Essay Example on the Epic Tale of Gilgamesh: An Ancient Mesopotamian Story

The epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest tales told in Mesopotamia. According to history, Gilgamesh was a warrior king in Uruk. The story of Gilgamesh was divided into three parts; the old Babylonian, eleven tablets, and twelve tablets. The old Babylonian account for the tale of Gilgamesh in the Akkadian epic version. During the Babylonian period, the Akkadian epic version circulated in the ancient East, leading to the development of another new version. The story was interpreted into different languages, which caused the development of eleven and twelve versions of Gilgamesh's tale. This paper explains the story of Gilgamesh, according to Hebert Mason's understanding.

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Hebert Mason follows the old Babylonian Akkadian version of the epic. In the old Babylonian version, Gilgamesh was a warrior king in the city of Uruk (Abusch 615). Gilgamesh possessed some powers that he used to oppress his people. The gods created Enkidu as a companion for Gilgamesh in order to control his powers. Enkidu was led to Uruk by some prostitutes where he met with Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Uruk became great friends, and they embarked on a journey to the Cedar forest where they encountered Huwawa and killed it. Gilgamesh's epic to the forest was to search for fame. After killing Huwawa, Enkidu was heavily punished to death by gods. Due to the loss of his friend, Gilgamesh fled from the city to the wild forest and rejected the identity of human beings. During the epic, Gilgamesh encountered Siduri, a mortal who advised him to return to Uruk and resume the normal human activities.

According to the article, Hebert Mason has incorporated some parts of the version. The following are the areas incorporated. In both versions, Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, who focuses on adventures, battles, and heroism. Gilgamesh was a powerful king of Uruk in Babylon, who lived in 2700 B.C (George 2). Many myths and stories were written about him in cuneiform on twelve tablets, and these tablets existed in the Akkadian version around 1300 to 1000 B.C. In each version, Gilgamesh is a hero; for example, in the old Babylonian version, he killed the Huwawa in order to maintain his role as a brave warrior. In the eleventh version, Gilgamesh is also viewed as a hero amongst his subjects. As a hero, Gilgamesh quickly ascended as the king of Uruk. However, in the twelve versions, Gilgamesh still appeared to be a hero after he rejected the Ishtar offer of becoming immortal to avoid losing the heroic title (Abusch 621). According to Hebert, heroism has been incorporated in both versions.

In the three versions, Gilgamesh was a compelling leader who oppressed the people of Uruk due to his power. Gilgamesh was a powerful king in Uruk, and he was a recognized hero (Buscemi 1). Who was famously known for his bravery, sovereign power, and strength; the people of Uruk perceived him as their protector. Gilgamesh was a very corrupt leader; his actions were very dangerous; that would even make him a criminal today. The citizens were oppressed through; poor treatment, disrespect Ent by the king, and arrogance. The people of Uruk respected and feared Gilgamesh because they knew he was capable of destroying anything. For example, in the eleven versions, the subjects requested mercy from the gods to relieve them from severe oppression by Gilgamesh. In the old Babylonian version, oppression is seen in the article. Due to the great powers, Gilgamesh engages in selfish pleasures. This is because gods permitted him to get whatever makes him happy. For example, Gilgamesh decided to have intercourse with the goddess Kbara before the usual traditions were held (Abusch 621). Gilgamesh ended up breaking the laws of culture on the way; he encountered Enkidu, where they became inseparable friends. The friendship broke the connection they had with the goddess. Therefore, he was required to choose between Enkidu and the goddess. In the three-version, power made Gilgamesh more arrogant and ignorant.

Gilgamesh was concerned with developing is own personal interest (Buscemi 5). The intentions of Gilgamesh increased his fame rather than focusing on the benefit of his people. For example, in the old Babylonian version, Gilgamesh embarks on a journey to the Cedar forest to kill the monster Huwawa (Abusch 617). The warrior king risks his life despite being warned by his family, friends, and the people of Uruk from confronting the monster, but Gilgamesh was determined to kill the beast for the whole world to recognize him. Enkidu ended up suffering the consequences of killing the beast. The values portrayed by Gilgamesh as the ruler of Uruk can be related to the modern-day because most of the rulers in the current day are driven by selfishness and carelessness but not leadership. In modern, there few heroes who have portrayed braveness and courageousness of Gilgamesh; therefore, Gilgamesh continues to stand as the great hero even in modern-day.

Conclusion

To sum up, Gilgamesh was a great king who reigned in the earliest days. According to the author, he was a great king in history who ruled the Uruk city in Mesopotamia. The story of this great king was written in cuneiform tablets in 2000 B.C. The king was very powerful, and he portrayed his braveness in various ways, for example, killing the monster. In history, no ruler is perfect; therefore, Gilgamesh's reign had some merits and demerits. Gilgamesh used to oppress his citizens with his poor treatment. The king was also self-centered; he focused on developing his interest instead of treating everyone equally.

Works Cited

Abusch, Tzvi. "The development and meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: an interpretive essay." Journal of the American Oriental Society (2001): 614-622.

Buscemi, Theresa. (2018). The immortality of Heroes. Accessed on:https://commons.marymount.edu/magnificat/the-immortality-of-heroes/George, Andrew, ed. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. Penguin, 2002.