Comparing The Epic Of Gilgamesh - 2123 Words

All throughout history, the role that women play have been overlooked and not thought of as being as important as the men. In reality, the world could not possibly go round if it wasn t for the women and the minor, but crucial roles they play. Although the women in the Epic of Gilgamesh had minor roles, their roles were definitely important. The women, who are Aruru, Shamhat, Ninsun, Siduri, Ishtar, and the wife of Utnapishtim, represents not only great wisdom and power, but also temptation, which the men try no to fall victim to, and ruin. Just like the men in this epic, the women also have powers, of which the men were aware. According to the text, â€Å"the stories that [make up the Epic of Gilgamesh centers] around two major events:†¦show more content†¦According to Hamori, â€Å"Anu responds to the lament of the people of Uruk by summoning Aruru to create a match for Gilgamesh, one equal in strength, in order to contend with him† (627). The purpose of Aruru s cr eation was to not only stop his deviant behavior, but also to show him what he was like, being that Aruru was asked to created someone that s equal to him, basically to mirror himself and show him the harm he was doing to others. The role in which Aruru portrayed in this epic is of course huge. She ended up creating Enkidu, Gilgamesh s best friend. The significance of her character is that of course she is a goddess, which is a woman, and not only that but the goddess of creation. Essentially, between men and women, women are the only ones that have the capability of creating life, which Aruru basically did when she created Endiku from the clay and water. This shows the importance and respect that those of the ancient society had for the role of a woman. Aruru s creation of Enkidu, who was meant to destroy Gilgamesh, turned out to be one of the greatest things to happen. Not only did Enkidu stop his Gilgamesh s rage in which he had been on, he also changed him for the better, becomi ng his best friend, something that he probably needed from the very beginning. If Aruru s character had not been introduced in the story, then