Answer TWO of the following...
Q1: There’s so much about the customs and values of Sumerian/Babylonian culture we simply don’t know, so it’s hard to figure out what is right/wrong in this poem. However, do you think raiding Humbaba and stealing the cedar trees is a heroic act—one befitting a king/hero—or is it a sacrilege against the gods? We know the cedar trees are sacred, and both Enkidu and Gilgamesh lose courage at different stages of the journey. Is this a transgression of the natural order? Or a triumph over it?
Q1: There’s so much about the customs and values of Sumerian/Babylonian culture we simply don’t know, so it’s hard to figure out what is right/wrong in this poem. However, do you think raiding Humbaba and stealing the cedar trees is a heroic act—one befitting a king/hero—or is it a sacrilege against the gods? We know the cedar trees are sacred, and both Enkidu and Gilgamesh lose courage at different stages of the journey. Is this a transgression of the natural order? Or a triumph over it?
Q2: Related
somewhat to the above, when Humbaba is defeated he bargains with Gilgamesh,
saying “Spare my life, O Gilgamesh…let me dwell here for you in [the forest of
Cedar!] Trees as many as you command…” (V.42). Is it shameful/unheroic that
Gilgamesh and Enkidu slay him at this moment, beheading him and ripping out his
lungs? Or does the poem depict him as an evil and duplicitous creature? How
does the poet want us to read this pivotal episode?
Q3: Based on
Gilgamesh’s speech to Ishtar, what kind of goddess is she? What relationship
does she (an immortal) have with the mortals on earth? Does this have parallels
with other gods from the more familiar Greek or Norse traditions? What might
this say about the Sumerian/Babylonian view of gods and their place in the
world?
Q4: The poem
seems to place enormous importance on dreams and the manner in which they are
interpreted. Enkidu’s coming is foretold in a dream, and Gilgamesh has many,
many dreams before facing Humbaba. Do these dreams have a significant purpose
in the poem, however? Are they merely placeholders, a repetition that makes it
easier for the poet to recite the poem (since it was originally oral)? Or does
it set up or establish themes or ideas that are developed later in the work?
Q1: I think that the Sumerians probably placed a greater value on human feats than anything else. Yes, the forest and mountain are sacred. That serves as somewhat of a deterrent, but ultimately Gilgamesh and Enkidu decide to go for it. It’s funny, because before they kill Humbaba Enkidu is saying, “hurry up and whack him before Enlil finds out,” but afterwards Gilgamesh starts bragging about what an awesome door he’s going to build for Enlil’s temple. I don’t think that the Sumerian natural order was “obey the gods or suffer the consequences.” I think it was more like “if you’re going to disobey the gods, you’d better make it awesome” because if your feat was mighty enough, the gods would actually respect it.
ReplyDeleteQ3: Ishtar is an interesting subject. She’s the goddess of love, war, and sexuality in the Sumerian pantheon, which is both a strange and sensible combination. Based on Gilgamesh’s conversation with her, she’s a fickle lover, and all of her flings came to some kind of bad end (not unlike Zeus in the Greek pantheon, except his wife is the one that brings down his lovers usually). It’s like she’s that little kid who catches a butterfly but gets all worked up and crushes it, and when Gilgamesh points this out she goes to her dad and throws a temper tantrum. The funny thing is that rather than taking her at her word, Anu asks if Ishtar incited that response from Gilgamesh. It seems like the Sumero-Babylonian gods were essentially human in behavior, their actions just had much further reach and deeper impact because they were divine. I can’t think of many things much scarier than a scored woman with divine power.
Great responses...yes, these gods are humans writ large, and are not necessarily meant to be reverered and respected. Feared yes, but not because of great wisdom or spiritual powers. They are simply the 'big brothers' who can crush you with a word. But poets have the last laugh and can mock them from beyond the grave!
