Although The Epic of Gilgamesh is a highly dramatized account of the lives of people inhabiting Uruk around 2700 B.C., it gives insight into a lot of aspects of their lives.
The numerous gods mentioned throughout the epic assure us that the Uruk Civilization was polytheistic. Their gods had many humanly attributes such as seeking revenge, having kids and spouses, being stubborn and egotistical. Another aspect about their religion or their superstitions was that they took all their dreams quite seriously. It was almost as if they believed their inevitable future will be revealed to them through their dreams. Countless times Gilgamesh recites his dream to his mother. Enkidu even gives up living and resorts to a sick-bed just because he has a dream foretelling his ill-fate.
Their religious beliefs were not at all surprising to me, however, it was interesting to me how even 4000 years ago the family setup was exactly the same as it is now. The people of Uruk pray to their gods to send someone who will challenge Gilgamesh because they are tired of him snatching their children, wives and daughters. Also, I assumed that the virginity of a bride might not matter too much to people way back in the days, as that would’ve helped populate the then-quite-desolate world. But from the text we can interpret how it was a desirable trait in women. As expected, the society was quite male dominated, and this is apparent by their repeated references to women as “cursed,” or “unlucky.” For example, Enkidu is outcast by the gazelle because he has been seduced by the temple harlot. For the most, women seem to only have sexual purposes in the Uruk society. What is quite surprising and may be a bit amusing to a reader in current day and age is how the superhuman heroes, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, have no shame in holding hands, embracing each other or tearing up. People of Uruk did not see this as degrading to a man's masculinity.
Lastly, it was surprising to learn that the Uruk civilization was as technologically advanced as The Epic of Gilgamesh suggests. They had proper clothes and jewels and even had incenses, as we find out from when Gilgamesh’s mother, Ninsun, prays to Shamash. Other than that they seem to have well built palaces, furniture and good weaponry. A lot of times the people from the general public mentioned are coppersmiths, goldsmiths, armorers etc suggesting a good economy with lots of different specialized occupations.
Before reading The Epic of Gilgamesh I did not perceive a society that existed 4000 years ago to be as technologically and socially advanced as it turned out to be.
The numerous gods mentioned throughout the epic assure us that the Uruk Civilization was polytheistic. Their gods had many humanly attributes such as seeking revenge, having kids and spouses, being stubborn and egotistical. Another aspect about their religion or their superstitions was that they took all their dreams quite seriously. It was almost as if they believed their inevitable future will be revealed to them through their dreams. Countless times Gilgamesh recites his dream to his mother. Enkidu even gives up living and resorts to a sick-bed just because he has a dream foretelling his ill-fate.
Their religious beliefs were not at all surprising to me, however, it was interesting to me how even 4000 years ago the family setup was exactly the same as it is now. The people of Uruk pray to their gods to send someone who will challenge Gilgamesh because they are tired of him snatching their children, wives and daughters. Also, I assumed that the virginity of a bride might not matter too much to people way back in the days, as that would’ve helped populate the then-quite-desolate world. But from the text we can interpret how it was a desirable trait in women. As expected, the society was quite male dominated, and this is apparent by their repeated references to women as “cursed,” or “unlucky.” For example, Enkidu is outcast by the gazelle because he has been seduced by the temple harlot. For the most, women seem to only have sexual purposes in the Uruk society. What is quite surprising and may be a bit amusing to a reader in current day and age is how the superhuman heroes, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, have no shame in holding hands, embracing each other or tearing up. People of Uruk did not see this as degrading to a man's masculinity.
Lastly, it was surprising to learn that the Uruk civilization was as technologically advanced as The Epic of Gilgamesh suggests. They had proper clothes and jewels and even had incenses, as we find out from when Gilgamesh’s mother, Ninsun, prays to Shamash. Other than that they seem to have well built palaces, furniture and good weaponry. A lot of times the people from the general public mentioned are coppersmiths, goldsmiths, armorers etc suggesting a good economy with lots of different specialized occupations.
Before reading The Epic of Gilgamesh I did not perceive a society that existed 4000 years ago to be as technologically and socially advanced as it turned out to be.
