Monster Comparison and Contrast in Gilgamesh, Odyssey and Ramayana Myths - Essay Example

Monster Comparison and Contrast in Gilgamesh, Odyssey and Ramayana Myths Monster Comparison and Contrast in Gilgamesh, Odyssey and Ramayana Myths The mythology of Gilgamesh is set in the ancient renowned cradle land of mankind civilization known as Mesopotamia. For the Biblical enthusiasts, there is no doubt that perhaps the famous story of Noah and great ark alluded to at some point in the journey of self discovery by King Gilgamesh rings a bell. The protagonist was superhuman king who ruled his subjects with iron hands. Forced labor in the execution of the great kingdom’s immense building projects was the order of the day. As if this unjust and infamous inhumane treatment of his subjects was not enough, the king had a reputation for deflowering brides and maids before their betrothed grooms to be shared the blissful matrimonial bed with them. Nothing seemed to stop him as the victims of his adversaries even included his loyal and devoted warriors. It is in the backdrop of all these injustices that the contact of the king with the monsters comes alive to the audience addressed by the mythology and poems that document the work. This was necessitated by perhaps the fact that the mythological king Gilgamesh was said to be two thirds a god and about a third man. He was beautiful and strong besides ruling a very successful kingdom. He was also very wise and brave. Nonetheless, all the admirable attributes notwithstanding, he ironically had a flaw as all mortals do. Following countless invocations and incantations by the distressed subjects, the gods resigned to relieve them from the oppression by sending a ‘monster’ created known as Ekindu. Ekindu was send to the land as a wild being that was nursed by wild animals in the forest. After being discovered, the temple prostitute was sent to neutralize his wildness through sex as it was believed to calm down and domesticate men. After the intercourse, the animals disowned him as one of them and the temple prostitute taught him human temperance and way of life. He was enraged by the accounts of the king’s brutality and set out to challenge the indomitable hero. The friendly ‘monster’ arrived in the nick of time as Gilgamesh was about to deflower another bride on the eve of marriage. He blocked the way and the enraged king had to wrestle him for long eventually winning the fight and the company of Ekindu’s friendship. Through their friendship, the king was immensely transformed abandoning his evil ways of subject mistreatment. The second monster we encounter was a guardian of the cedar forest against destruction called Humbaba.He was a demon of the god of earth, air and wind and it took the joint effort of the two coupled with the assistance of Shamash who was the sun god to kill him .Before his death he however curses them. They furnished a great door from the felled tree and a raft as they set sail back home. The third monster was a pet of the goddess. The Bull of heaven was sent to punish Gilgamesh for disdained the advances of Ishtar goddess, who fell in love with him. The bull that came with seven years of drought and famine was sent by her father Anu who was the god of the sun. However, just like they fought Humbaba, they wrestled and killed the monster. The annoyed gods in heaven resorted to institute tougher punishment on Gilgamesh and Ekindu by striking the latter with sickness and eventually he died leaving the king greatly hurt and lonely. Perhaps fearing the reality of being mortal, he set out on a mission of attaining immortality. Moreover, we also see him slaying the stone giants who accompanied the ferryman across the dangerous waters of death in his mean derision of joy for killing. On arriving at Utnapishtim’s residence he pleads with the scorpion monsters guarding the entrance to let him in. He learns how his host had been saved from raging floods through the intercession of a god of wisdom and granted immortality for his good deeds. He was given tests which he failed. For instance he was asked to stay awake for only a week to be made immortal and he could not. He was forced to go back happily after learning that men die but humankind never dies. For once we see him appreciate the great kingdom he had having eaten his humble pie and understood life better. From the above discussion, we can conclude that these monsters were very significant bridges between humanity and their gods as they derived their mandate from there. These monsters were protectors of special interests like for instance guarding the forest, serving as pets for gods and helping people access places that would otherwise have been impossible like the Great waters of Death. They were generally harmless and in fact only resorted to in cases where there was an interest to protect. Take Ekindu who changed the king from his tendencies of oppressing his subjects after the intervention from the gods. However, human vanity by Gilgamesh destroys these noble beings but not without some poetic justice as he eventually paid a price for his deeds. In Homer’s Odyssey we also see an intelligent, courageous, and successful protagonist who is plagued by flaws in the interaction with gods and monsters. Unlike the monsters in Gilgamesh who mainly propagated good intentions, Odysseus had to deal with beasts that are presented as extensions of gods to the lives of human beings and are thus seen as monstrous and destructive. We therefore do not feel any shred of kindness for them as compared to the first monsters we meet from Mesopotamia. The sole purpose of these beasts was basically to distract the arrogant Odysseus from getting hoe in time to be with a family he longed for