The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest literary works globally. If you struggle with the problem of writing an essay on this topic, we will help you. Find out the basic facts about the piece and get a list of the best themes! As a bonus, you can read the best of our Gilgamesh free essays examples!
Let’s Start!
What Is the Epic of Gilgamesh?
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient poem originally from Mesopotamia. The date of the writing of the work is shocking because presumably, the ancient Sumerians created it about four thousand years ago. According to scientists, the authors took the primary material from some Sumerian poems.
The story of the discovery of the Epic is also surprising. After all, archaeologists unearthed clay tablets with the original text only in the middle of the 19th century. People lived quietly for several thousand years until that moment, not knowing what treasure lay under their feet. Later, in the 70s of the 19th century, the British scientist George Smith translated the text into English, which gave it worldwide recognition.
Writing a Gilgamesh analysis essay, you should deal with the mythology and religious life of ancient people who lived in the territory of Mesopotamia. The story allows you to plunge into a fascinating story about the old gods, their favorites, opponents, as well as about the great king Gilgamesh, who had no equal.
What Is the Main Idea of Gilgamesh?
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a deeply philosophical work. Although it touches upon many themes, the central one is the theme of immortality. The main idea of the epic is that death is inevitable, and immortality is impossible to achieve. However, a person can live forever in the memories of other people, being remembered for the legacy they left behind.
What Are Significant Elements of Epic Evident in the Epic of Gilgamesh?
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, we can find all the inherent characteristics in the epic genre. For example, a plot revolves around one hero with superhuman powers. Also, travel to unfamiliar lands or the underworld, etc. And, of course, the style of the story, in which the poet knows everything and sees everything.
Significance of Epic of Gilgamesh
Now let’s take a little deeper into the Epic of Gilgamesh and why it is important for modern society. You will be surprised at how profoundly the original text had on the life of the entire civilization as we know it. Scientists concluded with a detailed Epic of Gilgamesh analysis that this work is a fantastic find for historical science, cultural studies, and literature.
For all of these specialties, the epic possesses a great interest. One might find it fascinating that the story of Gilgamesh inspired much of the writing of the tale of the exploits of Hercules. Also, there are many similarities between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible. One way or another, the Sumerian epic became the ideological inspirer of many later works.
Don’t forget about the cultural and moral side. In this Epic of Gilgamesh study guide, you will have the opportunity to read much exciting information on this topic. And you will be surprised how exactly the authors showed the world and all its problems. Some of the Epics of Gilgamesh’s moral lesson remain relevant even in modern civilization.
Epic of Gilgamesh: 5 Facts
The story told by the epic authors is undoubtedly a masterpiece of literature. But for a high-quality Epic of Gilgamesh analysis essay, this fact will not be enough for you. Therefore, we have prepared for you a list of 5 exciting points that will become the highlight of your work!
- The prototype of the protagonist was a real king. Scientists believe that about four and a half thousand years ago, a king named Gilgamesh lived in the city of Uruk. His deeds became so outstanding that people wrote poems and poems about him for several centuries.
- A close friend of the protagonist was a man raised by animals. Much can be said about the hero Enkidu. However, if you decide to write an essay about Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s friendship, it will be impossible not to mention it. After all, they could get along despite all the differences between them.
- Later kings tried to claim descent from Gilgamesh. The figure of the protagonist was so popular in the ancient world that the kings legitimized their power through him.
- Lots of books, stories, and even comics come with a similar plot. Surprisingly, the story of the ancient king has quickly become a part of modern pop culture. Many authors wrote their stories in a similar style, and some even made comics. It’s worth mentioning in your Epic of Gilgamesh analysis essay.
- Many people believed that Gilgamesh’s parents were the gods. This is quite paradoxical because, in the same Epic, the authors note that the king was only a man. However, both the hero’s contemporaries and the later inhabitants of Mesopotamia believed that Gilgamesh received his power from the gods.
