Through the Looking Glass: The Different Perceptions of Love and Companionship in Sappho and the Epic of Gilgamesh
Companionship and love, although both present in Sappho and the Epic of Gilgamesh, had differing views encased in opposite ends of the spectrum demonstrations of love. The materialism and emotions revealed within the texts illuminate the view of rationality and irrationality in love. If we consider how the gods attributed to this view, the problems of accuracy in the portrayal of love can be resolved. The Epic of Gilgamesh demonstrates how flawed Ishtar’s cold and rigid view of love is in contrast to Sappho's more accurate view, which shows that love includes an aspect of pure emotion and irrationality. Sappho’s view can be seen…show more content… Within this paper, in order to make the argument that Sappho had a more accurate portrayal of love, there will be four parts excluding the standard introduction and conclusion. These parts will consist of three main points and a counter argument. Each main point has a body paragraph that will argue the point with sufficient evidence. The counter argument will be made up of two paragraphs where one will address a counter argument, and the second will prove why the objection is incorrect. At the conclusion, all three points will be tied together to show why Sappho’s perception and portrayal of love is most accurate.
Considering that in Sappho, marriage was portrayed as a gift blessed by Aphrodite, one can come to the conclusion that Sappho’s emotional view gives marriage a certain dynamic that depicts what love and companionship should entail. In comparison to Sappho’s view, Ishtar represents companionship as an expendable business deal that she owns. The negative connotation given by Ishtar’s association with love proves that Sappho’s positive connotation with love is therefore correct. When…show more content… The lack of respect given towards Ishtar, while warranted, is due to the fact that Ishtar goes against what love should be. When Sappho speaks with Aphrodite, she is very respectful and uses flattery. Whereas when Gilgamesh is interacting with Ishtar, he is incredibly disrespectful. The differing levels of respect are determined upon the actions that the goddesses have made and how they treated “love”. With Ishtar being incredibly flippant and overtly rational, this destructive outlook allows the reader to see her attitude as incorrect when juxtaposed to Sappho’s outlook. In Fragment 38, when summoning Aphrodite, Sappho flatters her by calling her a “snare-knitter”, which is essentially commending her at her work. Further down in the fragment, Sappho tells her to “come now!”. These two instances prove at least two things, that Sappho respects Aphrodite and also that she needs her help. This respect is due to how Aphrodite has helped and taught Sappho in the past, and therefore justified. She has helped Sappho, and many others (such as the previously mentioned honored groom) and is consequently capable of showing love properly. Sappho’s respect for Aphrodite is the polar opposite of how Gilgamesh speaks with Ishtar. This is due to Ishtar’s experiences with her lovers and her mistreatment of love. An insult that Gilgamesh uses to describe Ishtar is “’…a castle which crushes the garrison’”. This