When the scribes of ancient Mesopotamia rewrote the Epic of Gilgamesh over a period of over two thousand years, the modifications made reflected the social transformations occurring during the same era. The dethroning of the goddess Inanna-Ishtar and the devaluation of other female characters in the evolving Epic of Gilgamesh coincided with the declining status of women in society. Since the 1960s, translations into modern languages have been readily available. The Mesopotamian myth has been reused in a wide variety of mythic and mythological texts by Quebecois, Canadian and American authors. Our analysis of the first group of mythic texts, written in the 1960s and 1970s, shows a reversal of the tendency of the Mesopotamian texts. Written at a time when the feminist movement was transforming North American society, these retellings feature a goddess with her high status restored and her ancient attributes re-established. Another group of writers, publishing in the 1980s and 1990s, makes a radical shift away from these feminist tendencies while still basically rewriting the Epic. In this group of mythic texts, the goddess and other female characters find their roles reduced while the male gods and characters have expanded and glorified roles. The third group of texts analysed does not rewrite the Epic. The Epic is reused here intertextually to give depth to mythological works set in the twentieth century or later. The dialogue created between the contemporary text and the Epic emphasises the role that the individual has in society. A large-scale comparative mythotextual study of texts that share a common hypotext can, especially when socio-historical factors are considered, provide a window onto the relationship between text and society. A comparative study of how the Epic of Gilgamesh is rewritten and referred to intertextually through time can help us relativize the understanding of our own time and culture.

<p> Paul Tillich&rsquo;s analysis of Genesis 2 and 3 in his Systematic Theology Volume 2 arguably amounts to a theory of evil A puzzling aspect of his conceptual framework, however, is that Adam and Eve do not exemplify his explanation of evil so much as imply it. Although Adam and Eve may indulge in a taste of unbelief, hubris, and concupiscence, the Genesis text offers no evidence that this taste transforms them into the compulsively exploitative, egocentric tyrants that Tillich describes. However, Tillich&rsquo;s analysis works exceptionally well when applied to the older Gilgamesh narrative. Applying the Tillichian dynamics of hubris and concupiscence helps to make sense of Gilgamesh&rsquo;s destructive appetites for power and fame. It also sheds light on the significance of the numerous parallels between the two stories. When we read Gilgamesh through this Tillichian lens, and then read Genesis 2 and 3 with Gilgamesh in mind, new interpretive possibilities emerge from the stories&rsquo; parallels elements. The character Gilgamesh&rsquo;s original sin is hubris as Tillich defines it: denial of finitude. Existentialist depth psychologist Ernest Becker agrees with Tillich&rsquo;s observation that finitude is man&rsquo;s core fear, and as such is the catalyst of man&rsquo;s most rapacious predation upon his fellow humans. Becker compliments and extends Tillich&rsquo;s framework; and reading Gilgamesh with Tillich&rsquo;s conceptual framework clarifies both the Gilgamesh epic and the Tillichian framework itself. Moreover, if we then re-read the Eden myth with Gilgamesh in mind as the exemplar of that framework, both clarity and new interpretive possibilities for understanding the Eden myth also emerge. In the following, we will consider the concepts which constitute Tillich&rsquo;s interpretive framework, as well what Ernest Becker might add to it. Then we will apply these to the Gilgamesh. Finally, we will return to Genesis 2 and 3 with this Tillichian reading of Gilgamesh in mind.</p>

Thèses (Ph.D.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2001. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.

Thesis (MA(Semitic Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Few can claim to have never heard of Abraham or Gilgamesh. In terms of renown, the two are so rooted in our cultural awareness that it is highly unlikely that they will ever be truly forgotten. But whilst there have been many publication analyzing one or the other, few have ever attempted a side by side comparison of the duo. Therefore we shall not focus on introducing both characters, but try to see where their key differences lie. Since a complete comparison of every individual motive would be too broad for the purpose of this work, we are going to focus on three particular concepts: the hero's journey, immortality and relations to the divine. The first of these is also a brief introduction of the concept itself, since along with its author Joseph Campbell, it is a rather obscure topic on czech academic grounds. The second and third concepts are closer to an analysis of the cultural and religious settings and norms relevant for the authors of both texts.

