Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
The Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient Sumerian poem about a king's search for eternal life. The text delves into the narrative, sources, and literary composition of the epic, focusing on the characters Gilgamesh and Enkidu and their quest for life, their encounters with Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven, and the nature of their relationship. The document also discusses the reception of the epic in modern times and its influence on Babylonian theology.
What you will learn
Typology: Summaries
1 / 249
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
by
submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
in the
at the
Understanding Gilgamesh ñ brokenly ñ is to understand life brokenly. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the narrative of life. It records the full cycle of the nerve and aplomb of youth, of the doubt and crisis of midlife, of the acceptance and quiescience of maturity. Moreover, this understanding is a broken understanding. It starts with the clay tablets that are broken in a literal sense of the word. Further, the narrative is a narrative of broken-ness ñ the story ends in tears. A man has lost his last chance of obtaining life everlasting. Yet he manages to recuperate despite his failure.
The first part of this thesis examined the world of Gilgamesh. Initially he was known as the Sumerian king Bilgames. He makes his appearance in the form of oral compositions that are recited or sung in the royal courts of kings during the Sumerian period: sheer entertainment, nothing really serious. At his side is his loyal servant Enkidu who supports his master in everything he does.
Akkadian gradually ousts Sumerian as vernacular, yet the latter continues to dominate as the language of culture and court. Bilgames survives the reign of the Sargonic dynasty, and even revives during the glorious Ur III period of Shulgi and of Ur-Nammu. Sumerian Bilgames-poems are recorded in writing.
However, by the time that Hammurapi draws up his legal codex, the Sumerian Bilgames is known as the vibrant Akkadian king Gilgamesh. His servant Enkidu is elevated to the status of friend. Together they defy men, gods, monsters. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh goes even further in search of life everlasting. He reaches Uta-napishtim the Distant in order to learn the secret of eternal life.
The optimism of the Old Babylonian Kingdom is replaced by the reflection and introspection of the Middle period. Life is difficult. Life is complex. The Gilgamesh Epic is once again re-interpreted and supplemented by a prologue and an epilogue: both begin and end at the same place, at the walls of Uruk. Here Gilgamesh looks back and forward to his life and contemplates about the meaning of life in general.
Om Gilgamesj te verstaan ñ gebroke ñ is om die lewe as gebroke te verstaan. Die Epos van Gilgamesj is die narratief van die lewe. Dit verhaal die volle siklus vanaf die durf en selfversekerdheid van die jeug, die twyfel en krisis van die middeljare tot by die aanvaarding en berusting van volwassenheid. Dit begin by die kleitablette wat letterlik stukkend is. Maar verder is die narratief ook ën narratief van gebrokenheid ñ die verhaal eindig in trane. ën Man het sy laaste kans om die ewige lewe te bekom, verbeur. Tog slaag hy daarin om te herstel, ten spyte van sy mislukking.
Die eerste gedeelte van hierdie tesis het die wÍreld van Gilgamesj ondersoek. Oorspronklik was hy bekend as die Sumeriese koning Bilgames. Hy verskyn in die vorm van mondelinge gedigte wat voorgedra of gesing is in die koninklike howe van konings in die Sumeriese periode: blote vermaak, niks wat regtig ernstig opgeneem word nie. Aan die sy van die koning is sy lojale dienskneg Enkidu wat sy meester ondersteun in alles wat hy doen.
Geleidelik verdring Akkadies Sumeries as spreektaal, maar laasgenoemde domineer as die taal van kultuur en van die hof. Bilgames oorleef die regeringstydperk van die Sargon-dinastie, en herleef selfs gedurende die glorieryke Ur III-periode van Shulgi en Ur-Nammu. Die Sumeriese Bilgames-gedigte word neergeskryf.
Teen die tyd wat Hammurapi sy wetskodeks opteken, staan die Sumeriese Bilgames bekend as die lewenskragtige Akkadiese koning Gilgamesj. Sy dienskneg Enkidu se status word verhef tot diÈ van vriend. Saam daag hulle mense, monsters en gode uit. Wanneer Enkidu sterf, gaan Gilgmesh selfs nog verder op ën soektog na die ewige lewe. Hy bereik Uta-napishtim die Veraf-Een in ën poging om uit te vind wat die geheim van die ewige lewe is.
Die optimisme van die Ou Babiloniese Koninkryk word vervang met die nadenke en selfondersoek van die Middel-periode. Die lewe is moeilik. Die lewe is ingewikkeld. Weer eens ondergaan die Gilgamesj Epos ën her-interpretasie en word voorsien van ën proloog en ën epiloog: albei begin en eindig op dieselfde plek, op die mure van
Uruk. Van hier af kyk Gilgamesj terug en vooruit na sy lewe en hy dink na oor die sin van die lewe oor die algemeen.