These facts might help you write a quality Gilgamesh essay!
Epic of Gilgamesh: Summary
Now let’s talk about filling the piece. After all, it is impossible to write the Epic of Gilgamesh essay without knowing what events are described in it.
So,
What is The Epic of Gilgamesh, and what does it describe? Our story begins with the city of Uruk. King Gilgamesh has ruled here for many decades. He is by no means an honest and just ruler. Residents spend their evenings in supplication for punishment for the king. After all, he often acts unfairly with his people, forcing them to work from morning to evening and taking whatever he wants.
And then, one day, the gods heard the requests of the townspeople. They called on their sister, the goddess Anu, to create from clay a man who could defeat Gilgamesh. Enkidu lived most of his life among wild beasts in the desert.
People managed to lure Enkidu out of his usual habitat only by cunning. Seeing a terrible silhouette, the hunters asked the priestess of love from the temple in Uruk for help. After seeing Ishtar, Enkidu was forced to come to civilization because the animals left him.
Enkidu learns about Gilgamesh’s arbitrariness in the city and decides to challenge him, but he loses. Nevertheless, they became friends, and after this battle, the king rethought a lot. He became a fairer ruler, and together with Enkidu, they accomplished many great deeds. They defeated the Sky Bull and killed the guardian of the Cedar Forest, the monster Humbabe. However, the angry gods decided to punish their friends and kill one of them after that. The choice fell on Enkidu.
Gilgamesh mourns his friend for many days, wandering around the city and its surroundings. But when his mind cleared, he embarked on a new journey. Now his target was the elixir of immortality. Why does Gilgamesh want immortality?
The death of Enkidu prompted the king to think that his life was also not endless. He decided to cross hundreds of obstacles and enter lands that mortals had never visited. According to legends, the elder Utnapishtim lived there, who learned the secret of immortality. And Gilgamesh even managed to find the magic plant. But he could not return with him to Uruk because the gods were against it.
So,
Now we come to the most important thing. What is the central message of The Epic of Gilgamesh? No matter how a person tries to become immortal, it is impossible. However, he can forever remain in people’s memory thanks to his good deeds.
Epic of Gilgamesh: Setting
To prepare for your Epic of Gilgamesh essay writing, it is essential to understand what period we are talking about. Let’s figure out where and when the described events took place.
The story is set in Mesopotamia, located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Nowadays, the area is home to Iraq, Syria, Kuwait, and Turkey. In Mesopotamia, presumably, one of the oldest human civilizations originates.
Gilgamesh rules the city of Uruk, one of the oldest settlements in the area. It is noteworthy that Uruk was the first to receive high stone walls, which made it the main center of cultural and commercial life. Later, the kings who ruled the city would subjugate the leaders of neighboring tribes and create the whole state of Uruk. The dominance of the newly created kingdom will last for several centuries. And later, kings will trace their lineage back to semi-legendary rulers such as Gilgamesh.
Scientists note that the epic’s events unfold about two and a half thousand years BC. Of course, the figure is approximate because there are no clues in the text itself. For a better understanding, the construction of the famous pyramid of Cheops in Egypt begins at about the same time.
In the region of Mesopotamia, people have only recently switched to a sedentary way of life. When writing the Epic, they have already mastered the skill of stone processing, building houses, and trade. People already had religious and mythical beliefs, an example of which is the legend of Gilgamesh.
Also, in the Gilgamesh essay, you may mention other regions from the epic. In particular, the authors described the part of Lebanon neighboring Mesopotamia in the battle in the Cedar Forest
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Themes
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a versatile work that intertwines dozens of plots. And they are all great for the Epic of Gilgamesh analysis. These themes cover a wide variety of aspects of human life. But let’s take a look at the main ones.
- Value of friendship. Gilgamesh was an evil ruler until he met Enkidu. The acquaintance with a person who was utterly different in education but similar in life goals transformed the king. The epic hints that friendship and relationships between people are among the essential things in the world.
