The Epic Of Gilgamesh, Oedipus, Ramayana, And Decameron

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Words: 939
Pages: 4
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Priscilla Leibel
Professor Angie Cook
English 2332
December 04, 2014

Final Paper Civilization is defined as a society and culture of a group of people and the way of life of these individuals. Civilization has evolved through centuries and different cultures. The changes of civilization that will be focused on for this paper are during the times of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Oedipus, Ramayana, and Decameron. During the times of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh lived in Mesopotamia and was considered their warrior king. The ancient Mesopotamians viewed civilization as something that should be separated from nature. There was a large wall surrounding the city so that nature or unwanted beings could not enter the city. They feared the natural environments. The Mesopotamians also believed in a godly power that was responsible for the happenings in their land which all depended on how happy they kept their gods. When discussing how the Mesopotamians felt about women in their culture there are different views. When initially reading the text it appeared that women were slaves to men, they were inferior and their purpose was to please. In today’s modern culture, using women as they did during that time would be considered disrespectful, but during the times of Gilgamesh, the women are willing to provide services to men as prostitutes, and they do it happily. A perfect example is when Shamhat is seducing Enkidu, she was not bashful, and she immediately made herself available to pleasing him. While the gods provided life, the women separated people from animals. Throughout the epic we see the transformations of Gilgamesh and Enkidu and are shown how the overbearing ruler becomes more civilized and changes his attitude about life when he finally becomes a more humble and content individual especially after he is saddened by the death of his friend Enkidu. With all the experiences he went through, Gilgamesh learns how to become a more selfless leader. When researching ancient Greek civilization, we can see that the ancient Greeks believed that fate was something that could not be changed and it was considered predetermined. The Greeks believed that when an individual was born, his or her fate was already written, and no matter how they acted throughout their lives, they were already predestined for what was meant to be. Jokasta tried to convince Oedipus that it was not fate that ruled lives but, “chance rules our lives! Who has any sure knowledge of the future? It is best to take life as it comes (pg 511 vs 1119-1121). Regardless of the life that was given to him, Oedipus could not change his fate, he had to assume responsibility for his actions even though his fate was tragic. In civilization today, regardless of the hand that individuals are dealt with in life, one can choose to go towards the right direction, or the wrong direction, and each step taken, will determine the outcome. During the times of Ramayana, individuals of Indian culture have strong beliefs in ‘dharma’ which can be described as “cosmic law and order.” The main protagonist of the story Rama, was a virtuous man that followed the dharma in all aspects of his life. In the indian culture if you believe in dharma, you will have happiness and in the case of Rama, he also had an eternal life, until he decided to leave Earth. According to the Indian culture those who listen to the story of Rama are “freed from all sins. He who desires sons gets them, and he who desires wealth becomes wealthy.” Women will be blessed with children and with a long life and men will gain wisdom and have increased health.
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