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Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.

23
November 2009
IV – BSITE LITT 2 – Prof. Connie
Raymundo

Epic Conventions in…

GILGAMESH

IN MEDIAS REX

The account begins: Gilgamesh, two-thirds god and one-third human, is


the greatest king on earth and the strongest super-human that ever existed;
however, he is young and oppresses his people harshly. Thu

PRAYER/BENEDICTION TO GODS/GODDESSES

Gilgamesh prays for help to Shamash, Ninsun and Lugalbanda to assist


him in battling with Humbaba.

EPITHETS
• Gilgamesh, the hero, was called a goring wild bull, a strong net (the
protection of his men), and the raging flood wave (which can destroy
even a stone wall).
• Enkidu the warrior was described as an offspring of silence and sky-
bolt of Ninurta, and epitomizes the wisdom of nature and skillful
hunter.
• Ninsun, goddess and mother of Gilgamesh, was called wise and wild
cow.

SETTING IS VAST IN SCOPE


The story takes place in Mesopotamia. It begins in Uruk, the city where
Gilgamesh reigned as its king. Gilgamesh’s travels take him to the Cedar
Forest; then, Mount Mashu (its twin peaks reached the vault of Heaven, its
feet touched the Netherworld below), Land of Night, the Water of Death and
the land across the river.
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LONG AND FORMAL SPEECHES OF CHARACTERS


While Enkidu lays dying, he describes hell:
The house where the dead dwell in total darkness,
Where they drink dirt and eat stone,
Where they wear feathers like birds,
Where no light ever invades their everlasting darkness,
Where the door and the lock of Hell is coated with thick dust.
When I entered the House of Dust,
On every side the crowns of kings were heaped,
On every side the voices of the kings who wore those crowns,
Who now only served food to the gods Anu and Enlil,
Candy, meat, and water poured from skins.
I saw sitting in this House of Dust a priest and a servant,
I also saw a priest of purification and a priest of ecstasy,
I saw all the priests of the great gods.
There sat Etana and Sumukan,
There sat Ereshkigal, the queen of Hell,
Beletseri, the scribe of Hell, sitting before her.
Beletseri held a tablet and read it to Ereshkigal.
She slowly raised her head when she noticed me
She pointed at me:
"Who has sent this man?"

CATALOGUING
The story of that man, Gilgamesh, who went through all kinds of sufferings.
He was superior to other kings, a warrior lord of great stature,
A hero born of Uruk, a goring wild bull.
He marches at the front as leader,
He goes behind, the support of his brothers,
A strong net, the protection of his men,
The raging flood wave, which can destroy even a stone wall.
Son of Lugalbanda, Gilgamesh, perfect in strength,
Son of the lofty cow, the wild cow Ninsun.
He is Gilgamesh, perfect in splendour,
Who opened up passes in the mountains,
Who could dig pits even in the mountainside,
Who crossed the ocean, the broad seas, as far as the sunrise.
Who inspected the edges of the world, kept searching for eternal life,
Who reached Ut-napishtim the far-distant, by force.
Who restored to their rightful place cult centers which the Flood had ruined.
There is nobody among the kings of teeming humanity

Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.


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Who can compare with him,


Who can say 'I am king' beside Gilgamesh.

THEMES
Love As a Motivating Force
Love, both erotic and platonic, motivates change in Gilgamesh. Enkidu
changes from a wild man into a noble one because of Gilgamesh, and their
friendship changes Gilgamesh from a bully and a tyrant into an exemplary
king and hero. Because they are evenly matched, Enkidu puts a check on
Gilgamesh’s restless, powerful energies, and Gilgamesh pulls Enkidu out of
his self-centeredness. Gilgamesh’s connection to Enkidu makes it possible
for Gilgamesh to identify with his people’s interests. The love the friends
have for each other makes Gilgamesh a better man in the first half of the
epic, and when Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh’s grief and terror impel him onto a
futile quest for immortality.
The epic may lack a female love interest, but erotic love still plays an
important role. Enkidu’s education as a man begins with his sexual initiation
by the temple harlot, and the two heroes’ troubles begin with their
repudiation of Ishtar, the goddess of love. Humanity renews itself through
the female life force, which includes sex, fertility, domesticity, and
nurturance, not through an arbitrary gift of the gods. When Gilgamesh finally
sees that his place is here on Earth and returns to Uruk to resume his
kingship, Ishtar returns to her place of honor.

The Inevitability of Death


Death is an inevitable and inescapable fact of human life, which is the
greatest lesson Gilgamesh learns. Gilgamesh is bitter that only the gods can
live forever and says as much when Enkidu warns him away from their fight
with Humbaba. Life is short, the two warriors tell each other on their way to
the deadly confrontation in the Cedar Forest, and the only thing that lasts is
fame. But when Enkidu is cursed with an inglorious, painful death, their
bravado rings hollow. Shamash, the sun god, consoles Enkidu by reminding
him how rich his life has been, but though Enkidu finally resigns himself to
his fate, Gilgamesh is terrified by the thought of his own. Mesopotamian
theology offers a vision of an afterlife, but it gives scant comfort—the dead
spend their time being dead. If Gilgamesh’s quest to the Cedar Forest was in
spite of death, his second quest, to Utnapishtim, is for a way to escape it.
Utnapishtim’s account of the flood reveals how ludicrous such a goal is, since
death is inextricably woven into the fabric of creation. But life is woven in as
well, and even though humans die, humanity continues to live. The lesson
that Gilgamesh brings back from his quest isn’t ultimately about death—it’s
about life.

Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.


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The Gods Are Dangerous


Gilgamesh and Enkidu learn all too well that the gods are dangerous
for mortals. Gods live by their own laws and frequently behave as
emotionally and irrationally as children. Piety is important to the gods, and
they expect obedience and flattery whenever possible. They can often be
helpful, but angering them is sheer madness—and a character’s reverence
for the gods is no guarantee of safety.

EPIC HERO
Gilgamesh is two-thirds god and one-third human – making him more
beautiful, more courageous and more terrifying than the rest of mankind.

ASPIRATIONS ARE COLLECTIVE NOT INDIVIDUAL


Gilgamesh turns his attention away from small personal desires to
loftier personal desires – desires that benefit rather than harm Uruk. We
remember from the prologue that the walls of the city, made from the cedar
taken from the forest, still stand in actuality or in imagination to proclaim
Gilgamesh's fame, and the very first sentence of the epic attests to the
immortality of his name.

EPIC SIMILE
Example:
She created a primitive man, Enkidu the warrior:
offspring of silence, sky-bolt of Ninurta.
His whole body was shaggy with hair, he was
furnished with tresses like a woman,
His locks of hair grew luxuriant like grain.
He knew neither people nor country; he was dressed as cattle are.

DEUX EX MACHINA
• Aruru hears the cry of Uruk’s people and creates Enkidu to contend
with Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh and Enkidu manages to defeat Humbaba with Shamash’s,
the sun god, intervention.
• When the gods decided to destroy the world, Ea helps mankind by
telling Unapishtim of the coming flood and to build a boat through the
walls of the house of the latter.

Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.


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• Anu, the god of the sky, sends the Bull of Heaven to punish Gilgamesh
for insulting Ishtar. The bull comes down from the sky, bringing with
him seven years of famine.
• The gods meet in council and agree that one of the two friends must
be punished for their transgression, and they decide Enkidu is going to
die. The warrior dies eventually.

THE SHÁHNÁMA FIRDAWSI

IN MEDIAS REX

After an opening in praise of God and Wisdom, the Sháhnáma gives an


account of the creation of the world and of man as believed by the
Sasanians. This introduction is followed by the story of the first man,
Keyumars, who also became the first king after a period of mountain
dwelling. His grandson Hushang, son of Sīyāmak, accidentally discovered fire
and established the Sadeh Feast in its honor.

PRAYER/BENEDICTION TO GODS/GODDESSES

Rustam cries to God to bring back his former strength in order to


defeat Suhrab.

EPITHETS
• Suhrab is called a maddened elephant and warrior-leopard.
• Rustam is called by Suhrab a lion-man.

SETTING IS VAST IN SCOPE


The Sháhnáma recounts the history of Persia, dividing it into three
successive parts: the mythical, heroic, and historical ages.

LONG AND FORMAL SPEECHES OF CHARACTERS


Princess Tahmina professes her love to Rustam:
"With longing my heart is torn
My life wrenched in two though I was born
Sole daughter of the king of Samangan,
Unveiled, I have not been seen by any man.

Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.


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But like a legend I have heard the story


Of your heroic battles and your glory,
Of how you have no fear, and face alone
dragons and demons and dark unknown

Of how you sneak into Turan at night


And prowl the borders to provoke a fight,
Of how, when warriors see your mace, they quail
And feel their lion hearts within them fail.

I bit my lip to hear such talk, and knew


I longed to see you, to catch sight of you,
To glimpse your martial chest and mighty face-
And now God brings you to my father's place.

Desire me and I am yours, if not none


Shall hear of me from this day on.
Love has clouded thoughts of caution
And sacrificed prudence for passion."

God give me a son with your strength and valour,


To whom shall be given these lands and empire.
I will recover Rakhsh before the day is done,
And place under thy feet the land of Samangan.

CATALOGUING
Suhrab asks Rustam’s identity:
“Art though the famous Rustam of Zabul,
The son of valiant Zal, the son of Sam?”

THEME
The Struggle between Good and Evil
The father kills his own son in battle as a result or consequence of war.

EPIC HERO
• Rustam – finest Persian warrior and father to Suhrab. In his youth, he
possessed an exceptional strength.
• Suhrab – son of Rustam and Princess Tahmina of Samangan. When he
was one month old, he looked like a one-year-old. At 3, he could play

Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.


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polo and by the time he was five, he had become skilled in archery and
the javelin.

ASPIRATIONS ARE COLLECTIVE NOT INDIVIDUAL


Suhrab is not content to let his name be left in obscurity and decides to raise an army of
Turks and conquer Iran. He planned to dethrone Kai Kaus (whom Rustam grudgingly served)
and make Rustam king in his stead. Then, he and Rustam would invade Turan together and seize
the throne from Afrasiyab.

EPIC SIMILE
Example:
While, like a maddened elephant, Suhrab,
With lasso on his arm and bow in hand,
Came in his pride and roaring like a lion,
His plunging charger flinging up the soil.

DEUX EX MACHINA
• God heeds Rustam’s prayer and grants him the return of his former
strength.

Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M.


IV – BSITE

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