Gilgamesh And Odysseus Comparison

Literary works that date back to ancient times still holds relevance in today’s world. Although many advances have been made in technology and science since the olden eras, the themes and principles that are found in ancient literary works are ageless in relation to the condition of human experience. In fact, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the oldest existing story in our human history, illustrates a reality that is shared by all humans: our mortality and inevitable death. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written thousands of years ago, but the story accurately captures the human experience. Even though many people may not be on an active quest to find immortality, the Epic of Gilgamesh tells a story that also explains

In the Underworld, Odysseus meets many different shades, or ghosts. In order for these shades to talk to Odysseus, they have to drink the sacrificed blood. The first shade to talk to Odysseus was Elpenor. Elpenor is one of Odysseus' crew mates that Odysseus has left behind at Circe's home. Unfortunately, he falls off of Circe's roof and dies. Odysseus is sad and ashamed for not being up to task. After, Elpenor asks for a proper burial because he did not receive one. Odysseus accepts and promises that he will carry out this task. Odysseus then sees his mom, Anticlea. He is surprised that she is a shade, but they do not talk just yet. Tereisias of Thebes, the dead blind prophet, shows up. He warns Odysseus of Helios' cattle and that he will die if he eats it. He tells Odysseus that he will be the only one to survive getting back to Ithaca and his companions will die. He warns him that even when he gets home, he will have to deal with troubling suitors and most likely, have to kill them all. Not only that, Odysseus has to travel far inland. He then has to make a very important sacrifice to Poseidon and pray for peace. Odyssseus then speaks back to his mother, and wants to know about his family situation back in Ithaca. She tells him that Telemachus has grown older but still cannot fight against the troubling and overwhelming suitors. Also, Penelope is loyal but still very depressed. He tried to hug his mother three times, but failed because she

Gilgamesh is distraught after than death of his friend Enkidu, the realities of death fall heavy on his mind and body. Gilgamesh journeys to find a solution to become immortal. After he fails, the journey teaches him to accept who he is, and by living a fulfilling life leading others he will become immortal by people remembering his name and carry it on through

Odysseus displays many examples of fatal flaws throughout The Odyssey, however, his most prominent is his hubris. Odysseus is favored by the gods, and he appears to have a strength and intelligence that are larger than life. As one may guess, he can be a bit proud. But Odysseus’ confidence can lead to trouble at times, especially when he gets trapped in Polyphemus’ cave. During this trial of his 20 year journey, Odysseus gets trapped with some of his men in a Cyclopes’ cave. Crafty as he is, Odysseus manages to escape at the cost of a few nights and some of his crew. By escaping on the Cyclopes’ sheep, Odysseus and his men make a hasty retreat to their ship; but Odysseus, proud of defeating the Cyclopes by blinding him and claiming that his name is Nohbody, shouts back at the Cyclopes instead of making a silent escape. In his ranting, Odysseus shouts at the Cyclopes, “if ever a mortal man

In the Epic, “The Odyssey", spoken by Homer, conveys a heroic tale of an epic hero named, Odysseus, who faces many challenges as he sails to get home. One of the tasks Odysseus faces is, "The Sirens", who challenge Odysseus 's will power. Another challenge Odysseus encounters is, “The Cyclops", who torments and slaughters some of Odysseus 's men due to his curiosity. One of the hardest threats he had to confront was, “The Land of Dead" which tested his self-restraint, and revealed his human weaknesses of sorrow. The Epic Hero, Odysseus, struggles with many challenges such as, the taunting Sirens, the brutish and cruel Cyclops, and one of the arduous territories Odysseus has ever crossed, The Land of the Dead.

Odysseus and his companions arrived at the underworld where they saw an old mate who was not buried properly, his own late mother who passed away grieving for him, and Teiresias who is a prophet. After promising Elpenor to properly bury his body, he see to his mother. Later, he notices a blind prophet. After offering blood from his sword, the prophet warns them not to eat any of Helios’s cattle. He also reveals that Odysseus alone will survive their journey. He and his companions must have self-control to make it through. A God who is angry at Odysseus will not hesitate to make them suffer, therefore they must be vigilant.

