The moral message of a piece of literature reflects the culture to which the author belongs. The three works progress here in chronological order. The Epic of Gilgamesh dates back to the earliest days of human civilization, in the ancient Mesopotamian city-state of Uruk. Homer's Odyssey, on the other hand, was written around the 8th century BC, in early ancient Greece. After Homer, there followed a period defined by cultural historians as classical antiquity. Here we find our next story Orpheus and Eurydice. In the great literature of early civilizations, these three elements are predominant: adherence to power, an amoral attitude toward manipulation, and a favorable attitude toward sexuality. The Odyssey shares some aspects of Gilgamesh's morality, but its moral message falls between that of early human civilization and that of classical Greece. Finally, readers will discover that classical antiquity advocated emotional restraint. Gilgamesh, the Odyssey, Orpheus, and Eurydice demonstrate a cultural transition from a culture focused on life and power to one emphasizing emotional control because the morals of these stories progress in such order. As a case study, we seek to provide an overview and do not purport to generalize. The elements will be developed in sequential order. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Epic and Gilgamesh demonstrate a praise of power, an amoral attitude toward manipulation, and a favorable attitude toward sexuality. (Odyssey also shares the previous two elements.) We will begin by examining the nature of Gilgamesh as someone who became a hero for his power, which will introduce us to the worldview of the books. Next, we will move on to the attitude toward sexuality implied in Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh's deeds make him a hero because powerful deeds glorify his existence and create a ceremonial tone, and by praising a man who aspires to glory and life, the epic precisely praises power. One dictionary has defined power as “the capacity to act or produce an effect.” (Merriam-Webster) In this regard, fame and wealth are just forms of power. Nietzsche also argued that the human “intrinsic will to power” is “precisely the will to life.” (Nietzsche 259). We will also use the concepts of power and life interchangeably as an object of pursuit. Unsatisfied with the pleasures his kingdom, Uruk, can provide, Gilgamesh looks outside the walls for exploits to impress others. His expedition into the cedar forest against Humbaba is a spectacle that has become famous, for he says: “I did not inscribe my name on bricks as my destiny decreed; therefore I will go to the land where the cedar is cut down” (Gilgamesh 18). His quest for immortality is the ultimate expression of the human thirst for power. After all, being alive is the prerequisite for exercising any power. Enkidu's seduction by the prostitute, or priestess of love, reveals an amoral aspect of Uruk's culture by showing its neutral stance toward manipulation. A trapper finds Enkidu in the wild and feels threatened by his ferocity. So, he asks his father for help, who responds: “Go to Uruk, find Gilgamesh, extol the strength of this wild man. Ask him to give you a prostitute, a wanton from the temple of love; come back with her, and leave him. the power of his wife dominates this man” (Gilgamesh 14). So the trapper actually goes looking for Gilgamesh and, shortly after explaining his fate to him,Gilgamesh also voluntarily offers him the same deception that the hunter's father evokes, saying: “Trapper, go back, take a prostitute with you. , a child of pleasure... he will embrace him and the game of the desert will surely reject him" (Gilgamesh 14). We see here that the trapper's father and Gilgamesh share the same vision of the situation. This does not seem very well, but almost as a general rule, that to subdue a wild man, one must use a prostitute to seduce him. This aspect of their culture contrasts with our modern morality, because although seduction was deployed in the art of government and. espionage, we hardly consider this tactic as part of our normal life Arguably, for the people of Uruk, manipulation does not have a negative connotation. The amoral attitude towards manipulation is actually part of. the power-centered culture of Uruk To put it in plain English, if the job is done, don't wonder how it happened Even if the priestess of love here is used to seduce, her position. also has a higher meaning because the culture of ancient Uruk is one that embraces life. (or power). From the fact that Uruk has temples of love in the epic, it is clear that sex and love could be a source of divine connection for members of this society. As for what they connect to, the answer necessarily revolves around what they embrace: power and life. Certainly, the relationship between Enkidu and the Priestess of Love also places the burden of culture on Enkidu, for he "was weakened, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of a man were in his heart." (Gilgamesh 15). However, this does not interfere with the ultimate point. Rather than weakening Enkidu per se, his relationship with the prostitute evokes in Enkidu aspects of humanity that he had failed to realize before meeting her. Enkidu “longed for a comrade, someone who would understand his