What the Gods Wish for Men

Above all things, the gods at work in the Epic of Gilgamesh, The Metamorphoses, and The Iliad, wish for their creations to pursue the values that will allow them to perpetuate the existence for which these gods created them. In all three epic tales, gods manifest as characters who do not wish to exercise undue influence over their human creations, but who nevertheless wish to guide them towards a meaningful existence that will not only substantiate their act of creation but will also allow them to continue creating in the same mold. Through these three tales, it becomes clear that the work of the gods can only be done if the fruits of this labor are governed by certain rules, many of them of the unwritten kind.

In Homer’s Iliad, we are given a glimpse into the modern Olympiad through the Funeral Games held on behalf of Achilles’ cousin, Patroclus. At the games, Ajax the giant is pitted against Odysseus the “man of many whiles” in the Wrestling event final round. Spectacularly, the undersized Ulysses is able to match the extraordinarily large Ajax:

Odysseus could no more trip Ajax, and floor him, than Ajax could move powerful Odysseus’ firm stance. But when they began to weary the watching Achaeans, Ajax spoke quietly to Odysseus: ‘Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of the many wiles, you’d best try lift me, or I you, and let Zeus decide the matter. (Homer 231)

This compromise is played out by Ajax and Odysseus, but neither of the two men is able to do that which might end the match. It is as though this spirit of compromise is somehow so essential to the functioning of the collective force camped outside the gates of Troy that both men must physically endeavor to preserve it. When this effort begins to overwhelm them physically, it falls to a demi-good in the form of Achilles to ensure that they do not defeat the physicality of their divine attributes: “No more, don’t wear each other out. You were both victorious, and shall have identical prizes: there are other events now for competition” (Ibid.).

As in The Iliad, The Epic of Gilgamesh is founded upon the notion of the divine coming down to Earth in order to ensure that all that they have created is functioning properly, thereby ensuring the future work of the gods. Enkidu is made of the gods and descends to the heavens for the purpose of aiding in Gilgamesh’s growth as a human actor. Indeed, the express purpose of Enkidu is to effectively distract Gilgamesh from the continued oppression of any peoples. “When I look at you have become like a god,” Gilgamesh is told, “Why do you yearn to run wild

again with the beasts in the hills?” (Assyrian International 5). Gilgamesh, part-god himself, is unable to comprehend the significance of his own godlike state and thus unable to regard those humans of a lesser variety in a manner that would allow them to continue to deliver on the gods’ creativity through their existence. As such, Enkidu, also part-god is sent to effectively instruct Gilgamesh in the ways of the gods.

Through the act of love, Cupid perpetuates his work, as portrayed by Ovid in The Metamorphoses, just as the gods seek to perpetuate their own work through their creations in The Iliad and The Epic of Gilgamesh. As in the case of Gilgamesh, Cupid gently urges his human charges to better cultivate themselves in the image of their creators, challenging them to rise above the most mundane of human expressions. In this sense, the gods appear to have some egotistical interest in ensuring the future of their creations--as their creations are descended from them and created by them, they should operate in a manner that reflects properly on their creators by respecting and even adoring the divine qualities they perceive in each other.

Similarly, we recognize in Ovid’s work the same theme that permeates the work of Homer and the Epic of Gilgamesh’s transcriber: the gods wish for their men to honor each other and all that they contribute to the world that the gods have built. Indeed, the gods are driven to anguish by the most vile forms of human disrespect, as Poseidon’s exchange with Apollo firmly evidences:

Do you grieve at all that so many thousands died defending her walls? Not to name all of them, does not the shade come before you of Hector, dragged round his own citadel, Pergama? But savage Achilles, crueller than war itself, is still alive, ravager of our creation. Let him be given up to me. I would let him feel what I can do with my three-pronged spear: but since I am not allowed to meet face to face with the enemy, destroy him unexpectedly with a hidden arrow! (Ovid 582)

As such, Poseidon cannot bear the notion of brave Hector, Troy’s first son, being shamed by Achilles, who drags his lifeless body around the very city walls that Hector was sworn to protect and the guarding of which leads to his death. But Poseidon will not himself effectuate the punishment of Achilles, preferring instead that Achilles should be brought down by one of his fellow me. In such a way do the gods seek to preserve the symmetry of human interaction; as Achilles has disrespected his fellow man, so too will a fellow man punish Achilles for this lack of respect.

As per Ovid’s description of the manner in which and the reason why Achilles dies, the gods take pride when their human creations themselves engage in acts of creation. Achilles' great sin is that he shames Hector within the context of that which Hector worked desperately to first solidify and then protect. Hector has deepened his commitment to the gods by endeavoring to secure that which they have allowed him to cultivate in the magnificent city of Troy. Indeed, Hector is willing to do for this creation, knowing full well that he cannot match Achilles blow-for-blow. Indeed, as he speaks with his mother in Homer’s work, Achilles seems to recognize that in order to live forever, he must die in battle for only then will his legacy be ensured. As such, even the demi-god Achilles must subjugate himself to humankind in order to perpetuate his name, just as the gods must rely on humankind to perpetuate their work. For Enkidu and Gilgamesh, instead of oppressing those around them, they join forces to vanquish those who would oppress others, and while they are unable to acquire immortality, they return to Uruk to appreciate its man-made creative glory, to “inspect its foundation terrace, and examine well the brickwork; see if it is not of burnt bricks” (Assyrian International 23). As such, all three tales champion the creations of man, in addition to his capacity for cooperating in this act of creation, thereby furthering the gods’ work.

In Homer’s The Iliad, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, the actions of man all seem to suggest that their divine creators wish for them to further their divine fates in cooperating as a means of literally building the foundations upon which their mundane realm will endure, thereby ensuring that the work of the gods endures. Time and again, these tales oscillate between the human struggle for unattainable immortality and the human effort to reconcile itself to a mortal existence that can only reach its evolutionary apex through friendship, mutual respect, and cooperation. In this sense, not only do humans ensure the long-term stability of the world in which they will operate as creations of the gods, but they will also cooperate just as the gods did in creating them and their world, thereby best embodying the spirit of their creators.

Works Cited

Assyrian International News Agency. The Epic of Gilgamesh. 5 Mar. 2013. Web.

Homer. The Iliad. UK: Harper Collins, 2012. Print.

Ovid. The Metamorphoses. New York: ReadHowYouWant, 2008. Print.