-on-one promise with him. This is a promise from
the God in Heaven to a man on Earth, soon to be consumed by a Great Flood. The covenant God
establishes with Noah is unique and special. Noah perhaps senses the immeasurable favor of this
covenant and responds in total obedience to His will. Genesis 6:22 reads, “Noah did everything
just as God commanded him to (Puchner).” Noah accepted that he was created a man by God,
whereas Gilgamesh did not accept the fact that he was created part man by the gods. This
allowed Noah to be more complacent to being humble to a higher power while prideful
Gilgamesh strived to be immortal like the gods who created him.
In the book of Job, God makes His absolute power known and acts as a safeguard to Job,
his family and the greater good. His power and dominion span all of the Earth and all of
Heaven. Even the evil powers that would bring destruction upon Job’s life do not have authority
over God. God’s power is unmistakable. Job 1:12 reads, “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Very well,
then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man [Job] himself do not lay a finger.’ Then
Satan went out from the presence of the LORD (Puchner).” Realizing God’s absolute power, Job
submits to God, and, in doing so, he humbly finds favor like Noah. Both men followed God’s
command and obeyed Him. Absolute power safeguarded Job, Noah and the greater good and no
harm was permanent in their lives.
Noah and Job accept their destinies as mere mortals who trust in the absolute power of
God Almighty. The will of the Almighty is greater than the will of mortal man. His plan is to
redeem them and, in the process, redeem humanity while providing hope and grace for the
future. Even in their testing, the men remain humble and faithful to their human destinies, even
unto death. Noah is tasked with building an ark that will survive the Great Flood. Clark argues,
“The ark building is a test and Noah’s obedience to God to build an ark is the immediate reason
for his salvation.” Weisel claims, “Noah follows God’s divine instruction to the letter (Weisel).”
And, through God’s absolute power and grace, Noah chooses to follow his destiny and save
humanity. Unlike Gilgamesh and Achilles, who seek absolute power of their own due to prideful
hearts, Noah and Job remain humble to the absolute power of God.
If ever a character suffered, it is Job. During his testing, he is allowed to lose all of his
livestock, servants and ten, beloved children. His friends try him as they become insensitive and
callous to his suffering. Caesar states, “Yet Job’s zeal for personal vindication never threatens
his commitment to community (Caesar).” He acknowledges his lack to the Almighty as a mere
mortal, and when all hope seems to be lost, God redeems Job’s life. All that he had in life is
restored, abundantly blessed with more than he had before and his lifetime is extended beyond
the time he was originally given.
In Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad and the Hebrew Bible, the effects of absolute power on
the greater good are observed. On the one hand, absolute power can endanger others. We see
this play out in the lives of Gilgamesh and Achilles. Blinded by pride, arrogance and a thirst for
absolute power, those around them experience death. People’s lives are destroyed and whole
communities face their demise. On the other hand, absolute power can safeguard and restore.
We see this play out in the Biblical stories of Noah and Job. Almighty God demonstrates
absolute power and overcomes the adversary through perfectly timed, Divine intervention. By
remaining humans who are humble to His will, Noah and Job find life, salvation and restoration.
Works Cited
Abusch, Tzvi. “The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive
Essay”.Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.4 (2001): 614–622. Web.
Caesar, Lael O.. “Job: Another New Thesis”. Vetus Testamentum 49.4 (1999): 435–447. Web.
Clark, W. Malcolm. “The Righteousness of Noah”. Vetus Testamentum 21.3 (1971): 261–280.
Web.
Ledbetter, Grace M.. “Achilles' Self-address: Iliad 16.7-19”. The American Journal of
Philology 114.4 (1993): 481–491. Web
Puchner, Martin, gen. ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd ed. Vol. A. New
York:Norton, 2012. Print.
Salyer, William C.. “"we See by the Papers"”. The Classical Journal 45.4 (1950): 170–194. Web
Van Nortwick, Thomas. “Alternate Worlds in Homeric Epic”. The Classical World 98.4 (2005):
429–433. Web.
Wiesel, Elie. “Noah's Warning”. Religion & Literature 16.1 (1984): 3–20. Web.
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