Editing Epic of Gilgamesh (section)

== Later influence ==
=== Relationship to the Bible ===
Various themes, plot elements, and characters in the [[Hebrew Bible]] have been suggested to correlate with the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''{{snd}}notably, the accounts of the [[Garden of Eden]], the advice from [[Ecclesiastes]], and the [[Genesis flood narrative]].

==== Garden of Eden ====
The parallels between the stories of Enkidu/Shamhat and Adam/Eve have been long recognized by scholars.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gmirkin |first=Russell |title=Berossus and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus.. |date=2006 |publisher=Continuum |page=103}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Blenkinsopp |first=Joseph |title=Treasures old and new.. |date=2004 |publisher=Eerdmans |pages=93–95}}</ref> In both, a human is created from the soil by a god and lives in nature. He is introduced to a female congener who tempts him. In both stories the man accepts food from the woman, covers his nakedness, and must leave his former home, unable to return. The presence of a snake who steals a plant of immortality from the hero later in the epic is another point of similarity. However, a major difference between the two stories is that while Enkidu experiences regret regarding his seduction away from nature, this is only temporary: After being confronted by the god Shamash for being ungrateful, Enkidu recants and decides to give the woman who seduced him his final blessing before he dies. This is in contrast to Adam, whose fall from grace is largely portrayed as a punishment for disobeying God and the inevitable consequence of the loss of innocence regarding good and evil.

==== Advice from Ecclesiastes ====
Several scholars suggest direct borrowing of [[Siduri]]'s advice by the author of [[Ecclesiastes]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Van Der Torn |first=Karel |title=Bible Review |year=2000 |volume=16 |pages=22ff |chapter=Did Ecclesiastes copy Gilgamesh? |access-date=18 October 2017 |chapter-url=https://www.baslibrary.org/bible-review/16/1/9 |issue=1 |archive-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204140553/https://www.baslibrary.org/bible-review/16/1/9 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A rare proverb about the strength of a triple-stranded rope, "a triple-stranded rope is not easily broken", is common to both books. {{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

==== Noah's flood ====
[[Andrew R. George|Andrew George]] submits that the [[Genesis flood narrative]] matches that in Gilgamesh so closely that "few doubt" that it derives from a Mesopotamian account.{{sfn|George|2003|pp=70ff}} What is particularly noticeable is the way the Genesis flood story follows the ''Gilgamesh'' flood tale "point by point and in the same order", even when the story permits other alternatives.<ref>Rendsburg, Gary (2007). "The Biblical flood story in the light of the ''Gilgamesh'' flood account," in ''Gilgamesh and the world of Assyria'', eds Azize, J & Weeks, N. Peters,  p.&nbsp;117.</ref> In a 2001 Torah commentary released on behalf of the Conservative Movement of Judaism, rabbinic scholar [[Robert Wexler (rabbi)|Robert Wexler]] stated: "The most likely assumption we can make is that both Genesis and Gilgamesh drew their material from a common tradition about the flood that existed in Mesopotamia. These stories then diverged in the retelling."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wexler |first=Robert |title=Ancient Near Eastern Mythology |date=2001}}</ref> [[Ziusudra]], [[Utnapishtim]] and [[Noah]] are the respective heroes of the Sumerian, Akkadian and biblical flood legends of the [[ancient Near East]].

==== Additional biblical parallels ====
Matthias Henze suggests that [[Nebuchadnezzar]]'s madness in the biblical [[Book of Daniel]] draws on the ''Epic of Gilgamesh''. He claims that the author uses elements from the description of Enkidu to paint a sarcastic and mocking portrait of the king of Babylon.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leiden |first=Brill |title=The Madness of King Nebuchadnezzar... |date=1999}}</ref>

Many characters in the Epic have biblical parallels, most notably [[Ninti]], the [[Sumerian goddess]] of life, was created from [[Enki]]'s rib to heal him after he had eaten forbidden flowers. It is suggested that this story served as the basis for the story of [[Eve]] created from [[Adam]]'s rib in the [[Book of Genesis]].<ref name="Meagher 1995">{{Cite book |last=Meagher |first=Robert Emmet |title=The meaning of Helen: in search of an ancient icon |date=1995 |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Pubs (IL) |isbn=978-0-86516-510-6 |location=United States |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/meaningofhelenin0000meag}}</ref> Esther J. Hamori, in ''Echoes of Gilgamesh in the Jacob Story'', also claims that the story of [[Jacob and Esau]] is paralleled with the wrestling match between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hamori |first=Esther J. |s2cid=161293144 |date=Winter 2011 |title=Echoes of Gilgamesh in the Jacob Story |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=130 |issue=4 |pages=625–42 |doi=10.2307/23488271 |jstor=23488271}}</ref>

