Heroes

Genisis and The Epic of Gilgamesh had two completely different definitions of what it is to be a hero and this was the most significant difference between the two. Gilgamesh left the interpretation of a hero being someone that would go out and slay monsters while making a name for himself, sometimes obeying and following the orders of the gods while sometimes completely ignoring them. Genisis on the other hand views men such as Noah and Abram as heroes. They were simple people whom lived modest lives and helped others as they could. They were also completely obedient to God in every turn of life, rebellion was seen as a sign of evil, not heroics like in the epic. They were comemorated for being generous to their fellow man by God which promoted selflessness, compared to the way the Mesopotamians saw heroism: as accomplishments and great deeds done in the name himself. All actions of heroics in Gensis seem to always boil down to being for God or preserving the rest of the human race from a vengeful and tempermental deity. Overall the main contrast between the two stories is the simple value system and what deserves admiration. In Genesis essentially every hero follows God's orders no matter how bizarre they are. And on the other hand those who disobey God and turn him down are always punished and scolded no matter what. Gilgamesh on the other hand only cared for himself and arguably Enkindu and based all his actions based on the selfish pursuit of immotality, yet is called a great hero and king.