Die tweede gedeelte van hierdie tesis het meer spesifiek gehandel oor die verhaal self ñ die narratiewe aspekte van die Epos. Genette se teorie het etlike interessante literÍre aspekte uitgewys wat betref die ritme en die pas van die narratief. Maar ook het die peinsende stemming van die Epos aan die orde gekom. Daar was oomblikke van vooruitskouing en terugskouing : nadat Gilgamesj in trane uitbars teen die einde van die Epos, kry hy skielik perspektief op die lewe. Skielik fokus ën gebroke narratief tot ën betekenisvolle geheel wat dalk net in die toekoms mag sin maak.
Jauss se teorie het aangetoon waarom Gilgamesj weier om vergete te raak, waarom hy weer eens springlewendig is, selfs in die een en twintigste eeu. Alhoewel hy vir meer as twee duisend jaar lank begrawe gelÍ het in die ruÔnes van Nineve, is hy skielik weer terug op die toneel ñ en nie slegs weens akademiese interesse nie. Navorsing met betrekking tot die Ou Nabye Ooste is nie die enigste rede waarom kundiges in die ou Epos belang stel nie, mense vanuit alle sektore van die samelewing word daardeur aangespreek. Op die een of ander wyse reageer Gilgamesj op vrae wat gevra word selfs deur diegene wat alles weet van kernfisika ñ maar wat worstel met die paradoks van ën sinvolle lewe.
Om Gilgamesj te verstaan - gebroke, is om die lewe as gebroke te verstaan.
Assiriologie, die Gilgamesj-epos, Sumeries, Akkadies, Babilonies, Spykerskrif, LiterÍre benaderings, Strukturalisme, GÈrard Genette, Narratiewe diskoers, Hans Robert Jauss, resepsie-estetika, Soektog na die ewige lewe, Gilgamesj, Enkidu, Ishtar, SÓn-lēqi-unninni, Uta-napishtim
UUnniivveerrssiittyy ooff PPrreettoorriiaa eettdd ññ DDee VViilllliieerrss,, GG ( (^2020005 5))
1ñ
do so according to Parpolaís 1997-edition. Furthermore, the concern of my research is the Epic of Gilgamesh and the story it tells: source-critical issues -
My earlier MA-thesis ( Gilgamesh sien die Diepte: van Skande tot Eer, 2000; see also the article by De Villiers & Prinsloo 2002:23-43) is based on Parpolaís edition and it includes an Afrikaans translation of many of the relevant passages. Therefore this thesis requires the basic minimum of translations: the best and most recent English translation is of course that of George (2003). His earlier work, The Epic of Gilgamesh (1999), is also excellent, but does not include an Akkadian transliteration as well.
After the completion of this thesis I plan to translate the Epic of Gilgamesh in Afrikaans as this had not been done yet, and also had I been requested to do so by some of my professors, colleagues and friends who seem interested.
1. MOTIVATION FOR RESEARCH
Recently there seems to be a renewed interest in the ancient world and its civilizations. Documentary programmes on television feature Ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, Israel, ancient civilizations of the Far East, Mexico, and also of Mesopotamia. All these civilizations had stories: some are lost forever, some left their remains in the form of artifacts. With the help of archaeology some stories can be re-told, albeit only partly.
Stories from the ancient world become available to the modern ñ or post- modern ñ world of science and technology in various stages of broken-ness. The worlds of these stories are mostly strange, far remote and fascinating. The film-industry seizes the opportunity to elaborate imaginatively on stories ñ both history and fiction ñ from the ancient world: some movies are indeed worth while seeing, others border on the bizarre.
