Ancient Mesopotamia and the Epic of Gilgamesh

The epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest epics known to man, reflects the challenges of life in antique Sumer by dealing with them metaphorically. The most important challenges in quaint Sumerian life were disforestation and flooding. After Enkidu and Gilgamesh meet and become friends, Gilgamesh proposes that they go to the cedar forest and cut down all the trees. Though Gilgameshs reasoning for cutting down all the trees isnt very reasonable, he still persuades Enkidu to come along with him. At dawn Gilgamesh raised his ax and struck at the great cedar.When Humbaba heard the sound of falling trees, he hurried down the path that they had seen but only he had traveled. 1 Gilgamesh and Enkidu cutting down trees was a metaphor for the ongoing problem of deforestation in antediluvian patriarch Mesopotamia. Because Gilgamesh and Enkidu cut down the trees that were sacred to the gods, the gods cursed mankind with fire and drought. Civilization has never recognized limits to its needs. 2 In ancient Mesopotamia, the land was savagely deforested. In this way, deserts formed, and civilization declined. Gilgamesh yearns for immortality, and chases after the imagine of being immortal.When he fails to come upon immortality, he returns to his town and realizes that because he make the wall of Uruk and other constructions and because they would last long after he was gone, he would thereby gain immortality. He looked at the walls, awed at the senior high school his people had achieved and for a moment- just a moment- all that lay rump him passed from view. 3 In the epic of Gilgamesh immortality is a theme that frequently recurs, and is a metaphor for how Sumerians, as like all charitables, desire immortality but can non achieve it.Also, a possible explanation for the reason forgivings do not have immortality is because Gilgamesh did not obtain immortality. Humans living in ancient Mesopotamia had difficult relations with gods they were responsible for innate dis asters, which is how the people of ancient Sumer rationalized floods, drought, famine, and locusts. Supposedly, the gods had human emotions and could become stubborn, angry for no reason, jealous, and have other petty emotions. With the gods index to create those natural disasters and at the same time harbor disconfirming emotions, humans were fearful of the gods wrath, since the gods could be easily provoked. forwards the epic of Gilgamesh, a tremendous flood is released when the gods realize how imperfect gentlemans gentleman is. Utnapishtim had built a large boat and every living amour was stowed away inside of it while the flood raged. When the flood recedes, Utnapishtim is the only human left alive along with other animals. He lets the animals free, and Enlil blesses him with immortality. The power of the gods in the epic of Gilgamesh is a metaphor for the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Because the gods were violent and maverick, they could create disasters a mong the Sumerians and they could cede immortality.Acts of God, such as flooding, drought, famine, or plagues of locusts, affected entire communities. Floods were generally topical anesthetic but extremely destructive, causing a high death rate. 4 Floods were one of the largest problems in Ancient Mesopotamia. The rivers could also be harsh and unpredictable because their flooding devastated ancient Mesopotamia. Ancient Sumerians could also suffer from droughts, famine, locust, and other natural disasters. On the other hand, they could gain abundant harvest when nature was compliant. legion(predicate) challenges of life in ancient Sumerian history are reflected in the epic of Gilgamesh. Deforestation and flooding were the main issues faced in ancient Mesopotamia. These challenges were woven into the epic tale of Gilgamesh as metaphors The epic of Gilgamesh shows an understanding of bionomical processes and the consequences of human action on the earth5 The epic of Gilgamesh was establishment that Ancient Sumerians caused their own demise by deforestation, which also led to to a greater extent flooding and other natural disasters.