![]() ![]() ![]() Websites and Resources on Mesopotamia: Ancient History Encyclopedia .com/Mesopotamia Mesopotamia University of Chicago site British Museum .uk Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Mesopotamia Mesopotamian Culture and Life (38 articles) įirst Villages, Early Agriculture and Bronze, Copper and Late Stone Age Humans (50 articles) Īncient Persian, Arabian, Phoenician and Near East Cultures (26 articles) The gods themselves are represented, in an interesting tale, based on a nature-myth, as opposed to granting mankind immortal life, and actually having recourse to a deception, in order to prevent another favourite of Ea-the god of humanity-from attaining the desired goal.”Ĭategories with related articles in this website: Mesopotamian History and Religion (35 articles) “The question indeed was raised in Babylonia why after a brief existence man was condemned to eternal gloom? The answer, that is given, is depressing but most characteristic of the arrest in the development of ethical conceptions concerning the gods, in spite of certain appearances to the contrary. A deity is occasionally addressed in hymns as “the restorer of the dead to life,” but only where he saves those standing on the brink of the grave-leading them back to enjoy the warm sunlight a little longer. Death is an unmitigated evil, and the favour of the gods is shown by their willingness to save the victims as long as possible from the cold and silent grave. “Among the Babylonians we have, as the last word on the subject, an expression of sad resignation that man must be content with the joys of this world. What is left over in the pot, remains of food Whose shade no one cares for, as I have seen and you will see, “Such a one rests on a couch and drinks pure water,īut he whose shade has no rest in the earth, as I have seen and you will see, A proper burial with an affectionate care of the corpse ensures at least a quiet repose.” “There is only one thing that can make the fate of the dead less abhorrent. ““Tell me, my friend,” Gilgamesh implores, tell me the law of the earth which thou hast experienced.” Mournfully the reply comes back, “I cannot tell thee, my friend, I cannot tell thee.” Enkidu continues: Were I to tell thee the law of the earth which I have experienced, Thou would 'st sit down and weep the whole day. In response to his appeal, the shade of Enkidu rises before him. Gilgamesh is anxious to find out at least how his friend and companion, Enkidu, fares in Aralû. “The last episode in the epic furnishes a further illustration of the sad thoughts aroused in the minds of the priests and people at the contemplation of the fate in store for those who have shuffled off the mortal coil. He seeks for it, but fails to find it, and, resigned to his fate, he returns to his home, Uruk. Gilgamesh is told of a plant which has the power of restoring old age to youth. They afford him relief by mystic rites, based on the incantation ritual, but they cannot cure him. Ut-Napishtim and his wife are filled with pity for the stranger, who has been smitten with a painful disease. The latter tells Gilgamesh the story of his escape from the destructive deluge. He seeks to fathom the mystery of death and, in the hope of escaping Aralft, undertakes a long journey in quest of Ut-Napishtim, to learn from him how he had attained immortality. “Even Gilgamesh himself, the hero of the epic, half-man, half-god, whose adventures represent a strange conglomeration of dimmed historical tradition and nature myths, is depicted as being seized with the fear that he too, like Enkidu, may be dragged to the world of the dead. They are condemned to inactivity, which in itself might not be regarded as an unmixed evil, but this inactivity carries with it a deprivation of all pleasures. To be sure, the condition of the dead is not one to be envied. Morris Jastrow said: “Here and there we find in Babylonian-Assyrian literature faint suggestions of skepticism, but the prevailing view throughout all periods is that the dead continue in a conscious or semi-conscious state after this life is come to an end. But in the end both failed to reach heaven and they joined every other dead person in the Underworld, which was known as "Land of No Return” or the "House of Shades." In one myth a shepherd tried to reach heaven with an eagle. Many Mesopotamian myths depict humans searching for eternal life. The Mesopotamians were not clear about what happened in the after-life except that a ferry man transported the deceased from the grave to an Underworld, a view that persisted until Greco-Roman times. ![]()
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