Homer & Gilgamesh

  Homer & Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient epic from Mesopotamia based on Sumerian poems that date as far back as 2100 BCE. These poems were later combined into an epic written on clay tablets in the Akkadian language that date to the 18^th century BCE, with only a few fragments surviving. The standard Babylonian version, that we are familiar with today, dates to somewhere between the 13^th and the 10^th centuries BCE and approximately two thirds of the 12 tablets have been recovered. Some 15,000 fragments written in Assyrian cuneiform were discovered in the early 1850’s. Analysis and translation of the work continues with new versions being published or added to on a regular basis. Advances in artificial intelligence software have resulted in great strides being made in understanding many fragments dispersed and unread in museums around the world.

The question has long been asked as to whether Homer was influenced or inspired by the Epic of Gilgamesh when he composed the Iliad and the Odyssey. On the one hand, the argument states that Homeric Greek culture was familiar with Eastern and Mesopotamian cultures, and scholars have identified numerous shared themes, episodes, and character types, such as a hero's journey, heroic camaraderie, monsters, and the quest for immortality. Gilgamesh serves as a potential prototype for later epic heroes like Achilles and Heracles. On the other hand, though it is not impossible that Homer was aware of Gilgamesh, the likelihood is slim that he referred to the work while composing his own epics. The clay tablets themselves had long disappeared from sight and in fact were not rediscovered until the early 1850’s. The more plausible argument is that the themes and prototypes mentioned above were more likely common to story-telling in the oral tradition, regardless of nationality. From Scandinavia to Patagonia, if one is asked to tell a story that starts with Once upon a time…, there is every likelihood that it will include heroes, gods, love, war, epic journeys, danger, life, death and the quest for immortality. These are all essential elements of the human imagination and it is not beyond reason to assume that they can be found in all stories from mythology and the oral tradition around the world. Norse mythology for example, contains common themes of violence, fate, order versus chaos, bravery, heroism, deception, death and the afterlife. Hindu, Maori, Mayan and Incan mythology all contain similar themes.

But what is the story told in the Epic of Gilgamesh? The mighty king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, abuses his power and oppresses his people. The gods create a wild man named Enkidu to oppose Gilgamesh and to set him straight and the two of them become friends after they have fought together. Later Gilgamesh proposes an adventure – a journey to the far-off Cedar Forest to fight a fearsome wood demon named Humbaba, who is the guardian of the forest. Together they kill Humbaba and Enkidu and Gilgamesh cut down the forest to celebrate their victory. After the two of them return to Uruk, Gilgamesh rejects the advances of the amorous goddess Ishtar, who retaliates by having her father send down a bull to destroy the royal city. Enkidu takes the lead in killing the bull and in further retaliation, the gods decree vengeance on Enkidu, who falls ill and dies. Gilgamesh is devastated. He mourns the loss of Enkidu and builds him a monument. In his desolation, Gilgamesh decides to embark on a journey to the Underworld to seek the meaning of life and death and how to achieve immortality. Gilgamesh encounters and surmounts various obstacles on his journey – scorpions, mountains and frightening dreams. But he finally meets a wise innkeeper Siduri, who tries to dissuade him from his journey, but eventually tells him how to proceed. He presses on in his travels until he meets Utnapishtim (the Noah figure) and his wife, the only survivors of the Great Flood and unique recipients of the reward of eternal life. Gilgamesh hears his story and fails a seven night sleep test put to him by Utnapishtim and learns that the gods have not granted immortality to mortal men, other than himself and his wife. Gilgamesh travels wearily back to the city of Uruk with only the story of his adventures to comfort him, and later see the errors of his ways, and becomes a good and loving ruler of his people.

As stated, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that Homer had direct access to the story of Gilgamesh and mirrored the same themes in his epics, but the likelihood is indeed slim that he used Gilgamesh as his inspiration. But the fact remains that some very similar themes and topics are covered in Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the Odyssey, and many scholars feel that it is worthwhile to explore these similarities, so that those interested can draw their own conclusions.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out on an epic and heroic journey of adventure to the Cedar Forest to gain everlasting fame, to conquer its guardian Humbaba, and to bring back the bounty of the forest to Uruk, in much the same way as the Achaeans set out to conquer Troy and to bring its riches back to the Greek mainland. Later Gilgamesh travels on another epic journey to meet with Utnapishtim and to visit the Underworld, in order to find the meaning of life and to gain immortality. His journey, fraught with a multitude of trials and tribulations, is mirrored by the 10 year journey and struggle of Odysseus as he attempts to make his way back home to Ithaca. Both Gilgamesh and Odysseus set out on quests filled with danger and challenge that take them to distant lands and involve facing horrid monsters and interference from the gods.

The interplay between gods and mortals plays a vital role in all three epics. The gods are all powerful but they tend to act in capricious mortal-like ways. They frequently intervene and interfere in human affairs and do not take kindly to any mortals who appear to counteract their wishes or meddle in divine actions. Mortals who display pride or hubris are severely dealt with, as one might expect, but sometimes the gods appear to punish mortals just for their own selfish reasons. Even mortals who bear some divine ancestry are treated harshly by the gods and divine retribution plays a key role in both Homer and Gilgamesh.