- Human mortality. What did Gilgamesh do wrong? The king lived for his pleasure until the death of his friend. When the gods decided to kill Enkidu, Gilgamesh made a long journey to get the secret of eternal life. But the epic directly tells us that the main thing for a person is not eternal life. We all need to live forever in people’s memory through our actions.
- Adventures. Authors tell all the moral aspects of the epic against the background of the heroic adventures of characters. A similar system can be seen in later works of various cultures.
All the semi-legendary deeds of Gilgamesh and Enkidu became the reason for their praise. Still, because the king and his faithful friend coped with the wrath of the gods, this theme will be an excellent choice for the epic of Gilgamesh hero’s journey essay.
- Choice. Throughout the Epic, the reader more than once sees how the heroes make difficult decisions. The authors showed them as doors or gates through which Gilgamesh and his companions pass. In principle, the gates are given significant symbolic meaning. Every time the heroes encounter them, they must make an important decision that will affect their lives.
- Vanity. The epic shows Gilgamesh as an overly arrogant person who knows no bounds of his pride. On the one hand, this is not surprising because he is a king who has tremendous power. But on the other hand, the gods, with all their might, tried to direct him on the right path. Throughout history, Gilgamesh has been fighting his vanity and trying to find the real meaning of his existence.
Choosing one from the Epic of Gilgamesh themes can be challenging; however, they all possess a significant interest for writers.
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Сharacters
The epic features a wide variety of characters. Let’s recall them and see how they affect the plot. Use the information below to create a perfect Gilgamesh character analysis essay.
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is the protagonist of the poem and also the king of the city of Uruk. He went on many dangerous adventures with his companion Enkidu. And he was heartbroken when his friend died. Understanding his character is essential for an argumentative essay on the epic of Gilgamesh.
Enkidu
Who is Enkidu in the Epic of Gilgamesh? Firstly, best mate of Gilgamesh. A man raised by wild beasts who have never seen other people. The gods created Enkidu to strengthen the tyrannical Gilgamesh. However, fate decreed otherwise, and Enkidu became the king’s best friend. Together with the demigod, they defeated the giant Humbaba and the Heavenly Bull, becoming famous throughout Uruk. But the gods were in a rage and decided to give Enkidu a long, painful death. However, Enkidu is the author of most of the Epic of Gilgamesh quotes, with which he morally instructs the king and is as vital as Gilgamesh.
Ishtar
Ishtar is the goddess of love and war in ancient Akkadian mythology. She is one of the leading opponents of Gilgamesh. At one of the celebrations, the king rejects her marriage proposal, infuriating the goddess. After that, Ishtar convinces the gods to create the Heavenly Bull and send him to fight Gilgamesh. It is not surprising that the king abandons the affair with the goddess because, according to the legend, she turns all her men into animals.
Utnapishtim
Utnapishtim is the only person in the epic who possesses the secret of immortality. His story begins in an immemorial time when the gods became angry and decided to arrange a worldwide flood to punish humanity. And only Utnapishtim has revealed this secret to build a boat and save himself and his family. Since then, Utnapishtim has held the secret of immortal life as a reward from the gods. When Gilgamesh came to the elder, trying to find out the mystery, he advised how to do it, but the king failed. Utnapishtim’s words are a good source of information for a summary of the story of the flood in Gilgamesh’s epic.
Enlil
Enlil is the supreme God in Akkadian mythology. He is the king of all gods, a creature that can bestow immortality and create cataclysms on a planetary scale with the power of thought. Enlil was the initiator of the great flood and the judge who decided to kill Enkidu. His motivation and logic are challenging to understand, but he is the epic’s stronghold of morality and justice.
Ea
Ea is another god whose story is told by the Epic of Gilgamesh. Unfortunately, he is not so common, but Ea played an essential role in shaping the world. He was the God who warned Utnapishtim about the flood and saved humanity. He was not afraid to contradict the supreme God Enlil and reason under challenging situations.