heart” (Gilgamesh 15). and precisely this need is only satisfied with the help of the priestess of love, as she says: “O Enkidu, you who love life, I will show you Gilgamesh” (Gilgamesh 15). Enkidu prospers thanks to his encounter with the woman. Before his death, the god Shamash points out to Enkidu that he gained more than he would have obtained in nature by meeting the prostitute, "who learned...to eat bread worthy of the gods and to drink the wine of the kings.” In contrast, when Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar's love, he faces punishment from the god Anu, which ultimately leads to the death of his companion Enkidu. In short, love and sexuality are to be praised in the epic. The Odyssey reveals a transitional morality in early Greece by praising both power and restraint. Odysseus (or Odysseus) is a rather rogue hero, since he introduces himself in Book IX as "... Odysseus, son of Laertes, renowned among humanity for all kinds of subtleties" (Book of the Odyssey IX 1 ). However, whether by mind or by force, power is power. Boox IX of Odyssey is primarily about Odysseus and his crew's encounter with the Cyclops, Polyphemus, and their escape from his cave. After two of his men are eaten by the Cyclops, Odysseus remains calm about their deaths and persuades Polyphemus to doze off with wine: "Listen, Cyclops...you have eaten a lot of human flesh, so take and drink some wine..." He is also a master of persuasion, as he uses guilt against the Cyclops, claiming that "he brought it to you as a libation... while you just continue to rant and rave in the most intolerable... You should be ashamed yourself” (Odyssey Book IX 4). We celebrate the Odyssey because of many similar cases like this one, where Odysseus' intelligence and charisma bring himvictory. Evidence of a power-centered culture is implicit in Odysseus' character. We also find direct evidence that at one point Odysseus simply tells his crew to stay, while he will travel to the island of the Cyclops with his own ship to "exploit these people" (Book of the Odyssey IX 3). The way Odysseus operates seems to suggest that morality is not concerned here because this is a world of all against all. No wonder the power to deceive is praised in history. Patience also plays a big role in Odysseus' victory over the Cyclops. Odysseus "was at first inclined to grab [his] sword" after Polyphemus ate two of his men, but he thought better of it and decided that they "should certainly all be lost, for [they] should never be able to move the stone that the monsters had put in front of the door. So they wait until morning. After the Cyclops went to graze his sheep, Odysseus ordered his men to sharpen a piece of wood into a weapon with which they could blind the giant in his drunkenness. Odysseus' meticulous plan shows restraint in the face of danger and threat. Only through a combination of power and restraint can Odysseus escape the cave. The end of a story always has something to say about its moral. In Odyssey, despite numerous affronts to the gods, the protagonist's story always has a good ending. Odysseus has angered Poseidon countless times, but he still ends up returning to his city and his family. After blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon's son, the giant begs his father to "allow Odysseus never to return home alive" (Book of the Odyssey IX 6). Responding to his son's request, Poseidon "picked up a rock much larger than the first, swung it upwards and threw it with prodigious force", although the rock "fell just below the ship, but was on the point of reaching the end of the ship. the rudder” (Odyssey Book IX 7). This coincidence is representative of the book in general: man is capable of walking a tightrope, as long as his mind and his virtues allow him to do so. Behind this certainly lies not a culture of restraint, but a culture of power. Unlike the praise of power that we saw in earlier eras of human civilization, works of the classical era tend to have a moral of restraint. In Orpheus and Eurydice, although the gods still allow exceptions, it is the failure to obey the gods that leads Orpheus to his downfall. This ending tells a different story than that of the Odyssey or Gilgamesh. Orpheus seeks to recover his lover from the underworld by asking the Lord of the Dead Hades for an exception. He possesses a form of power, a musical genius, strongly focused on human culture and seemingly weaker than the strength of Gilgamesh and the cunning of Odysseus. His lyre manages to “draw iron tears from Pluto’s cheek and make Hell grant what Love sought” (Orpheus 1). Hades, or Pluto, accepts her request, but under very specific conditions that Orpheus fails to fulfill: "that he would not look at her while she followed him, until they had reached the world superior” (Orpheus 2). One way to interpret this condition could be that Hades wants to see if Orpheus can take Hades at his word and actually believe that Eurydice is following him as he leaves, in a test of trust and respect. However, this is unlikely, as the gods' promises are almost always kept in tales, and they do not require mortal trust as much as we do. Thus, it is safe to assume that this plotline is almost certainly added to the tale to make a point. Orpheus has two faults here: first, he lacks confidence,., 2016.