Babasa, Ma. Cecilia Beatriz M. 23 November 2009IV – 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.

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 meShe 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 humanityWho can compare with him,Who can say 'I am king' beside Gilgamesh.

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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.

The Gods Are Dangerous

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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 wasfurnished 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.

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.

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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 tornMy life wrenched in two though I was bornSole daughter of the king of Samangan,Unveiled, I have not been seen by any man.

But like a legend I have heard the storyOf your heroic battles and your glory,Of how you have no fear, and face alonedragons and demons and dark unknown

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Of how you sneak into Turan at nightAnd prowl the borders to provoke a fight,Of how, when warriors see your mace, they quailAnd feel their lion hearts within them fail.

I bit my lip to hear such talk, and knewI 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 noneShall hear of me from this day on.Love has clouded thoughts of cautionAnd 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 polo and by the time he was five, he had become skilled in archery and the javelin.

ASPIRATIONS ARE COLLECTIVE NOT INDIVIDUAL

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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.

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