Women in the Epic of Gilgamesh
In addition to the goddess of love in the Epic, several more female characters play a significant role. Among them was Shamshat, a priestess of love who worked in a temple in the city of Uruk. Enkidu learned the beauty of love and escaped from animals to people thanks to her. Also, in work, we know about the goddess Ninsun. She is the queen of Uruk and the mother of Gilgamesh. Her skills and knowledge help the king to advance further in his adventures. Also, the tavern owner in the forbidden lands played an important role. She sent Gilgamesh to find Utnapishtim.
Minor Сharacters in the Epic of Gilgamesh
Mentioning minor characters is essential for a good Gilgamesh epic hero essay. So let’s take a look at them.
In addition to the characters already listed in the Epic, we can learn about many other people and creatures. They did not actively develop the plot as other heroes, but they are also an essential part of mythology. These include the enemies of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, more minor deities, the inhabitants of Uruk, forest hunters, guardians of the land of the dead, and so on.
An example is Shamash. Who is Shamash in the Epic of Gilgamesh? He is the sun god in the ancient myths of the peoples of Mesopotamia. Because of his close acquaintance with Gilgamesh’s mother, the goddess Ninsun, Shamash helps the main characters in their adventures. With the help of Shamash, Gilgamesh and Enkidu could defeat Humbaba, who guarded the Cedar Forest. If God hadn’t sent the wind to immobilize the monster, the heroes could lose, and the story would have been interrupted.
The list of minor characters can also include the already mentioned Humbaba and the Heavenly Bull. Of course, they don’t have many replicas, but without them, the epic would be incomplete. After all, for heroes to exist, there must be evil that must be defeated.
Gilgamesh Essay: Topics and Tips
Now let’s move on to the technical part of writing your work. The first thing you need is a good, exciting topic. We have prepared for you a list of 10 argumentative essay topics for Gilgamesh that will surely interest you:
- Comparison of travels in the Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- Analysis of Similarities in the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible.
- An Analysis of the Psychology of the Relationship Between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.
- The role of women in the ancient world is exemplified by the characters of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
- How does the Epic of Gilgamesh raise the question of the immortality of human achievement?
An essay about Gilgamesh is a paper where everyone will find something interesting. Try to pay attention to one of our topics, and you will not be disappointed!
Gilgamesh Essay Tips
To write a good epic of Gilgamesh argumentative essay, you should follow some simple tips. They will significantly simplify your work and help you structure your thoughts.
- Analysis in Epic of Gilgamesh essay. Do not forget that the primary purpose of an article is to develop some new ideas and find interesting facts. Therefore, you should carefully analyze some aspects of the work. For example, make a comparative description of the characters, highlight the main literary techniques, designate the setting, etc.
- Full-fledged research. Before writing the text, it is worth taking the time to analyze the sources. There is a lot of information on the internet to help you formulate your ideas.
- Prepare a complete outline. Making a Gilgamesh essay structure is essential for preparing your essay right after the research. If you want to keep all your thoughts structured, an outline is a must. Remember to check your logic flow for errors after making your plan.
- Don’t forget about the thesis statement. After a short introduction, you should express a clear thought that you will argue in your essay. What is a good thesis statement for The Epic of Gilgamesh? For example, we can say that Gilgamesh’s journey in search of immortality reflects a human desire to cheat death and be remembered by others. This thesis will be remembered by everyone who reads your work.
- Use additional materials. To create a quality essay, you need to understand the work better. For example, a good option would be to watch a couple of epic Gilgamesh videos. Thanks to them, you will be able to penetrate deeper into all the problems that were told in the Epic.
Epic of Gilgamesh Essay Topics
A good essay needs a good topic. If you did not find something that would suit you in the previous list, then let’s dive a little deeper. Here are 10 more ideas in our Gilgamesh study guide, with a bit of explanation to make it easier for you to get started.
