Role of Women in The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay

The story of “Gilgamesh” depicts all of the heroic triumphs and heart-breaking pitfalls a heroic narrative should depict to be able to relate to today’s audience. However, “Gilgamesh” was once considered a lost and forgotten piece of literature for thousands of years, so there is a tremendous gap between the time it was created and the time it was translated into language that today’s audience can understand. That gap in history makes several aspects of the story of “Gilgamesh” strange and unfamiliar because what we now know about ancient Middle Eastern cultures and languages is a lot less than what we know about the cultures that prospered after ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Much of the content in the story of

After Enkidu and Gilgamesh defeat the divine beast Humbaba, another pivotal sexual interaction tests Gilgamesh’s character and reveals his changed nature. As Gilgamesh and Enkidu travel back from the sacred forest, Ishtar (Babylonian goddess of love and

In The Epic of Gilgamesh it starts off talking about how Aruru forms a man named Enkidu out of clay that is supposed to be just like Gilgamesh. One day a hunter spots Enkidu in the woods and becomes terrified because of how wild he is. The hunters father tells him to go to Uruk and ask Gilgamesh for a prostitue to tame Enkidu. The hunter gets the prostitute and goes to a watering hole to wait for Enkidu, they waited for three days. Eventually Enkidu shows up and the hunter tells the prostitute to lay down and expose her breasts so that Enkidu will see them. Enkidu notices the naked woman and goes up to her and they have sex for six days and seven nights. After that Enkidu tries to go back to the animals and he noticeably is weaker. His mind seemed to be awakened and confused. He went back to the prostitute and she assures him that things will be fine. The first thing I noticed when I read this is that they never called the prostitute by her name which is pretty demeaning. Also did they have to use a woman to lure Enkidu into becoming less wild and more civilized? I feel as though they could have done it without using the prostitute. They only used her for her

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. One particular issue that is demonstrated among several others in the Epic of Gilgamesh is the status of women. Since this is a story of women's status many years ago, it is indeed an interesting issue to discuss,

      Some of the more impressive and intriguing women in the book are Nausicaa, Arete, Circe, Calypso, Penelope, Helen and Athena. 

The Epic of Gilgamesh follows a tale of two brothers tasked with defeating an all-powerful beast, yet they aren’t the most important characters in this story. Without their wisdom and guidance, Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey would have ended a lot sooner, and Gilgamesh would have still rampaged in Uruk, never bringing peace to those who were below him. Aruru, Shamhat, Ninsun, Ishtar, Siduri, and Utanapishtim’s wife all contribute to Gilgamesh’s journey, and in the end, provide Gilgamesh with the necessary tools in order to transform his character. These women in The Epic of Gilgamesh are essential to the plot, and provide both wisdom and perfection, but can also bring temptation and destruction if given the power to do so.

The women of The Epic of Gilgamesh are used to guide and give knowledge to the men. Even when the men in the story take them for granted, the women are still are shown to play an essential role. The two main women of the epic are Shamhat and Siduri, in which they both convey intelligence and learning. We are first introduced to Shamhat in Book 1 where she is sent to tame a man named Enkidu(a giant human raised by animals that is later civilized by Shamhat). Since Enkidu is animal like, the humans of Uruk feared him, so Gilgamesh sent Shamhat out to give her body for sex as an act to civilize Enkidu (Gilgamesh 77). In order for Shamhat to civilize Enkidu, she is to be taken into the wilderness, and must “strip off her robe and

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story of Gilgamesh, a man who was two-thirds god that was saved by companionship. Gilgamesh was a cruel and careless king, who spent his time raping women, exhausting citizens, and conquering foes and foreign lands until he met, fought and was guided by his great friend and soul mate, Enkidu. With the help of Enkidu and his influence, he learned compassion as well as wisdom and integrity, and eventually Gilgamesh became a great and fair king. Though the story focuses mainly on Gilgamesh and his friendship with Enkidu, there are several roles played by women that help to make and move the story along. Without these important women who show great strength and feminine qualities despite being oppressed by the

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role. While women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of humans, they still had tremendous influence. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not play a necessarily minor role. With all the women that play a role in the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender is a topic worthy of discussion.

Although men are the Epic characters of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey, women also play a very important role in both stories. In general, these two stories portray women as being overly sexual, deceptive, and having a power over men. Women use their sexuality to hold control over men, to confuse and deceive them.

The Epic of Gilgamesh chronicles the life of the great warrior and hero Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is not great hero because he is moral. In fact he is feared because "a goddess made him, strong as a savage bull, none can withstand his arms" (1). This phrase underlines the terrible power of femininity, in the view of the Mesopotamian culture that produced the text. On one hand, the female principle is responsible for creation. On the other hand, the female principle also has the ability to destroy: the epic takes a largely dim perspective of humanity, and often, by extension of women, because the source of all creation is a goddess, Aruru. Aruru creates but she also generates suffering.

The Epic of Gilgamesh contains several instances where women are regarded as objects that solely provide men with pleasure, specifically with the story of Shamat and Enkidu. In the beginning of the epic, the story is introduced with the creation of Enkidu and his transformation into a human being; a vital part of Enkidu’s transformation being a woman named Shamat. Shamat acts as the bait or lure that leads Enkidu out of his animalistic lifestyle, and causes him to become human. In order to do so, Shamat is told to do sexual acts that will arouse Enkidu. For example, the

In Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, not only does the most prominent female character receive more respect from men, but readers -- unlike those of Gilgamesh -- are able to see and understand what she is feeling. In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the most significant woman featured is referred to as "the lady" and represents a

In the Epic of Gilgamesh we learn that ancient Mesopotamians valued women’s roles as child bearers, and since only women are able to create

Women in The Epic Of Gilgamesh and Mesopotamian Society In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role, because while women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of all humans, they still had tremendous influence over others around them, and even today, over those who study and learn about the women of the time of Mesopotamia. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not necessarily play a minor role. Throughout The Epic of Gilgamesh, the roles of women are mixed. Women are represented as harlots (Shamhat), as wise (Ninsun), and as gods (Ishtar). There is a substantial amount of gods which are represented as women and it could represent a society with multiple