Every mythological hero seems to be on a journey in search of the thing he desires most in the world. The two heroes who stood out to me were Gilgamesh, and Achilles. Gilgamesh’s greatest fear was death, while Achilles feared his legacy being lost and forgotten. Technically their desires are different, but their journey share many similarities, and in the end, boils down to the same thing. Each man in his own way, both Gilgamesh and Achilles desired immortality above all else. Though immortality takes on very a different meaning for Gilgamesh, as it does for Achilles, every decision as well as all the sacrifices they make, are based on their fear of death and dying.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of earliest known pieces of literature. Through years of storytelling and translation, The Epic of Gilgamesh became a timeless classic. This story is believed to have originated from Sumerian poems and legends about the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Throughout the epic, many themes arose about women, love, and journeys and the one I would like to discuss is the theme of death. Also, I will discuss if Gilgamesh accepts morality at the end of the story and the development of Gilgamesh’s character throughout the story.

Odysseus was known for his many of his mental traits, but his most useful ones were his bravery cleverness, and wisdom. Without these helpful traits he probably would have died from the very beginning. Fortunately, he was granted with these traits so that he could come back to his kingdom of Ithaca to see his wife and son for the first time in twenty years and to also kill the suitors that tried to kill his son and take his wife, land, and possessions from him.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s pursuit for immortality is marked by ignorance and selfish desire. Desire and ignorance, as The Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha suggests, pollutes man’s judgment resulting in his inability to break the cycle of birth and death. At the core of Gilgamesh’s desire resides his inability to accept the inevitability of death, making his rationality behind the pursuit of immortality ignorant and selfish. Implicitly, Gilgamesh’s corrupt desire for immortality conveys that Gilgamesh does not mature as a character.

Heroes are extraordinary characters who carry human qualities that reassure followers of the heroes’ limitations. A hero is commonly considered a god, a being with great power that is brave enough to save whole cities. The human qualities are always their greatest fault, it comes in the image of pride, ego, selfishness, and even denial. These flaws are represented by the heroes Gilgamesh and Oedipus. Gilgamesh and Oedipus undertake journeys in search of a truth that will preserve their glory. While Gilgamesh searches for immortality, Oedipus searches for a different fate, both, fearing death. However, only one reaches their their goal.

“You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted him death, but life they retained in their own keeping,” Siduri talking to Gilgamesh. (Gilgamesh 4). The epic of Gilgamesh has an abundance of parallels to the trial and tribulations of any human life. Gilgamesh’s story is humanities story of life, death, and realization. The awaking of Gilgamesh from a childish and secure reality connects my own life experiences to the epic tale.

Achilles asserts to Odysseus to inform his son that “Better, I say, to break sod as a farm hand for some poor country man, on iron rations, than lord it over all the exhausted dead” (201). While we have been shown what the meaning of death is, the meaning of life is naturally the opposite; to live as long as possible. This is exactly what Achilles wants to instill in his children, and inadvertently, in Odysseus. Achilles was a great warrior who experienced both glory and cunning as a soldier so in death, he would have expected great honor. Instead, he regrets his life and wishes that he had spent more of it rather than dying an untimely death in war. Achilles also reiterates to Odysseys that he must spend his time with his family because while living is crucial, it is only worth something if spent in the company of loved ones. Similarly, Tiresias also stated that “But if you raid the beeves, I see destruction for ship and crew. Though you survive alone, bereft of all companions, lost for years” (188). Life is something worth preserving because it has the potential to be lived with other people. Tiresias is simply explaining Achilles point that Odysseus must return to his family by explaining that losing all his crew is a fate equal to death. Having no one to interact with, neither living or dead would make Odysseus insane, and would cause more detriment than would the benefit of life provide. In

Odysseus has escaped death and monsters time after time and his sometimes heroic but bold actions turned him into a hero for the Greeks. There were as many disadvantages as there were advantages for Odysseus and whomever followed him throughout his voyage. He consistently wanted more and usually picked fighting over being logical and safe, therefore resulting in many casualties due to his forward behavior. Many may think Odysseus’ crafty and impulsive nature, how he almost always had a need for things that would be beneficial to him in the end (if he lived that is), even though they were usually risky, and how/what he did to cause so many redundant casualties, and how that all would have led to his downfall if he didn’t have luck on his side.

Despite these initial differences, one of the central themes to all of Homer's writings is revealed when Odysseus encounters Achilles' ghost in the Odyssey. Achilles says, "I would rather serve as a hired laborer in the field of another, a man without his own portion who has a meager livelihood, than be lord over the dead corpses." (Odyssey, 11. 489-91). Thus, the