Gilgamesh Women's Roles

Superficially, Medea is a critique of relations between men and women, the struggle between Jason and Medea; then the struggle between Creon and Medea. However at the deeper level, Medea is a critique of the quality and state of the contemporary culture of Euripides (Arrowsmith 361). The unique symbolism is that

The Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles the life of the great warrior and hero Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is not great hero because he is moral. In fact he is feared because "a goddess made him, strong as a savage bull, none can withstand his arms" (1). This phrase underlines the terrible power of femininity, in the view of the Mesopotamian culture that produced the text. On one hand, the female principle is responsible for creation. On the other hand, the female principle also has the ability to destroy: the epic takes a largely dim perspective of humanity, and often, by extension of women, because the source of all creation is a goddess, Aruru. Aruru creates but she also generates suffering.

About 2700 years ago there lived a king by the name of Gilgamesh who ruled the city of Uruk in Mesopotamia now known to us as modern day Iraq. Parts of his life are written on clay tablets believed to be the oldest existing written story of a man’s life. (XI). “The epic of Gilgamesh”, is the story of his quest for eternal life. In this paper I will be writing about the influence that the women in his life have played in his quest.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. One particular issue that is demonstrated among several others in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the status of women. Since this is a story of women's status many years ago, it is indeed an interesting issue to discuss,

The story starts off with Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, who is one third man and two thirds god. This story is about a man's quest for immortality in addition to the importance of boundaries between the realms of animal, man and gods. Women symbolize the importance of locative boundaries in the text. These boundaries are set by the harlot Shamhat, Ishtar, Siduri, the tavern keeper, Ninsun and Utanapishtim's wife. By giving women this role of wisdom and boundary enforcement, The Epic of Gilgamesh reflects how Mesopotamian society actually valued women.

Although Medea, like many women, gives up her family, home, and body for her marriage. Medea feels that “of all things we women are the most unfortunate creatures,” (8) and further discusses the difficulties and unjust situations women face such as “for there is not easy escape for a woman, nor can she say no to her marriage” (8) and how men do not use the same rules. For example, Medea feels that “what applies to me does not apply to you” (9). She seems envious of the freedom men possess.

Stories reflect and mirror culture. Some writers write about how things currently are in their own society and the position that certain people hold in that society. It is because of that kind of thought and style of writing that a reader can learn and in some ways better understand the hierarchical position of peoples in a society at a particular time in history. In ancient Mesopotamia, women had fewer privileges and rights then the men. Despite their lack of rights and privileges, women in high position were viewed as temptresses, tamers, and a essential part of Mesopotamian culture.

Medea accomplished that by giving birth to two children for Jason. As the play slowly unraveled, it plainly displayed that she was faithful towards her husband, but being an ideal Greek wife was not her factual nature. She was independent and her qualities made her different from the Corinth women. In the opening sequence, the nurse introduced Medea as a frightening woman when someone wronged her. “Her temperaments are dangerous and will not tolerate bad treatment. For she is fearsome. No one who joins in conflict with her will celebrate an easy victory”, the nurse presented (page 2, line). From this, the reader can envision how ordinary other Greek women were. How they didn’t have a mind of their own and were defenseless towards those shabby treatments from men. These women were submissive and didn’t have any control over their lives. However, the protagonist Medea did. She took matters in her own hands when her husband betrayed her.

The Epic of Gilgamesh follows a tale of two brothers tasked with defeating an all-powerful beast, yet they aren’t the most important characters in this story. Without their wisdom and guidance, Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey would have ended a lot sooner, and Gilgamesh would have still rampaged in Uruk, never bringing peace to those who were below him. Aruru, Shamhat, Ninsun, Ishtar, Siduri, and Utanapishtim’s wife all contribute to Gilgamesh’s journey, and in the end, provide Gilgamesh with the necessary tools in order to transform his character. These women in The Epic of Gilgamesh are essential to the plot, and provide both wisdom and perfection, but can also bring temptation and destruction if given the power to do so.

Women in The Epic Of Gilgamesh and Mesopotamian Society In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh, the roles of women are mixed. Women are represented as harlots (Shamhat), as wise (Ninsun), and as gods (Ishtar). There is a substantial amount of gods which are represented as women and it could represent a society with multiple

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, in Ancient Greece women were expected to be dependent on their husbands and “were expected to rear children and manage the daily requirements of the household” (Cartwright). They couldn’t leave their husbands, but were left powerless if their husband chose to leave them. In Medea, Medea explains her scarcity of options as a woman when her husband leaves her for another woman; “But I am deserted, a refugee, thought nothing of by my husband” (Euripides, 9). At this point, Medea seems to fit the stereotype of being dependent on her husband. However later in the play, Medea completely opposes the conventional roles set for her by killing her children in order to gain power over her husband. By doing this, she

Medea questions the firmly held belief in Greek society that women are weak and passive. Wanting revenge on Jason for his betrayal of her, Medea must take control of the situation, a stereotypical masculine quality. Though she cannot become a man or take power like a man, she perceives her

The duty of women portrayed in Greek society is a major subject in Euripides Medea. In old Greek society, ladies are delicate and compliant as per men, and their social position is viewed as exceptionally mediocre. Feminism is the hypothesis of men being viewed different in contrast to women and the male predominance over ladies in the public eye. Women's lives are spoken to by the parts they either pick or have forced on them. This is obvious in the play Medea by Euripides through the characters of Medea and the medical attendant. During the day and age which Medea is set ladies have exceptionally restricted social power and no political power by any stretch of the imagination, despite the fact that a ladies' maternal and residential power was regarded in the protection of the home, "Our lives rely upon how his lordship feels." The constrained power these ladies were given is diverse to present day society yet parts are as yet forced on ladies to acclimate and be a devoted spouse. Ladies have dependably been dis engaged because of their sex in present day and antiquated circumstances alike. In Corinth they are required to run the family unit and fit in with social desires of an obedient spouse. Medea, being an eternal and relative from the divine beings has a specific power in insight and guileful keenness. Being an outsider, Medea's wayward nonsensical conduct was normal in this play as she was not conceived in Greece and was viewed as an exotic foreigner. She goes over to the group of onlookers as an intense female character regarding viciousness. Some of Medea's responses and decisions have all the earmarks of being made a huge deal about as creators for the most part influence characters to appear to be overwhelming; this makes a superior comprehension of the content and the issues which are produced through the characters. Medea's ill-conceived marriage and the double-crossing of Jason drive Medea to outrageous vengeance. Medea acts with her immortal self and confer coldhearted demonstrations of murder instead of legitimize the results of her actions. Medea see's this choice as her lone resort as she has been exiled and has no place to go, "stripped of her place." To make sensitivity for Medea, Euripides

For thousands of years there has been a strong distinction between the roles of men and women. Often times in stories there will be women that are only mentioned for their beauty and charisma. Hardly ever will you see pages upon pages being spent talking about the true character and accomplishments of women characters. Even though stories like The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of Genesis were written thousands of year ago, (when stories were told mostly told from a males perspective) the light shined on women in the texts show them as wise, strong, and greatly influential beings. In The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Book of  Genesis, the writer shows the women as bringers of knowledge,  guidance, and care to the men in the texts that are lacking thereof.

In both The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Tale of Genji women play a very important role. In a time were men were considered to be leaders, fighters, and the powerful decision makers, it was the women behind them that supported, advised, and took care of them. In the ancient times females were considered dominate over males because they had the ability to carry a child and continue human life. These two tales show us the important roles that women played and the vulnerability of women in a male dominated world. In each story women are considered as important characters, but each story portrays them differently.