- Comparison of the underworld in the Odyssey and the Epic of Gilgamesh. The mythological concepts of ancient civilizations have a lot in common. And thanks to some literary works, we can see all the similarities and differences. Analyzing how the underworld is depicted in these two poems, you will learn many exciting things.
- Comparison of the heroic qualities of Gilgamesh and Odysseus. The literature of the ancient world is becoming the inspirer of modern ideas about real heroes. The Epic and the Odyssey contain many exciting examples of the necessary qualities.
- The similarity of the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Bible on the example of dreams. Dreams have been a subject of debate for a long time. Many agreed that these are omens of future events. Oddly enough, in the Bible and the Epic, you can find a lot of similarities on this topic.
- Comparison of the Bhagavad Gita and the Epic of Gilgamesh. Religion has always been a source of morality and wisdom for people. At the same time, in these works, the gods personally contact the heroes, instructing them. Many exciting similarities can be found between the two very different religions through the analysis of the texts.
- Comparison of the images of Gilgamesh and Beowulf. Surprisingly, even if representatives of different cultures have never been in contact with each other, they always have something in common. This can be seen in the Beowulf and Gilgamesh comparison essay.
- Correlation of travels with the inner state of Gilgamesh. Traveling and adventuring in the epic is not your usual pastime. They demonstrate how the perception of the protagonist changes. This is an exciting topic for analysis.
- Interpretation of the Great Flood in the Bible and the Epic of Gilgamesh: Similarities and Differences. There are many similarities between Christianity and ancient Akkadian beliefs. A great flood is an important event in both cultures.
- The significance of the Epic of Gilgamesh for studying the history of the Middle East region. Thanks to events that were told in the Epic, scientists can learn lots of facts about the life of ancient civilization. Moreover, having traced the similarity in the works of different cultures, it becomes possible to see how people and thoughts migrated.
- The role of women in the ancient world based on the Epic of Gilgamesh. You can see how women were treated in ancient cultures in work—a fascinating topic for an analysis essay about gender roles in Gilgamesh.
- Analysis of moral lessons in the Epic of Gilgamesh. This work is a source of morality for the inhabitants of that time and today. In this topic, you can find out how ancient people saw the standards of humanity and whether their ideas are relevant today.
Epic of Gilgamesh Essay Samples
If you still have questions about better writing an essay, we know the solution. Let’s look at how our authors described thoughts in their Gilgamesh essay sample. Below you will find links to the best examples of work to help you do your task efficiently.
- The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad: Compare & Contrast Essay
- Events and Journeys in The Epic of Gilgamesh
You, of course, can disagree with the thoughts expressed by our authors. But using a similar with these Gilgamesh essay examples structure will make it much easier for you to get a good result!
How to Cite the Epic of Gilgamesh
The epic of Gilgamesh contains many exciting phrases that you can safely quote in your work. But for this, you need to adhere to a specific citation style. MLA citations, APA citations, and Chicago style are the most popular ones. How to cite the epic of Gilgamesh in the text? Below you can see examples and use them to make your version.
- APA:
George, A., Sandars, N. K., & Pasco, R. (2003). The epic of Gilgamesh (A. George, Trans.). Penguin Classics. - MLA:
George, Andrew, et al. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Translated by Andrew George, Penguin Classics, 2003. - Chicago:
George, Andrew, N. K. Sanders, and Richard Pasco. 2003. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Translated by Andrew George. Penguin Classics. London, England: Penguin Classics.
Citation styles are needed so that the people reviewing your essay can identify where you got a particular passage from. All students do not like to draw up citation lists, but you will not have any problems following the indicated structure.
Congratulations, you’ve made it to the end! You are now entirely ready to write a quality essay on Gilgamesh. Share this Gilgamesh essay guide with your friends and keep it to yourself to avoid losing anything. Remember to use the tips you learned about, and good luck with your work!