10/15/2014
The Epic of Gilgamesh
After hearing about the similarities between the story of Gilgamesh and stories in the bible (such as the story of Noah and the flood), it was interesting to read the actual biblical texts and to more fully understand the story of Gilgamesh. It is important to consider the two viewpoints on the similarities contained in these two stories: Some religious people view these similarities as proof of biblical stories, while other more skeptical people consider these similarities a complete disavowal of such religious affirmations. I personally do not have an opinion on this matter as it seems to me that a true answer in this situation would be very difficult to discern. However, I would be interested to know what other people in the class thought of these similarities and their implications. To me one of the most interested parts of this reading was learning that Gilgamesh was a person who was documented to have existed in history. I would very much like to read the comic adaptation of the story.
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I found it very interesting as well that these stories are based off of real people, but what bothers me is the truth behind the actual stories. Sending a plague onto the earth may seem like a good idea in a story, but in real life, it is not very plausible. I also found that the similarities in each story led to a common teaching of morality and lessons learned.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Casey that the validity of religious stories will be a very interesting topic of discussion in class. Jake, I have the same viewpoint on religious stories as you, and believe that readers of religious stories need to look beyond the actual plot lines of the stories and focus on the deeper meaning they reveal.
ReplyDeleteAmanda and Jake, I completely agree with the need to look beyond religious stories and perhaps put more emphasis on the moral or lesson they intended to convey. I always felt that seeing these stories as devices to illustrate core values of a religion made more sense than seeing them as nonfiction eyewitness accounts.
ReplyDeleteThese are all very interesting points, and on the whole I also agree that religion is more about the inner meaning of the stories than the literal truth or fiction of a story.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this thread has the same views on the ideas of the validity of the factual basis for these stories. I also find it interesting that we all seemed to mention the way Gilgamesh was used to support the argument for and against the validity of the Bible.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think it is very interesting that the story of Gilgamesh is so similar to Noah's Arc. I think it is strange how the discovery of Gilgamesh can have two very different interpretations in society today. Some people believe that Gilgamesh proves the Bible to be correct, and some say that is invalidates the Bible. I too have no opinion on the matter, but would love to explore this further.
ReplyDeleteWhether it is proof that the Bible is correct or not, The Epic of Gilgamesh is still a cool story. I don't like to look at it through a religious lens because I feel that takes away from the moral of the plot, in a way. The Epic of Gilgamesh provides a simplistic, yet somewhat moving insight on mortality from a very long time ago, which proves that humans have been pondering the same life questions for a LONG time!
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