The act of sacrifice is a very important event in literature. Often, it can define and shape a character’s life and personality. The ancient texts discussed in class contain many diverse, yet equally meaningful examples of sacrifice. Even though these acts of sacrifice can occur for different reasons, each one has a similar purpose. The characters that perform such sacrifices are required to give up something they love, cherish or own in order to serve a greater purpose. Achilles from The Iliad must sacrifice his physical possessions to appease his gods.
Gilgamesh is unwillingly forced to sacrifice his beloved brother. Cain from The Bible also forfeits material possessions, but he also gives up his own integrity, as well as eternal life in his Heaven. These sacrifices appear to differ in the severity of what is given up, but they are actually alike in the way each is used to accomplish certain goals. Achilles is an excellent example of one who performs sacrifice.
In The Iliad, Achilles is a supreme and god-like warrior, but his many character flaws hold him from achieving his full potential. His rampant pride and unharnessed rage overtakes his other good qualities and causes him many hardships. Achilles hopes to reduce these flaws by sacrificing numerous possessions to the gods. He believes, as did most other Greeks of the time, that thee gifts would urge the gods to look favorably upon the givers. Objects, such as cows, pigs, and wine, were cooked in an extremely orderly manner.
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4| English 1 H Stephen Wong Iliad Important Characters: Agamemnon king of Mycenae; brother of Menelaos Hektor Prince of Troy; son of Priam and Hekuba Achilles greatest warrior of the Achaian army Aias song of Telamon; he has brute strength and courage Menelaos husband of Helen; brother of Agamemnon Paris a prince of Troy; also son of Priam and Hekuba Priam King of Troy; very old man Helen wife of ...
Any deviations from the proper method of offering the gifts would be seen as a sign of disrespect. Sacrifices are made to obtain or achieve something in the future. In the case of Achilles, his sacrifice was made in hope that the gods would control and possibly eliminate his rage and pride. Achilles’ gifts of animals and drink to the gods were viewed by the Ancient Greek public as normal, honorable, and religious. Most citizens made some kind of offering to the gods, but the gifts were definitely not as lavish and extravagant as the offerings made by Achilles.
Regardless of the sacrifice, the importance was found in how much the gift meant to the giver, and how often the gifts came to the gods. Like Achilles, Gilgamesh also made an extreme sacrifice in order to better himself and those around him. In Gilgamesh, the title character makes a great sacrifice to better himself. In the case of Gilgamesh, he does not choose to make such a sacrifice. It is forced upon him by the gods. His beloved brother, Enkidu, is taken from him by death, and Gilgamesh is devastated.
But Enkidu was not given up by Gilgamesh; he was punished to die by the gods for killing the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh was stricken by grief and regrets their killing of the Bull by saying, “If I had known that this was all the good that would come of it, I would have raised the ax and split you into little pieces… .” (Norton Anthology 27-28).
Gilgamesh realizes that his passionate quest for glory and fame had actually caused the death of his brother. This sacrifice that he must make, by fault of his own and decision of the gods, seems to have no positive qualities. Gilgamesh is first devastated by Enkidu’s death.
“Ten days he lay and his suffering increased, eleven and twelve days he lay on his bed of pain” (Norton Anthology 29).
As time passed, Gilgamesh began to come to accept his brother’s death and decides to make an almost impossible journey to seek advice. After his trip, Gilgamesh reflected on his life since his brother’s demise and notices that he is a different person. No longer is he the arrogant, careless king that he was. He has transformed into a mature, wise leader. The sacrifice of his brother caused him to change who he was so that Gilgamesh could come to terms with his grief.
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Mikey Ritualistic Sacrifice in Ancient Greek Mythology The ritual of sacrifice in Greek literature played a prominent role in societal influence, defining many aspects of their culture. Sacrifice was the foundation of moral concern, as well as an effective means of narrative development in Greek tragedy. The thematic reoccurrence of sacrifice in Greek literature reveals its symbolic importance. At ...
The culture in which Gilgamesh ruled was very conquest oriented, and the more challenges one overcame, the greater the man he was. Gilgamesh was such a man, and his sacrifice was seen as a challenge. The Babylonians believed that truly great men could overcome tragedies as great as the loss of a blood brother. His culture would have been saddened by the loss of such an excellent warrior as Enkidu, but it was also presented as a challenge to Gilgamesh’s strength and abilities. If Gilgamesh could handle this sacrifice and become wiser from it, then he has obtained a better standing with his people. As with Achilles, this sacrifice was made in hopes of obtaining a better life.
In the story of Cain from The Bible, his sacrifice actually did the opposite, and it changed Cain’s life for the worse. The Bible is considered to be an ultimate history of the world and especially the Hebrew’s culture and heritage. Cain from the book of Genesis is well known as the first murderer, and he was eternally punished for it. In the center of the first murder’s cause is sacrifice. As was popular with many ancient cultures, people of the earth often mad sacrifices of their work.
Unlike Greek society, the Hebrews sacrificed gifts to God that were produced by their own hands and by their own God-given talents. This act was extremely honorable in this society, because giving God back what he has graciously given them was the most reverent thing one could do. Cain and Abel both made offerings, or sacrifices, to God. God was pleased with Abel’s offering, but he refused Cain’s offering. Cain became outraged at God’s action, and in revenge, Cain murdered his own brother. Not only has Cain sacrificed the devotion and loyalty of family, he has also sacrificed his freedom on Earth.
God punishes Cain to roam the world endlessly and without cause for eternity. In this case, Cain chose the wrong sacrifice and he paid for it dearly. This sacrifice was not looked highly upon by his society, and his goals went unattained. Just as sacrifices can be made in order to move closer to a goal, they can also be performed to produce a negative outcome. The three sacrifices discussed above, Achilles’ lavish offerings, Gilgamesh’s brother, and Cain’s murder, share similarities and differences. All three are alike in that they involve the taking or giving up of something.
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The culture of conflict is just as important as the conflict itself. The reasons for conflict and the inner agony of pride are all do to culture. The epic poem of Gilgamesh, and The Odyssey, the story of Genesis have many forms of many conflicts. Cultural conflicts have many different forms, but pride is usually at the root of all of them. The book of Gilgamesh has many conflicts, and battles. ...
They also include similar desired outcomes. All characters making the sacrifice hope to become better people or gain popularity with the gods and society. The sacrifices differ in what was sacrificed, how it was offered, and the outcomes of the sacrifice. Whereas some of the actions caused the character to become a better, more honored person, others led to harsh punishments and even death.
Gilgamesh appears to be the only character discussed that ended in a better position than he started in. He starts with no brother, contempt for the gods, and an unnecessary arrogance that stirred unrest in his people. After his sacrifice, he had known the joys of brotherhood, become wiser and humbler, and gained the respect of his people. The complete opposite of Gilgamesh’s case is Cain’s. He begins as a humble, faithful servant of God, and he is given a good job. But he makes inadequate sacrifices and compounds the problem by murdering his brother.
At the end, he does not have his job, he has lost his loyal brother by his own hand, and most walk aimlessly across the earth for eternity. As can be seen, sacrifices take on many different shapes and forms. These sacrifices can be alike and different in many aspects, but they all are important in literature. Sacrifice molds the integrity and reputation of those making them, not only to the society in which they live, but also with the higher power that they worship. The sacrifices of Achilles, Gilgamesh, and Cain were all important in their respective cultures and were very influential in how these three will be looked upon throughout history. It is obvious that any sacrifice to be made must be carefully picked over and analyzed before it is enacted.
Otherwise, one may wonder forever.
