Similarities Across Time

With ancient works of literature like Homer’s Odyssey or the Bible, often just as interesting as the stories and themes themselves are the parallels between cultures long dead and those alive today. From the reading we have done so far, it is apparent that The Epic of Gilgamesh is full of bits and pieces that demonstrate similarities between humans and their culture three and a half thousand years ago and now.

When I was reading the introduction I prepared myself to have to use the information to help me decode an alien culture from a “damaged masterpiece,” as George puts it. This notion was perhaps because the introduction served in part to fill the reader in on disparities between our culture and the culture of Gilgamesh, explaining religion and folk beliefs, and demonstrating just how ancient the work is. However, jumping into the epic itself I felt right at home with the many of the themes and interactions between people.

The very first problem we encounter is essentially that Gilgamesh is too cocky because he doesn’t have an equal. Too many times have I seen people, often friends, lose themselves to at least some arrogance when they are engaged in something that they excel at. I myself can remember times when my ego got out of check as a track runner, and feel that the only thing that kept me tolerable was a teammate I consider to be an equal. And like Gilgamesh and Enkidu become quick and close friends, I share a deep friendship with my old teammate because of how he challenged me, and the level on which we related.

We see similar defining qualities of masculinity, a topic of great concern here, in these first tablets as we see in the present day: physical strength, bravery, experience, and a bit humorously length of time one can lie with a woman. “Why, my friend, do you speak like a weakling,” is a phrase that pops up, in slightly different wording, amongst my male friends frequently, especially when discussing treacherous and unwise adventures: an almost uncanny similarity in male friendship interactions across a vast extent of time. These similarities across time make the reading of ancient works incredibly interesting and telling.