Similarities And Differences Between Percy Jackson And...

Both Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1: The Lightning Thief and the Epic of Gilgamesh have heroes as their protagonists. Those protagonists, Percy Jackson and Gilgamesh, have similarities and differences, which can be used to see how humanity’s view of the concept of a hero has changed over the last three-thousand and two-hundred years. The differences in their qualifications for heroic qualities, both traditional and modern, highlights how humanity’s viewpoint of what it means to be a hero has changed. Way back when, in ancient Mesopotamia, a hero only needed to be a special guy that gods or goddesses took a special interest in. Nowadays, there are character requirements for being a hero, such as having the ability to emphasize with†¦show more content†¦However, in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was never defeated by another person in combat. The single time Gilgamesh explicitly failed a challenge was when Utnapishtim told him to stay awake for six day s and seven nights if he wished to gain eternal life and the only other human in the same league as Gilgamesh was Enkidu as before Aruru created Enkidu, Gilgamesh â€Å"had no rival.† Also, Enkidu and Gilgamesh never used their wits, only ever solving their problems through the application of brute force. Another traditional qualification that Percy Jackson and Gilgamesh share is that they have both captured the interest of several deities. However, they differ in that deities are generally either against or neutral to Percy Jackson from the get-go while Gilgamesh only later creates his own enemies as consequences for his actions. Before Percy Jackson was born, the big three, including Percy Jackson’s father, Poseidon, swore to stop having children with mortals. Percy Jackson’s birth broke this oath. Also, Zeus’s lightning bolt was stolen and as Chiron told Percy, â€Å"You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief.† Gilgamesh made his enemies when he slew Humbaba and rebuffed Ishtar’s advances. As Enkidu told Gilgamesh preceding the slaying of Humbaba, â€Å"(Do it) before the leader Ellil hears, [()] [Lest ?] the gods [] be filled with fury at us†. Humbaba was appointed guardian of Cedar