Ideology in the Epic of Gilgamesh's Poems

Abstract

The Epic of Gilgamesh — the oldest epic in the history of Ancient East and rare literary gem not just for its colors characters but also for its adventure-filled events.. Like other epics, the structure of Gilgamesh was formed from a series of basic units, elevating to a high level a number of events. It developed through a series of engagements that ultimately helped set its thematic and artistic structure. This research is based on the main foundational ideologies that were embodied in, and give power to this work through conflict or conflicts; i.e. extraordinary vs. normal. It became entangled in the pursuit of something mythical and, as a result, it acquired an approach that (in return) provided more meanings and enriched the quest for another set of ideas oriented to the reality of existence, life-death cycles, rebirths, immortality. The results indicate that ideologies underlying the Epic of Gilgamesh are mainly shaped by older Sumerian narratives, social change embedded in Mesopotamian myth-religious practice and kingship ideology over established semantic frameworks.