Myths can often tell a person how a whole society worked in ancient civilizations. These details are not found in the main story of the myth, but found between the lines and in minor details. In the myths Epic of Gilgamesh and the Legend of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, there are details that show the differences between the ancient Mesopotamian societies and Egyptian society. In both ancient societies, even though women were both treated unequally, they were treated differently in each society.
In the Mesopotamian myth, Epic of Gilgamesh, women were considered as vain, irrational and a form of corruption, Before Enkidu met Shamhat, he was a part of nature; the animals did not fear him. After Enkidu had lain with Shamhat, the animals feared him and ran away from him (Epic of Gilgamesh, 2). This is a show of how women are a form of corruption. Mesopotamians believed that basically nature was innocence. After laying with a woman, Mesopotamians believe that innocence is taken away, therefore making women a corruption. Later on in the myth, one of the female goddesses exemplified how she was…show more content… In order to tighten their control over Mesopotamian women, “ Mesopotamians insisted on the virginity of brides at marriage and they forbade casual socializing between married woman and men outside their family. By 1500 B.C.E. ... women in Mesopotamian cities had begun to wear veils … to discourage the attention of men from other families.” (Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations, 35). Women in marriage could not do anything they wanted or humiliate their husband.. One of the laws of Hammurabi stated that, “If she was not careful, but was a gadabout, … they shall throw that woman in the water” (Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations, 36). In both the myth and the actual society, women were not treated equally in Mesopotamian