1ñ
Recently the Epic of Gilgamesh is receiving its due share of attention as one of the ancient stories that captures modern imagination. A Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant (Hansen: 16 November 2001) states: Het oeroude Gilgamesj- epos beleefd een opvallende wedergeboorte. In Duitsland lijkt ñ misschien door toedoen van meestervertaler Raoul Schrott ñ zelfs sprake van een hype. It seems as though the Epic of Gilgamesh is reborn in a stunning way. De Volkskrant proceeds with a brief summary of the Epic and evaluates it as follows: De afwezigheid van een zingevende god maakt Gilgamesj paradoxaal genoeg tot een hoogst modern werk. En literair is het bepaald opwindend: het fraaie verhaal, de prachtische beelden, het gedreven ritme, de effectieve herhalingen (het wemelt van letterlijk herhaalde regeles die juist daardoor een eigenaardige kragt krijgen). Gilgamesh discovers the meaning of life not by means of any divine revelations, but in a very human way. This is one of the reasons that the ancient Epic appeals to its modern recipients. Furthermore, the review in De Volkskrant refers to the exciting literary composition of the Epic: an important issue that will also be addressed later in this thesis.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is not one of those treasured texts that were read throughout the ages ñ like the Bible, for example. On the contrary! During the time of king Ashurbanipal of the Neo Assyrian Empire, many copies of the Epic were made and kept in the royal libraries of Nineve. However, after the city was sacked by the Babylonian Median alliance (ca 612 BCE ñ see George 1999: xxii-xxiii), the clay tablets were also badly damaged and broken. Fortunately they were not completely destroyed, but the old Epic was gradually forgotten, until archaeological excavations started during the middle of the nineteenth century in that region.
The first critical edition of the Gilgamesh Epic appears in 1930 ñ that of RC Thompson. Many sources were not yet discovered by the time. Nevertheless, that was the beginning of an interest that was taken in an age old tale that
1ñ
emphasis is on the Epic and its relevant historical and socio-cultural context. The scope of this thesis is wider: it aims to illuminate also the ideas and world views of the Ancient Near East that found their way into the Epic. An investigation of the various relevant sources is the first research problem that this thesis will address.
Furthermore, reference has also been made to the literary composition of the Epic (see above). As far as genre is concerned, the term Epic poses a problem. The ancients themselves were not aware that the story of Gilgamesh would later be called an Epic. Even more serious for recent research is whether the Epic should be addressed as poetry or prose. Surely, the literary medium appropriated in the Epic is poetry , yet it tells a story that displays the same qualities as narrative prose. The literary composition of the Epic is the second aspect that this thesis will examine in some detail, since the genre position is not clear.
Accordingly the following hypothesis is proposed:
3. HYPOTHESIS
The hermeneutical dimensions of the Epic of Gilgamesh will benefit by a thorough examination of its (i) extra-textual sources and reception, as well as its (ii) internal textual narrative discourse.
4. PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
The following angles will be pursued:
4.1. to read the Epic of Gilgamesh as a narrative; 4.2. to investigate the sources of the Epic (religious, historical, political social, cultural, ideological) and its reception in modern times; 4.3. to investigate the discourse - the literary composition of the Epic ;
1ñ
4.4. to contribute towards a deeper understanding of the world and the story of the Epic of Gilgamesh.
5. METHODOLOGY
The Gilgamesh Epic is, just like the Bible, an ancient text. The Bible is translated into most known languages and is one of the Books that are the most widely read over the whole world. No-one questions this matter. Judaism accepts the Old Testament as its Holy Scripture, Christianity regards both the Old and New Testament as Godís revelation. Yet biblical scholars are intensely aware that there are vast differences between the world of the Bible and the world of today: to understand the Bible requires more than understanding the words. One must also have some understanding of the social system and customs that were part of the world in which the Bible originated (Malina 1993:1-3). Furthermore, besides the fact that the Bible is accepted as the Word of God by believers, this Book is also appreciated for its literary communicative aspects (see Tolmie 1999:6).
As regards methodological approaches to the Bible, Sternberg (1985:14) suggests they fall under no more than two heads: source-oriented and discourse-oriented inquiries. Because the Gilgamesh Epic also falls into the category of ancient texts, this thesis will follow the approach suggested by Sternberg (above).
5.1. Source-orientated inquiry
Source-orientated inquiry looks into the world behind the text. Usually some specific dimensions are addressed. These may be, for example, the religious convictions that were prevalent at the time of the text: what did the religious picture of the world look like? what were the beliefs? did religion change as time passed? was there religious conflict? ñ and so forth. A historical inquiry would ask historical questions: these pertain to the history of the people or
1ñ
Damrosch (1987:39) states: The major narrative forms in Mesopotamian literature of the second millennium BC were poetic epic and prose chronicle. An epic displays poetic features: rhythm, parallelism, chiasmus and so forth. Furthermore, epics were meant to be performed in some way or another, either sung or chanted publically. Usually an epic deals with the adventures of a mortal hero ñ say for example a king ñ but also incorporates mythic material from the world of the gods, or of the interactions between humans and gods.
The term chronicle refers to common forms of recording historical events. Chronicles deal with the recording of historical events, for example the military exploits of kings. The style is straightforward prose, recounting only what is necessary and display little or no interest to portray the character of the king nor to give insight into his emotions or motivations of behaviour (Damrosch 1987:39). Thus, what is important to a chronicle is the political or military achievements of a specific king or a dynasty. Deep existential issues, the meaning of life, the limits of existence are matters that are left to an epic.
