Explaining the Inexplicable: Mythology and the Reconciling of Existence - Essay Example

To Explain the Inexplicable: Mythology and the Reconciling of Existence Topic The habit (or temptation) of interpretation can create difficulty in reading the ancient Mesopotamian myths. For a modern reader with a thoroughly Western (read Greek) orientation, the inclination to apply a Greek mythological construct to Mesopotamian hero tales, tales of creation and of regeneration can be tempting. One is drawn to make comparisons between, for instance, Gilgamesh and Heracles, Dumuzi and Persephone, which may obscure certain fine points that distinguish the two mythologies, many of which remain obscure to modern scholarship. There is work to be done in the field of Mesopotamian poetics, the study of which has largely been restricted to a consideration of its metaphorical and prosodic qualities (Vogelzang & Vantisphout, 141). While it may be useful to regard the Greek mythological paradigm as a “Rosetta stone” of sorts for more ancient traditions, it can be a “crutch,” a complacent academic refuge. As such, it can be difficult to appreciate the Mesopotamian myths on their own terms. A less analytical problem is the absence of whole stanzas in the Mesopotamian myths. For instance, the 45 lines missing from tablet two of the Epic of Gilgamesh undermines the tale in terms of continuity and leaves a gap in the development of the relationship between Enkidu Name 2 and Gilgamesh. These gaps are, of course, unavoidable but do engender a degree of difficulty in understanding and appreciating the story within its own cultural context. This, as well as the tendency/temptation to impose a Greek construct, is reminiscent of a characteristic mentioned in Campbell’s first function of mythology. Campbell contends that “the mind goes asking for meanings; it can’t play unless it knows (or makes up) some system of rules” (Campbell, 2011). Thus, lacking (some) context and information, it becomes a function of consciousness to foist one’s own literary frame of reference on the story. The great challenge of scholarship, then, is to find context within the archaeological and (available) literary records and to interpret and theorize on that basis. Otherwise, one simply limits one’s perspective with a kind of cultural myopia. Topic 2 - Campbell reminds us that the business of comparative mythology is to draw conclusions about the similarities (and differences) between cultures based on their particular belief systems. Indeed, Campbell draws parallels between Ishtar, Inanna and Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and fertility. In so doing, Campbell speaks to his first function of mythology, which is described as the means by which consciousness gratefully affirms the awe of existence. The role that Ishtar/Inanna and Aphrodite play in their respective mythological traditions, that of sex and fertility, is a representation of an elemental aspect of human existence. These “elemental” goddesses exhibit an unmistakable and life-affirming continuity between ancient Mesopotamian and Greek cultures. Thus, we may see religious/mythological continuity as an affirming element of ancient cultures that, between them, span thousands of years. Name 3 The Epic of Gilgamesh as hero-tale-cum-morality-play contrasts behavioral traits that both belittle and ennoble humankind, ranging from the capacity for evil and tyranny to the redemptive quality of friendship and love. We are introduced to Gilgamesh the tyrant, a defiler of women, in whom the power of life and death rested uneasily. Through the intervention of Anu, the great sky god, Gilgamesh is confronted by Enkidu, a being with power and skill to match his own, whom Anu has created to purge Gilgamesh of his arrogance. They begin as deadly foes, but the two develop a bond of brotherly love and fight together to vanquish Gugulanna, the Bull of Heaven. Enkidu’s death inspires Gilgamesh to seek eternal life, a reverent acknowledgment of the power and mystery of existence and the gifts it can bestow, such as friendship and love. In this, we find traces of Campbell’s third function of mythology, which speaks to the maintenance of a shared set of sociological values, and the reckoning of “rights and wrongs.” We find Campbell’s second function of mythology at work in the Epic of Creation. Campbell contends that mythologies present an image of the cosmos, an image of the universe round about, that will maintain and elicit (the) experience of awe” (Campbell, 2011). The creation myth serves this purpose, accounting as it does for the creation of heaven and earth through the union of Apsu and Tiamut, whose “waters were mingled together,” a metaphorical representation of the act of conception (Dalley, 234). The physical