Please read the abstract in the section 04back of this document / Dissertation (MA (Semitic Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Ancient Languages / unrestricted

This PhD began by attempting to locate the Epic of Gilgamesh within a contemporary landscape and using a comparison of Michael Ayrton and Sidney Nolan as a means of creating a body of narrative based drawing. Initial work, however, illustrated rather than illuminated the text. As the research evolved, analysis of the text as a model for thinking and the different approaches to landscape from Ayrton and Nolan, clarified that the metaphorical journey of Gilgamesh required a different drawing practice. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in cuneiform script on clay tablets some four thousand years ago. The fragmented and incomplete tablets have survived by chance. Failure, evident in Gilgamesh’s quest, suggested exploring contingency and failure as agents of creative practice. The opportunity to draw directly from the clay tablets in the collection of the British Museum generated the insight that the apprehension of physical objects and their recording as image through drawing, also works as a process of visual translation. The original clay tablets became a source for making drawings possessing a physical equivalence beyond the normative approaches to translation and narrative. This was the central aspect of the final research, superseding the narrative drive that had been the original starting point. Models of working allusively with narrative and landscape were also provided by unique access to the archives of Sidney Nolan at The Rodd, in Herefordshire, and by analysing in parallel the work of Michael Ayrton. This aspect of the research developed as a way of asserting that in the liminal space of the studio, equivalence can be found with the complex and contingent aspects of quest narrative as exemplified by Gilgamesh. Working large scale, the final works produced for this PhD explore translation and transcription in drawing through the surface accretions of material, gesture, intuition and fold.

This thesis identifies and elucidates a common engagement with Mesopotamian kingship ideology in the Gilgamesh and the Alexander the Great narrative traditions. As both archetypal monarchs are understood to have ruled as kings in Mesopotamia, this is a much more secure context for comparison. The result of this contextualisation is that the identified parallels are better supported and more clearly understood. Although the study is rendered in comparison, the exegesis of the episodes is not strictly bound by parallels between the traditions. The primary concern is a comparable engagement with Mesopotamian kingship ideology. This enables the thesis to contribute uniquely to the study of each figure’s kingship, as well as their comparative dynamic. Mesopotamian kingship was a contest, and our two subject kings represent rivals for the pinnacle in this arena. Therefore, the identification and presentation of a king to surpass all others is argued for both in presented deeds and persevering legends. Chapter one outlines the premise of the thesis, addresses previous comparisons made in scholarship between the subject kings, and discusses the evidence. Specifically, this is the network of narratives utilised by the study. For the Gilgamesh tradition, these are the Akkadian language manuscripts of the Gilgamesh Epic and the Sumerian Gilgamesh poems concerning the death of Gilgamesh and his campaign against Huwawa. For the Alexander tradition, the study is limited to the Alexander narratives that share a relative geographically congruence with the Gilgamesh narratives. These are the canonical Graeco-Roman Alexander narratives by Diodorus, Curtius, Plutarch, Arrian, and Justin, as well as the Pseudo-Callisthenes narratives, the Syriac Alexander Legend and the Syriac Metric Homily. Chapter two outlines the methodology. Chapter three contextualises Gilgamesh’s campaign against Humbaba in Mesopotamian kingly action. Chapter four argues for a comparative understanding of Alexander’s siege of Tyre. Chapter five then compares the death of a king in each tradition, and chapter six the subsequent mythical wanderings of our protagonist kings. Chapter seven provides the thesis’ conclusion. The overarching themes are the legitimisation of one’s kingship and the transfer of power in the Mesopotamian royal tradition.

Exegesis (MA--Art and Design)--AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print ( leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. + 1 CD-ROM) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 760.092 AZI)

Gilgamesh is a dramatic solo for contralto. An unusual feature of this project is the composition of two separate and distinct versions of the instrumental accompaniment. One version is for a large concert band with an expanded percussion section and is almost fourteen minutes in length. The other version is for a small ensemble consisting of piano, percussion (xylophone, 4 tom-toms and miscellaneous instruments) and prepared tape. It is eleven minutes in length.