A Mesopotamian Epic Poem In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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The roots of human development can be traced as far back as the Paleolithic period where the first remnants of individuals with the genus homo could be found. Long before human society had evolved to a point where it could be called a civilization, an ancient form of parable existed, the predecessor of all forms of Cultural Revolution that would follow in subsequent generations. These fables and allegories existed in a time before written word or language, before any art forms, before modern conceptions of philosophy and science, and eventually formulated the basis behind many of the earliest and greatest works of ancient literature. These ancient mediums of passing knowledge down to subsequent generations were known as myths. In terms of origin,…show more content…
Enkidu represents humanities desire to live and prosper, something reinforced by the bitterness he emits upon being sentenced to death. Upon his quest he stumbles upon an old man known as Uta-na’ishtim, who has been chosen by the gods to be blessed with immortality, the very thing that Gilgamesh seeks. Uta-na’ishtim is the son of the Sumerian king Abara tutu and he represents the embodiment of life due not only to his inherent immortality, but by the significance of the events which triggered it. In the epic of Gilgamesh, The great flood is triggered by an angry god who is irritated with the noises of humans disturbing his sleep, which juxtaposes with the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which beckoned the bringing of life as opposed to death. However this irony is subsidized in the form of Uta-na’ishtim who not only survives the flood by constructing an arc, but as a consequence ends up obtaining immortality from the gods. This gift of immortality makes him the literal embodiment of life, and as the savior of humanity, it correlates with the prevalence of flooding within the Fertile crescent that just as the floods bring fertile soil and life to the earth, Uta-na’ishtim,…show more content…
The concept of Monarchies were challenged, as advocates for social rights and egalitarian societies surfaced, and these changes manifested themselves in the critical thoughts of early philosophers, and the structure of civilizations pertaining to their immediate environments. The ancient Greeks are often credited with having been the birthplace of early philosophy and early ideals of democracy, with their concepts of democracy stemming from a strong sense of individuality and resent for monarchy. Ancient Greece was located in a very mountainous area, which made inner land travel difficult and secluded communities away from each other. As a result of this, many cities were located by the sea, and travel was predominantly through the usage of the Aegean Sea. In a number of ways Greece differed from other civilizations at the time. Fertile land was scarce, and this scarcity of land that could sustain agricultural product meant that Greeks had to find other ways to sustain themselves. As a direct influence of their environment, Greece was almost naturally segregated by its meandering paths through mountains which resulted in cities being spaced in relative isolation from one another. People who lived within Greece did not associate themselves as Greeks, but rather identified themselves by the city-states termed “polis”, in which they resided; a testament to the natural sectioning
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