Thus, the difference between chronicle and epic is with regard to form: chronicles are written in prose and epics are in verse (Damrosch 1987:63). But, the question remains: should an epic be analysed according to poetic or according to narrative structures?
Fokkelman (1999:171) makes the following observation: narrative prose is considered to have a plot, a series of events , actions and speeches that obey the chronological order. Even the so-called disruptions in the chronological order serve to affirm this matter. Poetry, on the other hand, does not need any plot or events ñ often a poem is simply the expression of a poetís innermost feelings. This distinction between prose and poetry is quite obvious in the Bible: biblical narratives are written in prose, prayers, reflections, and so forth are written in poetry. Even the long dialogue section
1ñ
within the book of Job is framed by narrative prose that actually tells the story.
In this regard Israel differed from her neighbours: they told their stories of men, gods and monsters in verse (Fokkelman 1999:172). In fact, it appears that Mesoptamian literature preferred poetry over prose for narrating events of cosmic, universal nature (Nemet-Nejat 2002:65).
So, is the Epic of Gilgamesh poetry or prose?
Actually, it is both: it is a narrative in verse form. This thesis chooses to consider it as a narrative. Although the literary style is poetic, the Epic recounts events that follow chronologically one after the other. Yet the Epic of Gilgamesh is not a chronicle: the deep, innermost feelings of the hero are reflected unashamedly, movingly. These exploit the possibilities of poetic expression, but reaches beyond personal experience. It becomes a narrative in the true sense of the word.
Therefore, I shall treat the Epic of Gilgamesh as a narrative and conduct research into textual discourse by means of a narrative analysis_._
6. PREMISES
As I stated earlier on, my major references are the works of Andrew George (2003) and Simo Parpola (1997). Tigay (1982) has worked extensively on the Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic : however, many new discoveries have been made since. In a certain sense Georgeís 2003 edition is an updating of Tigayís work, nevertheless, the latter is also taken into consideration. For historical archaeological matters the work of Kuhrt (1995) served as a primary source for information.
I was fortunate enough to visit the British Museum towards the end of 2003
1ñ
from a recent point of departure.
To sum up: ancient texts are usually available only by means of secondary sources: either transliterations or even worse, translations. With regards to the Epic of Gilgamesh most translations correspond to the overall plot: a flight from death or a quest for life eternal ñ whichever perspective one may choose. But the actual words in which this plot is worked out, differ in the many different translations.
Ancient readers were not aware of what is today known as literary genres. Epic is a coinage of convenience, remarks George (2003:3) which designates a long narrative poem describing heroic events that happen over a period of time. So, once again one may question whether the Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic in the true sense of the word: Gilgamesh is not really a hero, in fact, in the second half of the Epic he becomes something of an anti-hero.
Besides heroic epics, many epics are also national by nature. National epic implies for George (2003:33) a long narrative composition thatÖrelates to the origin or identity of a people. The aim of an epic is usually to shape an awareness of a national identity. Once again the Gilgamesh Epic does not quite fit the picture. There is nothing of war in the Epic of Gilgamesh, only heroic combat between individuals and between men and monsters, and the grim struggle with death. No great crisis in the life of Babylonia takes the center stage, only great crises in the life of a man (George 2003:33). This is what the Epic of Gilgamesh is all about.
Far from pretending to be exhaustive, this thesis wishes to initiate communication between ancient wisdom and post modern mind. Understanding Gilgamesh: his world and his story aims toward this process of communication.
1ñ
Motivation for research; the research problem and hypothesis; purpose of research; methods used; premises; and contents.
CHAPTER 2 : THE STANDARD BABYLONIAN GILGAMESH EPIC
The narrative retold.
CHAPTER 3 : THE SOURCE HISTORY OF THE EPIC OF GILGAMESH
The Sumerian past: general background, cities, animals, kings, theology, history; Sumerian literature: the five poems on Bilgames; from frivolous frolic to academic achievement: entertainment to literature; the genius and the puzzles; the place of the Gilgamesh Epic in academic circles.
CHAPTER 4 : LITERARY THEORIES: STRUCTURALISM
Why is theory necessary? ; towards literary theories; structuralism; a choice for Gerard Genette's model.
CHAPTER 5 : A NARRATOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BABYLONIAN GILGAMESH EPIC ACCORDING TO THE THEORY OF GENETTE (1980)
Narrative, story, narrating; analysis of narrative discourse: tense, mood, and voice; appreciation in terms of Genetteís model
