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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 4 page research paper that examines the Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh in terms of what it implies regarding the role of women in that society. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khgilga.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
of this epic poem give modern scholars some idea of concepts and culture that governed life in ancient Sumer (Hooker). While women do not play an intrinsic role in this
ancient narrative, inferences can be drawn from the "Epic of Gilgamesh" concerning the role of women in Mesopotamian society. The first tablet introduces the reader to Gilgamesh, who built
the great city of Uruk (Hooker). Two-thirds god and one-third human, Gilgamesh is described not only as the greatest king, but the strongest human who has ever existed (Hooker). Young
and brash, he uses his power to abuse his people, which prompts them to call out to the sky-god Anu, who responds by creating a rival for Gilgamesh, a wild
man as strong as he is named Enkidu. A trappers son sees Enkidu running wild in the forest with the animals. He tells his father who advises him to go
into the city and find a temple harlot and bring her to tame the wild man. Shamhat, the temple harlot is the first woman mentioned in the epic. She
meets Enkidu at a watering hole and offers herself to him. Enkidu has sex and immediately loses his wildness; however, he gains understanding and knowledge (Hooker). Nevertheless, he laments his
lost natural state, at which point Shamhat offers to take him to the city where the joys of "civilization shine in their resplendence" and where she will introduce him to
Gilgamesh, the only man worth of Enkidus friendship (Hooker). This suggests that women were credited in ancient Mesopotamia as being the primary "civilizing" agent. A sexual association with
the temple harlot is not only pictured as the means by which Enkidu gains language and "knowledge" but also that his association with a woman constitutes a "break" with his
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