Due Feb 2
Mesopotamian Epic 1
Reading: Gilgamesh heroic friendship, Tablets I-VI (pp17-47).
Writing: Post 1-2 sentences in response to one of the following prompts:
- A cultural gulf separates us from the world of Gilgamesh. Quote a line or cite a plot event that strikes you as odd, then comment on what’s puzzling. Odd details make good starting points for analysis.
- The story’s two leads are both male, but most of the peripheral characters are female. Quote a line or cite a plot event that strikes you as suggestive for understanding this culture’s conception of women in society, then comment on the implications.
Oddities
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One detail that feels particularly odd to a modern reader occurs when the text states, “The King shall know the wife before her husband. Gilgamesh will be the first to lie with the bride”. This felt puzzling to me as it demonstrates Gilgamesh’s power in an interesting way. It portrays his sexual access to anyone he likes, and how it is seen as normal for a man to give up his bride to Gilgamesh before even he himself. This is definitely not typical of marital dynamics in modern day. Especially as this event was described by the man passing with no moral condemnation as seen in “From the moment the birth-cord of Gilgamesh was cut, this was destined for him.” This highlights the cultural gulf between ancient Mesopotamian values and modern expectations regarding consent, marriage and the limits of one’s political power.
Something that I found odd was that Shamhat is described as a “Harlot” but still seems to have a position of power as she is “a priestess from the Temple of Ishtar”(20), who is chosen by Gilgamesh to be taken by the hunter to Enkidu. She is the one who eventually must seduce Enkidu and tell him to go to Gilgamesh saying “him shall you embrace and him shall you love, as you love yourself” before commanding him to “arise from the ground”(23). It is clear that in the world of Gilgamesh, those know as “Harlots” were not only welcomed by religious institutions but took very active roles in them leading to political power. This could possibly signal differing views over the expression of sexuality from today’s world. It could also be possible that the term has a different meaning for the people of the time and has been pejorated into a negative word that it is today.
When I consider the cultural gulf between our world and Gilgamesh’s world, I think first and foremost about how much translation has shaped our understanding of the world, and how limited that understanding remains. Since we necessarily bring our modern, Western, English-speaking point of view to the text, with all of the biases that come with it, it is often difficult to discern how clearly we are seeing things for what they really are, or if we are letting our modern lens cloud the true nature of a very complex, very foreign society. Having read other translations of Gilgamesh before, I found it striking that Davis specifically refers to Shamhat as “Shamhat the temple-harlot” while other translations refer to her simply as a priestess. From my prior reading over the years on ancient Mesopotamia, I know that the word used to refer to Shamhat in Gilgamesh’s original text has a disputed meaning that seems to contain a lot of cultural and linguistic nuances within it that are lost to time. In his foreword, Davis explains that the term temple-harlot references the practice of sacred prostitution, which I also know from my prior reading is a heavily disputed practice, and many historians disagree upon whether or not it was actually practiced historically. I know this is not strictly what the prompt is asking for, but I find it impossible to evaluate the cultural gulf between our worlds without first considering how that cultural gulf badly distorts our view of their world, and how difficult that makes it to assess the true nature of that gulf. In this case specifically, the practice of sacred prostitution is of course at odds with our modern society. But because we lack a full contextualized cultural understanding of this practice, even whether or not it existed in a literal sense, it is very difficult to evaluate it and integrate it into our understanding of this ancient society.
One detail that strikes me as odd is the use of sexuality as a civilizing agent. When Enkidu is living within the wilderness, he becomes ‘civilized’ through interactions with the priestess Shamhat, “for seven days and seven nights did Enkidu lie with the temple priestess” (20). The animals leave him, and “Enkidu now had wisdom and enlightenment” (21). Here, sexuality is viewed as a deliberate tool of ‘humanization’ rather than an inherently romantic or lustful act as it is modernly.
Women in Gilgamesh
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The female characters in Gilgamesh play an impactful role in the journeys of the story’s male main characters. An example of this is when the hunter sees Enkidu and his wild ways disrupt his hunting, causing him to go to his father for advice on how to fix the problem. His father tells him to get a temple priestess named Shamhat and introduce her to Enkidu so that “over the power of this wild man she will prevail” (Davis 19). By having sex with Shamhat, Enkidu is supposed to have a revelation that turns him into a normal man. Shamhat’s sexuality is used to achieve a goal that helps Enkidu, while not really doing much for her own gain. This is an important turning point in the story that shows the impact the female side characters have on the lives of the male main characters, but in a way in which the men are the only ones actually benefiting. It gives insight into the role that women play in the world of Gilgamesh.
I agree that the female characters in Gilgamesh play a significant role in the male main character’s lives because they influence their beliefs and take part in traditions and customs in their world. However, I also think women are submissive in a way and aren’t always benefiting from the influence they have in men’s lives, like Mischka states. An instance of this is when the traveler talks to Enkidu and says, “The King shall know the wife before her husband. Gilgamesh will be the first to lie with the bride. This is ordained by divine decree” (Davis 24). In this quote, we learn that it is from a higher power of some sort or custom that Gilgamesh sleeps with the bride first, and despite it being customary, it doesn’t explain how it benefits the women, and shows how women tended to be compliant with men’s orders.
In the story, women are respected in a way that is different from men, particularly for their wisdom and guidance. While men are known for their physical strength and power, the women are described with titles like “the great goddess” and “the wise, all-knowing,” emphasizing their role as sources of knowledge. The men in the story rely on woman for knowledge and guidance. For example, as Gilgamesh and Enkidu prepare to face Humbaba, Gilgamesh says, “Come on, my friend, let us go to the Egalmah Temple, to Ninsun, the Great Queen; Ninsun is wise, all-knowing. She will put the advisable path at our feet.” This moment suggests that although women may not lead with physical force, they hold moral and spiritual authority, and their guidance is crucial to the success of the males.
The plot point in the story when Shamhat goes to lure Enkidu out of the forest to join human civilization is most telling of this culture’s conception of women in society. She is the only mortal woman who is introduced to the readers, and she is the woman with the most involvement in the story so far. Shamhat was used as a sort of vessel to transform Enkidu from beast to man. After Enkidu and Shamhat have sex, Enkidu is literally changed, as the animals will not accept him again as their own. I think this is because having sex with Shamhat civilized/humanized him in a way the animals recognize, he is now capable of individual thought, he is selfishly human and thus no longer accepted in the natural order. The sex is not depicted as necessarily sinful or romantic, but rather transformative, as Enkidu is then accepted as a man rather than an animal, suggesting that women in this society are linked to the grounding of societal teachings and structures. This is further emphasized when Shamhat teaches Enkidu how to eat and drink, so women could be understood to be teachers or instillers of culture and order, keeping men on track. All this being said, Shamhat’s role in the story is still only to serve men. She takes order from men to do things in service of other men. Women are not independent characters capable of their own thoughts, feelings and desires, but rather their value lies in what their bodies can do for men.
I think both female characters Ninsun and Aruru are depicted to mediate the majority of the conflicts in the story. Ninsun represents wisdom, restraint and a guide as a mother, similarly Aruru shows devine balance within the society. However, even though are not shown to be expressively powerful, these character are illustrated to be more than just powerful but the source which created the heroes that later changes the society “It was you, Aruru, who created mankind; now create a counterpart to him.” (Tablet I)”, whilst men shows position of dominance and kinship these women tend to stand behind all the chaos. This suggest how women may be excluded from exerting power but they hold the power of maintaining cosmic order of the society.