universe then received a semblance of order in the guise of those responsible for governing it, the gods Lahmu and Lahamu, followed by their divine antecedents. As Campbell notes, creation stories imply a willful and profound suspension of disbelief because the question of whether or not such a tale Name 4 could be true is quite irrelevant. It is very simply that what we are reading describes the source of life itself, an immutable source of religious authority in which a society roots its self-image and sense of value. Topic 3 - The Mesopotamian myths reflect the lifestyles and hardships of those very people who use mythology to make sense of life and the world. In many ways, the Atrahasis offers a glimpse into the lives of the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia. It has been said that man creates God, and that God thus reflects man’s physical and emotional self-image. In the Atrahasis, we read of the plight of the lesser gods, those beings created by the great gods. The servile, or lesser gods, are relatable beings for people accustomed to performing tasks associated with agricultural production. “When the gods were man they did forced labor, they bore drudgery. Great indeed was the drudgery of the gods, the forced labor was heavy, the misery too much…” (Foster, 52). The first tablet of the Atrahasis is quite explicit in its personification of the gods in their labors, citing the digging of wells and great waterways such as the Tigris and the Euphrates, the piling up of high mountains and dredging of marshes. Thus, the Atrahasis begins by identifying a key social element of this ancient civilization, the assignation of labor to an underclass which is compelled to work at the behest of a powerful ruling caste. In their wisdom, the great gods ordained the creation of man in order to free the lesser gods from their oppressive labors. The creation ritual in which humans are brought into being is reminiscent of a purification rite, and through the mixture of flesh and blood with clay invokes the symbolism still prevalent in modern religions in that man is of the earth. It is a sacrificial ceremony, in which Aw-ilu is slaughtered so that a new race can be brought into the world. The Name 5 ideal of sacrifice, death and birth (or rebirth) comes down to us from the ancients, having been re-purposed through the ages to suit various belief systems. The essence of the earth, made manifest in the clay, becomes a vessel of flesh and spirit. As such, “god and man were thoroughly mixed in the clay…From the flesh of the god the spirit remained. It would make the living know its sign” (Dalley, 16). This creation myth is a double-edged sword: through it, the ancients created a belief system that described the circumstances of their existence while reminding them of their shared heritage of toil, and of the harsh labor upon which their lives depended. The focal point of the Atrahasis is the story of the great flood, a myth that expresses the Mesopotamians’ vulnerability to the whims of the gods in its description of the preparations of the people as they struggle to survive a great cataclysm. As with other ancient peoples, the Mesopotamians were intimately familiar with the fatal consequences of nature’s wrath, particularly the high price of being unprepared. The description of the ark’s composition speaks to this concern: the myth addresses building materials, such as the use of “pitch,” and that it should be “roofed over fore and aft” (Dalley, 111). Concern for craftsmanship finds its way into the story in the presence of the reed worker, the carpenter, the carriers of pitch and other essential building materials. The story sequence of the Atrahasis uses mythology to mirror common concerns over food, shelter and the omnipresent threat posed by the natural world. In so doing, it serves to reconcile the inexplicable - those elements of life that are beyond human control - with the presence of supernatural agents who act out their own caprices at the expense of humans. Name 6 Campbell mentions the presence of “awe,” of the inscrutability of life, and the role mythology plays in providing human beings with a belief system that offers some explanation for that which cannot otherwise be explained. Name 7 References Campbell, Joseph. “The Necessity of Rites.” Vol. 4, Man and Myth. Lecture. Joseph Campbell Foundation, 2011. Dalley, Stephanie. Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and Others. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Foster, Benjamin Read. From Distant Days: Myths, Tales and Poetry of Ancient Mesopotamia. College Park, MD: CDL Press, 1995. Vogelzang, Marianna E. & Vanstiphout, Herman. Mesopotamian Poetic Language: Sumerian and Akkadian. Boston, MA: Brill Publishing, 1996. Read More