All three epics display heroes who undergo a complete change of heart because of the things that happen to them. Gilgamesh is first introduced to us as a terrible king who treats his subjects poorly. His is desolated by the death of his friend Enkidu and sets out to find the meaning of life and how to achieve immortality. By the end of the epic, he has come to realize the true nature of life and becomes a warm and loving leader to his people. Achilles is a petulant whiner who puts his fellow Achaeans at risk by withdrawing from the fighting and then re-enters the fray, acting like a madman after the death of his beloved Patroclus. By the end of the epic he has reconciled with King Priam and becomes the type of mortal whom we can revere. Through the trials and challenges of his journey, Odysseus changes from being a free-booting whore-monger to becoming a man who truly appreciates the love of his family and the security of his home. The nature of kingship is explored by Homer and Gilgamesh. The king of Uruk begins as a tyrant but becomes a wise king through his experiences, and the king of Ithaca is shown to us in direct contrast to the usurpers and suitors who abuse their power of leadership by ravaging his home in his absence.

The nature of a deep friendship and the depth of despair created by the loss of that friendship are integral parts of the Homeric epics as well as Gilgamesh. The loss suffered by Gilgamesh by the death of Enkidu is mirrored precisely by the loss that Achilles suffers at the death of Patroclus. The pain and grief experienced by Odysseus by his separation from Penelope and Telemachus is only outdone by the emotions that the two of them feel being separated from husband and father. The deep emotions tied up with friendship and losses are essential to the narratives of the three epics.

Each of the epics features the hero struggling with and overcoming a monster or a force that is almost insurmountable. Gilgamesh and Enkidu battle with and destroy Humbaba, the guardian of the Cedar Forest. In the Iliad, we find Achilles doing battle with the river god Xanthus at the Scamander River. When the river attempted to drown Achilles, the goddess Hera intervened by having her son Hephaestus send his flames to battle Xanthus who then relented. In the Odyssey we find Odysseus waging his own battle with a monster, this time the Cyclops Polyphemus whom he ultimately blinds. From ancient times to Harry Potter and modern video games, books and movies, we can find stories of heroes battling monsters. It is a common theme in all mythologies and world literature, and the fact that it is found in Gilgamesh and Homer is no clear proof that the Greek bard copied his Mesopotamian predecessor.

The three epics also deal with the subjects of life, the fear of death and the search for immortality. Gilgamesh travels far and wide to learn about how to become immortal, only to discover that this privilege is not available to mortals. Odysseus travels to the Underworld in an attempt to discover his fate, and learns the grim truth about human mortality and the emptiness that follows death. The shade of Achilles tells him that he would rather be alive and unknown as opposed to being the king of the Underworld. Achilles, along with all the other epic heroes, struggled diligently to achieve kleos or lasting fame. These heroes knew that life after death did not exist and that the only immortality that they could achieve was to have their fame and glory, achieved through heroic fighting and a glorious death, live on after them in the hearts and minds of men. Achilles himself was presented with the choice of living a long life in obscurity or dying heroically in battle at a young age and thereby achieving kleos.

There is no visit to the Underworld by a living person narrated in the Iliad. However, the ghost of Patroclus does visit Achilles in a dream after his death to encourage his heroic friend to hold funeral games in his honour. In the Epic of Gilgamesh we find a detailed description of the journey of Gilgamesh to the Underworld and his encounter with Utnapishtim, the only mortal who has achieved immortality after surviving the great flood. Book XI of the Odyssey is almost entirely taken up with a description of the journey to the Underworld that Odysseus makes, at the encouragement of Circe, to confer with the blind prophet Tiresias about how to get home to Ithaca. Odysseus visits with many phantom shades, including his mother Anticleia, his shipmate Elpenor who died falling from the roof of Circe’s house, as well as Tiresias. The blind prophet warns him about the dangers involved in harming the cattle of Helios on the island of Thrinacia, but we learn later that this warning goes unheeded by the hero’s crew with dire consequences. Through their visits to the Underworld, both Gilgamesh and Odysseus find out about the frailty of life, the inevitability of death and the impossibility of immortality. We do learn however that legacy is an alternative to immortality. Gilgamesh returns to Uruk knowing that his lasting fame will come from the good deeds that he does for his people and from the strong walls that he builds for his city. They will be his legacy. Achilles earns his immortality in the form of eternal glory or kleos by dying heroically in battle. Odysseus creates his legacy through his nostos, or return home, and the preservation of his oikos, or household.

There is no question about the fact that the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the Odyssey share common themes, but this by itself does not provide us with proof that Homer copied or was inspired by Gilgamesh. The telling of stories that include such themes is common to mankind and every child who utters the words, “Tell me a story Daddy”, is bound to hear some version of, “Once upon a time there was an ugly troll who lived under a bridge and was in love with a beautiful princess who lived in a nearby castle.” We might be better off looking at what is not contained in Homer’s epics to answer the question as to whether Gilgamesh played a role in the Greek bard’s stories.

The one story in Gilgamesh, whose fame has literally reached Biblical proportions, is the story of the Great Flood. The tale of Utnapishtim and his wife surviving the flood is mirrored precisely in the Book of Genesis in the Bible, and is also found in many other cultures and mythologies around the world. We know for certain that the flood story from Gilgamesh was familiar to the Greeks of Homer’s time, because it is referenced in a fragment from The Catalogue of Women, a work composed by Hesiod, who was a contemporary of Homer. Had Homer been familiar with Gilgamesh and used his story as a source work to copy many of his key themes, then certainly he would have included some reference to the flood story in the Iliad or the Odyssey. It would have been too great a story for him to have passed up or ignored. The fact that Homer did not include it is, in my opinion, proof of the fact that he acted independently from Gilgamesh.