DeleteQ2: I do not believe it is unheroic or shameful by any means. I think it shows strength wisdom on behalf of Enkidu and Gilgamesh to not fall for the act Humbaba is doing. I do not think the poet has portrayed Humbaba as an evil character, but I do believe he is a nuisance to the forest and all those trying to go through the forest. I think the poet is trying to make the readers believe Humbaba is not a such nuisance, but trying to make Gilgamesh and Enkidu look like the bad guys.
ReplyDeleteQ4: The dreams play a huge role in the poem. Without dreams, the poem would really have no meaning or purpose as to why Enkidu exists or how Gilgamesh is going to seek Humbaba and defeat him. The dreams set the plot for the rest of the poem and give the readers an incite to what is going to happen further into the poem. I think the dreams make the poem more interesting because as a reader, you want to know if the dream is going to come true or not.
-Mariah Ewy-
Yes, great points...what I love about this work is how the hero is often an anti-hero; you both root for him and then kind of despise him. He's an arrogant bully, very high on himself, and yet he is capable of deep humanity--even if that humanity is often self-centered (as when Enkidu dies). Would his original audience have seen him as both heroic and despicable, or is this just us, seeing him backwards through the centuries?
DeleteQ2: Humbaba seems to be more of a protector than anything else. He seems to be minding his own business, and the line “Then they saw the Cedar Mountain, the Dwelling of the Gods, the throne dais of Imini.” Makes me suspect that the cedar forest is actually the home of the gods, and that Humbaba is there because it is his duty to protect him. Gilgamesh seems to be in a rush to kill him, as he believes that a god will be angered with him when they find out what they are doing. I don’t think that killing him and stealing from the forest is the RIGHT thing to do. But Heroism isn’t always doing what is right. Heroism is doing what your society thinks would bring you fame and fortune, and being bold and brave might be what this society wanted to support.
ReplyDeleteQ4: I believe that the dreams are both a storytelling device and something to give the storyteller a bit of a break while telling the story. The entirety of the dream scene is repetitive and sort of poetic. I would assume that the storyteller would use this time to wind the crowd down or prepare them back for the story, as it goes over what the two heroes are planning on doing over and over. However, I do notice a lot of “. . .” moments inside of the section from Enkidu, and I wonder if it is meant to show that Enkidu is getting less and less confident as the story goes on, or if it is simply something that was lost in translations.
Yes, good point--heroism is often flaunting the laws of man and god and doing something daring and iconic. Gilgamesh does this with Enkidu's help, and once he's defeated Humbaba it seems he's gone too far to turn back. The question is what the poet thinks and wants us to see, and it's somewhat ambiguous.
DeleteQ1: It seems like one of the recurring themes in the story thus far is humanity defying nature, or "the will of the gods." For example, Humbaba seemed to view Enkidu's transformation from beast to man as a sort of betrayal of the gods' plan, while the poet tells us that the transformation gave him a greater capacity to learn and understand his surroundings. Likewise, the raid on Humbaba's dwelling is a display of mortals triumphing against impossible odds. I think that the Sumerians considered Gilgamesh a hero because he was not a champion of the gods, as the heroes of Greek mythology often were, but a testament to the strength and perseverance of humanity.
ReplyDeleteQ2: I don't think that the reader is meant to believe that Humbaba is being sincere. In modern storytelling the pleading antagonist is a bit of a cliche, and is rarely trustworthy. From the way Humbaba continues to insult Enkidu, it seems that Humbaba might not be entirely penitent. It is likely that if he were not slain, he would be quick to go back on his word. However, the poet may have involved this scene in order to make us pity Humbaba, making him a sort of tragic villain. As vicious as he might have been, he was essentially just doing his job out of loyalty to the gods.
Great responses...Humbaba might well be insincere in this scene, though we have to wonder why they were doing it all in the first place. It seems like a border-line 'unholy' act (even though Shamash sponsors it), and killing him seems like adding insult to injury. I think he's both heroic here for flaunting the gods and doing what no other man had done, but at the same time, he shows blatant disrespect for other gods and people-- a true lack of humility. Or maybe Enkidu does, since he's the one who eggs him on.
ReplyDelete