==== Book of Giants ====
Gilgamesh is mentioned in one version of ''[[The Book of Giants]]'' which is related to the [[Book of Enoch]]. The Book of Giants version found at [[Qumran]] mentions the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh and the monster Humbaba with the Watchers and giants.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/divinity/rt/otp/abstracts/bgiants/ |title=Old Testament Pseudepigrapha – Just another WordPress @ St Andrews site |access-date=2 May 2019 |archive-date=12 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912214104/https://otp.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Influence on Homer ===
Numerous scholars have drawn attention to various themes, episodes, and verses, indicating that the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' had a substantial influence on both of the [[epic poems]] ascribed to [[Homer]]. These influences are detailed by [[Martin Litchfield West]] in ''The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=West |first=Martin Litchfield |title=The East Face of Helicon: West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth |date=2003 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-815221-7 |location=Oxford |pages=334–402 |oclc=441880596 |orig-year=1997}}</ref> According to Tzvi Abusch of Brandeis University, the poem "combines the power and tragedy of the ''[[Iliad]]'' with the wanderings and marvels of the ''[[Odyssey]]''. It is a work of adventure, but is no less a meditation on some fundamental issues of human existence."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Abusch |first=Tzvi |date=Dec 2001 |title=The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=121 |issue=4 |pages=614–22 |doi=10.2307/606502 |jstor=606502}}</ref> Martin West, in "The East face of Helicon", speculates that the memory of Gilgamesh would have reached the Greeks through a lost poem about Heracles.{{Sfn|Lins Brandão|2019|p=22}}

=== Alexander legends ===
In the ''[[Alexander Romance]]'' and many subsequent [[Alexander the Great in legend|legends of Alexander the Great]], Alexander is on a quest to find the [[Fountain of Life]] and become immortal. This was inspired by myths of Gilgamesh's quest for eternal youth in the face of his mortality; despite the influence, there are two main differences. The first is that Gilgamesh seeks the plant of youth whereas Alexander seeks the water of life. The second is that the motif of the snake shedding its skin in the Gilgamesh legend is replaced in the Alexander legend by a fish returning to life upon being washed in the fountain. The reasons for these differences was due to the Christianizing force involved in the adaptation of the Gilgamesh legends.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tesei |first=Tommaso |date=2010 |title=Survival and Christianization of the Gilgamesh Quest for Immortality in the Tale of Alexander and the Fountain of Life |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43927088 |journal=Rivista degli studi orientali |volume=83 |issue=1/4 |pages=417–440 |jstor=43927088 |issn=0392-4866}}</ref>

=== In popular culture ===
{{Main|Gilgamesh in popular culture}}

The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' has inspired many works of literature, art, and music.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ziolkowski |first=Theodore |url=https://archive.org/details/gilgameshamongus00ziol |title=Gilgamesh Among Us: Modern Encounters With the Ancient Epic |year=2011 |publisher=Cornell Univ Pr |isbn=978-0-8014-5035-8 |author-link=Theodore Ziolkowski}}</ref><ref name="berfrois">{{cite web |url=http://www.berfrois.com/2011/11/theodore-ziolkowski-gilgamesh |title=Gilgamesh: An Epic Obsession |last=Ziolkowski |first=Theodore |author-link=Theodore Ziolkowski |date=1 November 2011 |publisher=Berfrois |access-date=18 October 2017 |archive-date=2 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002040838/http://www.berfrois.com/2011/11/theodore-ziolkowski-gilgamesh/ |url-status=live}}</ref> It was only after [[World War I]] that the ''Gilgamesh'' epic reached a modern audience, and only after [[World War II]] that it was featured in a variety of genres.<ref name="berfrois" />  [[Hayao Miyazaki]]'s 1997 anime film ''[[Princess Mononoke]]'' is partially based on the [[Cedar Forest]] episode of ''The Epic of Gilgamesh''.<ref>Tetsuo, O. T. A. (2005). On Princess Mononoke. The Review of international studies, 17, 7-21.</ref>