after a victory in Troy. The first monster he encountered and even rendered blind was the cyclop Polyphemus. They also lost a huge party of their warriors in the dangerous waters n encountering the carnivorous monster family better known as Laestrygones. The surviving crew aboard one ship next came face to face with the fearful enchantress renown for converting mean into pigs. It however takes Odysseus’ charms and witty to win over this monstrous Circe. He gets the opinions of their fallen hero, Agamemnon and his mother’s spirit to beware of women who turn up to be two monsters namely; the Sirens and Scylla. The former perverted peoples’ memories of the earth using their unearthly songs. However, the cunning man cleverly blocks his men’s ears and cunningly and warily listens to them. The latter had three rowed sharp teeth on seven wolf heads that spread out from her body. She also had a fish tail accompanied with twelve wolf legs .She apparently was a former sea nymph whose transformation was occasioned by her intolerable jealousy. She worked together with another monster that was punished by Zeus for amassing neighboring lands to add to her father’s kingdom. She used her enlarged mouth to swallow huge amounts of water that she used to create whirlpools for sailors whenever she spewed the water out. Just like he did before, Odysseus employs his charm and wit to win them over again and progress with his journey home. This however does not mark an end to his temptations as he later lands in an island where he has to conquer the feminity and sensuality of a beautiful monster before he leaves for home. We can generally conclude that the Odyssey presents a different point of view on the monsters in their society. They seem to be in praise of their wise leaders whom they nonetheless present their flaw probably with the intention of warning such uncouth attitudes. The triumph of the noble against the superhuman monsters is also an indication of their belief in the power of truth and wellbeing against the evil power of darkness. The point brought to the limelight is that the power of nobility transcends over and above the greatest and strongest evil powers beyond the noble persons. Lastly, in the mythology of Ramayana just like in the Odyssey and unlike Gilgamesh we are presented with a triumph of good against evil. So charismatic is the tale on obedience and duty to culture that in the present day India celebrations are still set aside to commemorate the societal values espoused in the mythology. The monsters that the hero has to face remind one of Odysseus’ struggles against the misleading forces of darkness. None of the monsters are good intentioned but it is perhaps the community’s high upholding of Dharma which sets aside the standard rules of operation that is acclaimed for his eventual triumph. The story set in India begins with the tale of Rama who from a tender age is poised to become a great and undoubtedly influential leader of their kingdom. This of course is besides his being the next heir apparent owing to the fact that he was the eldest son born of the first wife who was by the rules set by Dharma the legitimate king to be. It is the evil plot of his stepmother to dethrone him I favor of her son. She exploited her husband’s fondness of her and an earlier promise he had made to grant her any two things of her wish to ask for the banishment of her step son to the forest. She persists on despite her husband’s pleading against a decision that not only touched on his favourite son but also contravened the norms of Dharma. Eventually, the king unwillingly allows her to send Rama away on fourteen years banishment in the forest. His wife, Sita, accompanies him together with his younger brother called Lakshmana born of the third wife. Perhaps the greatest lesson of obedience is illustrated by Rahma’s obedience and acceptance of his stepmother’s mistreatment simply because the Dharma dictates obedience towards the elders. Ironically, Bharata the son to the second wife is enraged at her mother’s evil scheme and pursues him to come back for his rightful throne. He however turns down the thought and the brother crestfallen resorts to pick up his shoes which represent Rahma as the ruler and promises to give his rightful position back when he returns home. It is after six years that we see Rahma’s fight with monsters in the forest. Together with his brother Lakshama, they destroyed monsters that distracted the meditation of the sages. They were known as Rakshasha.Lakshama wounded one of the princess of Rakshasha that was interested in her brother Rahma. They eventually managed to chase her away.She however capitalized on her wise brother’s weakness for women to inform him about the grace and beauty of Sita. He had ten heads and was called Ravana. Ravana devised a plan and disguised lured Sita away from the circle granting her immunity as Rahma had left in pursuit of his golden deer which Sita found irresistible. When the two brothers came back, they found her missing and set out to look for her. The head of the monkey community who could fly offered to help in the search and was able to find where Sita was detained as Ravana kept on pleading for her hand in marriage which she repeatedly turned down. The monkey informed her that her husband was coming for her. Unfortunately, he was caught and his tail was tied up and set on fire. He jumped from roof to roof spreading the fire and eventually returned to update the search party. They arrived and fought the monsters eventually saving Sita .She had to prove her purity to her husband and they were back again to their kingdom after fourteen years. Reference Ramayana. Retrieved on 22nd of April, 2014 from http://www.mythome.org Read More