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Erik Schiferle
Lit Hum
10/29/09Power and Authority
Power can turn the most noble and enerous of men into the most
e!il and immoral"
Power will consume #eo#le and will i!e them a sense of
self$entitlement to do as they #lease"
Power will dri!e #eo#le to do thins that they ne!er thouht
imainable" %n both the Iliadand
Gilgamesh& characters are ranted #ower& but e'ercise it
in different ways" (he key difference
between how the characters use that #ower is o!erned by the
establishment of an authority or
ad!ersary"
%n Gilgamesh& )ilamesh is two$thirds od and one$third man"
He is kin of a #eo#le in
*ruk with su#erhuman ca#abilities" He is so distinuished that
+He has no e,ual when his
wea#ons are brandished& his com#anions are ke#t on their
feet by his contests"- .or this reason&
he acts as thouh he has the riht to tyrannie his #eo#le" He
+lets no dauhter o free to her
mother"- He +lets no son o free to his father& by day and by
niht his tyranny rows harsher"-
He ra#es women and is o##ressi!e to his subects" )ilamesh does
what he #leases"
)ilamesh has #ower" He has the #hysical characteristics of a od
and holds the most
#owerful title in a country& kin" (here is no e,ual to his
#ower" He has no authority" .or this
reason he conducts himself as thouh he has liscence&
com#lete freedom"
ontrasted with )ilamesh is the e#ic character Achilleus" Like
)ilamesh& Achilleus is
also #art od and #ossesses su#erhuman strenth" Physically&
Achilles is su#erior to all" ecause
of this& he can et away with choosin not to fiht in battle3
!ery few would call him on this
action" e this as it may& Achilleus is still under the
command of an authority fiure&
Aamemnon" Althouh not #hysically su#erior& the rank of
Aamemnon does warrant Achilles to
an e'tent" (he scene describin Achilles dilemma when +#onderin
whether to draw from beside
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his thih the shar# sword& dri!in away all those who stood
between and hill the son of Atrues&
or else to check the s#leen with and kee# down his aner- is
where one can see the #ower of an
authority fiure" Achilleus did not draw his sword& he ke#t
down his aner" 4ne could arue that
he was con!inced by Athena& but the key fact is that he had
a choice" Achilleus could ha!e killed
all those between him and Aamemnon and Aamemnon himself and had
no difficulty& but he
did not" Achilleus yielded to the authority fiure and com#osed
himself"
Althouh both Achilleus and )ilamesh are !ery #owerful& the
two act differently in each
story" )ilamesh has no restraints and Achilleus is more reser!ed
because he has an authority
fiure" Howe!er& this contrast between the two characters
disa##ears with the creation of
)ilamesh5s e,ual& Enkidu" ecause of )ilamesh5s cruel
attitude& the ods created an e,ual for
)ilamesh" (hey belie!ed that an e,ual would ,ualm )ilamesh5s
s#irits& which it did" (his
becomes e!ident after the fiht scene between )ilamesh and
Enkidu" (he two enae in battle
until +)ilamesh knelt& one foot on the round& his aner
subsided& he broke off from the fiht"-
At this #oint in the story& )ilamesh takes a whole new
outlook on life" He becomes humbler& he
slays and e!il monster Humbaba& and e!en ains fear of
somethin& death" (he installment of an
ad!ersary is what creates this transformation from a
barbaric& tyrant to a more humble& carin
man"
eha!ior is larely dictated by the situation" .or the most
#art& the maority of #eo#le are
ood at heart" Howe!er& when no one is watchin or when no one
can do anythin to sto#
someone& tem#tation will often et the best of us" %t only
takes one occasion for a series of
misudments to occur" (his is seen time aain in literature&
but is hihly reconiable in both the
Iliadand Gilgamesh" 6ith reat #ower& comes reat
res#onsibility" ut to double check that
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