Gilgamesh and Inanna: Ancient Approaches to Universal Questions Margaret Brice College

Although the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Myth of Inanna were written around the same time period and in the same civilization, the characters portrayed and their viewpoints on death, life, self, identity, and nature couldn’t be more different. Throughout the beginnings of Gilgamesh, we see an arrogant king determined to achieve immortality. Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, on the other hand, begins her journey with insecurity and weakness. Each character has different answers to the basic human questions we still struggle with today.

First, Inanna and Gilgamesh give us different answers to the question, “How do we achieve identity?” To answer that question, we must first examine both characters’ personalities and worldviews because they significantly affect the way they interact with the world and pursue identity. From page one of The Epic of Gilgamesh we encounter an arrogant, tyrannical ruler who impetuously throws his country into turmoil by making war with other lands. He even steals children to use as warriors for his many battles and sleeps with the brides of his warriors and nobles. In comparison, Inanna begins as a helpless, incapable, weak, passive, and overwhelmed young woman. For example, she plants a huluppu-tree...