Gilgamesh and Genesis: The Same Story Written Twice?
Eli Baggott
The two most pervasive and influential texts written in human history happen to have the same beginnings. Gilgamesh is an epic poem first inscribed on clay tablets by the ancient Sumerians between two and three thousand BC, translated into english many different times, including recently by Steven Michell. It depicts the adventures of a despised king and his friend, Enkidu, who was sculpted by the god Aruru to balance out Gilgamesh's arrogance, abuse, and tyranny. The story of Adam and Eve from Biblical texts written approximately 2000 years later, describes the creation of mankind and the consequences of original sin. Gilgamesh and Genesis both tell stories of temptation and repercussions, where characters turn from animals into humans, and where sin is depicted as being the basis of human nature. However, the two texts treat the concept of sin in opposing ways.
Gilgamesh and Adam and Eve have many similarities in both plot and characters. The snake in Adam and Eve can be likened to Shamhat, who turned Enkidu from beast to human. Mitchell translates the text, “He turned back to Shamhat, and as he walked he knew that / his mind had somehow grown larger, / he knew things now that an animal can’t know” (p.79). Eve could also similarly be compared to Shamhat, who enticed Adam – Enkidu’s parallel – into eating from the Tree of Knowledge as Shamhat enticed Enkidu into becoming human. Genesis 3.6, “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. - Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked.” Adam and Eve become humans, with a new awareness, different from the rest of the animals God had created, just like Enkidu in Gilgamesh. Both texts similarly describe actions that turn the characters into humans with no way to revert.
The concept of original sin as the foundation of humanity is of course apparent in Genesis but is also a central theme in Gilgamesh. In Gilgamesh, Enkidu engaging in sexual intercorse with Shamhat is what makes him a human, capable of an understanding beyond that of a wild animal. Mitchell translates the text, “Enkidu sat down at Shamhat’s feet. / He looked at her, and he understood all the words she was speaking to him. / ‘Now, Enkidu, you know what it is / to be with a woman, to unite with her. / You are beautiful, you are like a god. / Why should you roam the wilderness / and live like an animal?’” (p.78). Even though this wasn’t negatively depicted in Gilgamesh, the text implies that sin (as later defined by the bible) is the foundation of humanity and part of what makes humans different from animals. In The Bible, the same idea, that sin is human nature, is the central theme of Adam and Eve.
In The Bible, the transformation of Adam and Eve from animal to human is portrayed as the loss of innocence and is punished by God. Genesis 3.16, “To the woman he said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’ - To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.’” In contrast, when Enkidu becomes human, the epic describes it as him gaining the desire for companionship, and feeling emotions unique to humans. The epic implies that the desire for friendship is also a necessary and foundational part of humanity. Mitchell translates the text, “Deep in [Enkidu’s] heart he felt something stir, / a longing he had never known before, / the longing for a true friend”(p.80). The epic acknowledges the sinful nature of humans, with Gilgamesh’s hubris and Enkidu’s lust, but chooses to instead showcase the bond of true friends and highlight the good and ability to change also innate in humans.
Considering the significant similarities between Gilgamesh and The Bible, it seems like Genesis is a retelling of an older story, displaying the same underlying themes yet treating them in very different ways. Gilgamesh and Genesis describe characters with similar functions between the texts. The Snake and Shamhat similarly trick characters into gaining human awareness. In both texts, becoming human is described the same way: that the character gains a new awareness. This awareness is triggered by behavior considered sinful by Genesis's standards, but the texts differ in how they treat the concept of sin. In Genesis, God punishes Adam and Eve for eating from the Tree of Knowledge, where in Gilgamesh, the epic moves past sin and focuses on Gilgamesh and Enkidus’s friendship. Considering these similarities, it seems likely that Gilgamesh influenced Genisis’s plot, and characters significantly.
