9
votes
Why is Gilgamesh considered to be one-third human and two-third god?
He had three parents.
The belief in the divinity of royal lines, in several ancient cultures of the region, was maintained by the concept that the king was possessed by a god (usually the head of the ...
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9
votes
Why is Gilgamesh considered to be one-third human and two-third god?
Presumably because he seemed that much more like a god than like a man.
Our present understanding of heredity was not yet available, and absent that, the proportion between the genetic inheritances ...
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8
votes
Accepted
Why did humanizing Enkidu take a work of a prostitute and not of an ordinary woman?
Perceptions on prostitution have changed significantly over time. While it may seem strange today that Shamhat is a prostitute, in the ancient Near East her role was sacred, a role akin to a priestess....
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6
votes
Why did humanizing Enkidu take a work of a prostitute and not of an ordinary woman?
As Mesopotamia was one of the first places where our species built cities, naturally myth from there has to try to make sense of this new way of life, and characteristically approaches the problem by ...
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6
votes
Why did Humbaba have to die?
Yeah...
Now I don't like to give any answer to such an old thing, but here it is: What you cite is the Nineveh's version of the traditional Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh. But what you have to see first ...
- 3,512
4
votes
Who were the Seven Sages who laid the foundations of Uruk?
Short answer.
Uanna
Enmegalamma
Uannedugga
Enmedugga
Enmebulugga
An-Enlilda
Utuabzu
The sources for these are in the Perspectives on Language and Text: Essays and Poems in Honor .
Each if these ...
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3
votes
Why does Gilgamesh kill Urshanabi's stone men?
The words “killing” and “stone men” might be inaccurate. Unfortunately, researchers don’t seem to be sure about what exactly is going on in this passage. The key question is what or who the enigmatic “...
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2
votes
Examples of wild men or women civilized through sex?
Story time! I will briefly summarize the corresponding parts of some stories which I believe have some parallels to the Šamḫat-episode in the epic of Gilgameš, providing each time a link to Wikipedia ...
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2
votes
Why did the gods spare Gilgamesh?
My sense of the overall theme of the Gilgamesh myth is the grappling with an acceptance of mortality.
Enkidu is overtly mortal, and Gilgamesh 2/3 god, and they literally grapple then become friends.
...
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2
votes
Why did the gods spare Gilgamesh?
Enkidu is the direct creation of the gods so they have more control over him than Gilgamesh.If they were to choose who to kill.Enkidu will be easier to kill than Gilgamesh Sense they can just make him ...
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2
votes
Why did Humbaba have to die?
I suspect it has to do with the function of heroes to "tame the landscape" and render locales safe for humans by slaying monsters, similar to Theseus on his journey to Athens and Heracles with many of ...
- 14.2k
2
votes
Why does Shamash help the trapper rather than Enkidu?
It is not Shamash the sun god, but rather Shamhat the temple harlot, who (at the direction of King Gilgamesh) helps the "notorious trapper" to protect his livelihood from the wild man Enkidu....
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1
vote
Why did humanizing Enkidu take a work of a prostitute and not of an ordinary woman?
There is some consensus regarding Babylon and Mesopotamia on some of them has been pointed out by both Yannis and Brian Donovan. That said the question of Sacred prostitution in Mesopotamia has been ...
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