Why Gilgamesh?
The Genesis of Literature
-- One of the First Extant Epics -- One of the First Euhemeristic Heros
-- One of the First Accounts of the Search for Immortality
-- Some of the First Biblical Archetypes
- The Civilization of the Noble Savage
- The Flood
- The Serpent
The Existentialist Focus
-- 1st Stage: Hormonal
-- 2nd Stage: Intimacy
-- 3rd Stage: Empire Building
-- 4th Stage: Awakening
-- 5th Stage: Fear of Death
-- 6th Stage: Derangement
-- 7th Stage: Quest for Immortality
-- 8th Stage: Resignation
First Set of Women in Literature
Shamhat -- Ishtar -- Siduri Shamhat, prototype of Eve, civilizes Enkidu, rival and alter ego of Gilgamesh, through the sacrament of Ishtar.
Ishtar, powerful goddess and seductress, brings tragedy to Gilgamesh and Enkidu through her wrath.
Siduri, prototype of Sapientia, serves Gilgamesh soothing drink and promulgates the ultimate goal of human life.
Topics of Reference
Conflict and reconciliation of opposites: savage–civilized, life–death, shadow–ego
The relevance of dreams to the narrative, to Myths and to personal development.
Biological and psychological evolutions, a journey into the past in search of an inner future.
The importance of coping with danger: Gods, Monsters, Trees—the meaning of symbols.
The relationship between conscious and the subconscious as to their influence on mental development.
The existential stages in a human being.
Mythological parallels.
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