The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hymn to Aton - Essay Example

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a famous legend applied by people in Mesopotamia to find out why people die and why they want to obtain absolute control and power and kill each other in battles. In the Epic of Gilgamesh people’s understanding of values was still developing, so they are mixed, not well-defined and everything is explained by the existence of gods. Only they could decide whom to kill and what territory to conquer. The role of a woman is also not definite. There are different attitudes towards women shown in the epic, however, the respect towards them was demonstrated by the character of Ishtar and other gods represented as women.

The Epic of Gilgamesh represents people’s attempts to explain everything around in order to build a society and that is why it appears to be chaotic. In contrast to The Epic of Gilgamesh, "Hymn to Aton" tells us about already build society, where the important role of gods is shown as an important aid provided to help people implement control over the territory.  Here the views of people on their origin and tasks are much more definite. A woman is shown as playing a very important role in the life of the Egyptian civilization.

The "Hymn to Aton" emphasizes the essential role of both men and women in the development of society.