Gilgamed vs Aeneid Essay

The developing of the Highway to Hell in Classical Mythology Mythology, by denotation, is a traditional tale, especi on the wholey genius concerning the previous(predicate) history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving spectral beings or events. Myths are an entity that evolve by dint of time and through the ever-changing of culture in dress to tailor to the people telling the story as such, we often overhear a series of several(predicate) versions develop reflecting a relatively similar story. In this paper, the similarities and differences of the repre moveation of the blaze in The epic of Gilgamesh and Virgils Aeneis go out be analyzed and applied to the culture of the authors. We read these myths molar concentrations of years after they were written in order to gain an understanding of the worlds past, analyze the minds of our progenitors, and ponder the mystery of human origins. In abridgment, The Epic of Gilgamesh, tel ls the four thousand year old Mesopotamian tale of Gilgamesh, the fifth King of Uruk and demigod. In this myth, the story begins with Gilgamesh and his former enemy and current best booster dose Enkidu. Together, they kill the Bull of Heaven, a deity sent in revenge by the goddess Ishtar to destroy their crops.When Enkidu kills the bull, he angers the gods, prompting them to kill Gilgameshs closest friend in retri andion. After this traumatic event, Gilgamesh slips in to a state of infatuation with the meats of life and remnant. Searching for the meaning of life and a path to eternal life, he sets off on a quest to capture a man who lives in the infernal region and is called Utnapishtim Gilgamesh believes him to be a mortal man who survived a broad flood and was rewarded with undyingity. On his quest to arrive in the Underworld, Gilgamesh encounters Siduri the barmaid at the edge of the sea, Urshanabi the boatman of the Underworld, and finally Utnapishtim the immortal keeper of the Underworld. Upon meeting Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh coaxes him into revealing the secret to immortality a flower at the bottom of the sea. This digest will be focused on Tablet X. The second major work included in this analysis is the Roman, Virgils The Aeneid, Book VI. In synopsis, this myth tells the story of Aeneas after the Trojan War and his quest to consort his people. The preluding chapters of The Aeneid describe Aeneass adventures after the fall of Troy and in the Underworld portion of the myth, Aeneas seeks the Underworld in order to obtain the advice of his late male parent. In the Underworld, not only does Aeneas meet his father but as well his former lover.Virgils The Aeneid and The Epic of Gilgamesh both portray two heroes on an adventure mission to the Underworld to avenge the past and discover the future however there are stark differences in these externally similar myths. Initially, when comparing these two stories, whiz must catch the context from which th ey come. Virgils epic verse is one which draws on the Roman culture and was written between 29 and 19 BC era in contrast, The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest known works of literature and is centered around the Mesopotamian culture of the importantly senior 2000 BC. Noting this substantial gap in not only geography, but also the time mold is important as we continue in our analysis of these two works. The Romans show in The Aeneid held clear beliefs that one who led a good life would reap the benefits in the afterlife whereas the Mesopotamians ancient culture seems to realize left their ideas starkly vacant towards the concept of death and the afterlife. When Gilgamesh arrived at the first ingress of the Underworld, he met the barmaid Siduri in her tavern at the edge of the sea. She said to him the sideline There has never been a ferry of every kind, Gilgamesh, and nobody from time immemorial has crossed the sea (Tablet X, p. 433). In a very similar flair to The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Sibyl, The Aeneids fortune-telling equivalent of Siduri, also meets Aeneas at the edge of the Sea of Death and tells him, All nights, all days too, dark Diss portals lie open. But to recall those steps, to escape to the fresh air above you, There lies the challenge, the labor A few have succeeded (Aeneid, Book 6, line 128-130). After this warning, she gives Aeneas somewhat cryptical instructions on how to collect a golden branch which, if fate allows, will grant him rise to power to the Underworld. In juxtaposing these two quotes from these scenes of the myths, we can get a sense of the archetypes and ideals behind the people who wrote them. As depicted in the quote from The Epic of Gilgamesh, it comes to light that not only does Gilgamesh not know what to expect from the Underworld and the afterlife, but also Siduri doesnt quite have a tangible notion of what should happen to somebody who passes into the underworld and is not dead.In contrast, the apparently mo re experienced Sibyl tells Aeneid that it will not be easy, but makes this task sound much more feasible. She has exact instructions for him and quite simply, leaves the verdict of his eligibility to fate. Through this similitude we can begin to notice some of the culture of the respectivetimes which permeates these myths. Gilgameshs tale is older and the author was writing from a decidedly more undeveloped mythological perspective for the people of The Epic of Gilgameshs time, death was undefined and impalpable. However, for the people living in the time in which Virgil was writing, death, although intimidating, was something that one who did not commit sins, did not need to fear. Looking a bit more in depth, we can see that these myths give us a glimpse in to the minds of the people who lived in the time in which they were written. In The Aeneid, Aeneas goes to the Underworld to seek counsel from the deceased whereas in contrast, Gilgamesh goes as part of a quest to eventually a void the underworld in immortality. We can see a complete lack of fear of death written through the words of Virgil when Aeneid addresses his deceased father in line 698, Father, give me your hand bemuse it, dont pull away as I hug and embrace you Waves of tears swear out over his cheeks as he spoke in frustration Three attempts made to encircle his fathers neck with his outstretched arms yielded three utter failures. Through this quote, it becomes apparent to us that Aeneid feels no fear for the dead he feels simply frustration at the fact that he cant embrace his father. In blunt contrast, in The Epic of Gilgamesh when the Underworld and death is described, it is described as the following Nobody sees Death, nobody sees the face of Death, nobody hears the voice of Death, Savage Death just cuts mankind run through (pg 435). This description from the older of the two works lacks the sense of knowing and fate that is seen as a reoccurring radix in The Aeneid it is an undefined my stery that still has not been conquered. In this ancient text, we are reintroduced to the idea of Gilgamesh fearing the after-life, verses Aeneas confront it and accepting a fate which has been predetermined. In the end, the Underworld experiences of Aeneas and Gilgamesh each bring forth experiences which are similar, to that extent are each one is molded in its own way to produce something that reflects their corresponding cultures. some(prenominal) plotlines tell the account of a demigod hero with a god-invoked tragic past and their path to a quasi-interchangeable Underworld as a means of catharsis. Considering that these two myths, having been from as much as a thousand years apart and two different regions of the world, have so many striking plot similarities, one must marvel at the power of the story passed through the generations. Myths have survived the test of time and changing cultures to create the myriad ofmemoirs that we still enjoy in the modern age. These myths, alth ough no dourer something that we typically consider a part of modern religion, allow us a peek into the past. The history of our development through anthropologic changes and our perpetually morphing understandings of the meaning of life is preserved in the mythological collections of our earliest predecessors. The perspective offered in determinate mythology offers us a sense of the concept of life and death as it was viewed by those who lived so long ago.