Antigone

One issue that came to mind after reading this story was whether or not Creon should be considered a good leader. Obviously, he gives off the impression that he means business when it comes to being loyal to Thebes. His first action we see deals with the punishment of Polynices after his death while fighting his brother for the throne. Instead of allowing him a proper burial, Creon declares that Polynices is not to be touched and his body must lie in the sun and rot. While this may not seem like a huge deal to us (although it still is a disturbing situation), not having a funeral for a deceased family member was one of the worst punishments imaginable considering the fact that an individuals future in the afterlife depended on the quality of his burial. While it may seem cruel of Creon to issue such a punishment, I think it in fact shows a sense of patriotism for his country. Before engaging his brother in combat, Polynices had gathered foreigners to help him take the throne, an act that condemned him a traitor in Creon's eyes. The next thing Creon does is declare that anyone who takes part in burying Polynices is to be killed as well. When Antigone, his son's future bride, attempts to bury her brother, Creon makes no exception to this rule, and at hearing the story declares that she must die. Don't get me wrong here: I think it's a little extreme that Creon is wanting his future daughter-in-law dead just because she tried to give her brother a proper funeral. Whatever weakness this shows in him (his uncontrollable anger), Creon's commitment to his country is only made greater. All this to say, it's hard to say whether or not Creon is the kind of ruler i would like to live under...While he is committed to doing what's best for his country, i'm not so sure he knows how to do what's best for his people. What do you guys think??

Applications from The Epic of Gilgamesh

After finishing The Epic of Gilgamesh, a few things stood out to me that I think can be related to our time...The first deals with the transformation that took place within Gilgamesh after Enkidu's death. As we saw in the forest prior to his friend's death, Gilgamesh's view on life was that it should be lived to the absolute fullest. Instead of just sitting back and living in fear of death, he wanted to go out and make a name for himself by doing heroic deeds (such as killing Humbaba, slaying the Bull of Heaven, etc.). Before he and Enkidu face Humbaba, Gilgamesh even states that to die doing something courageous is better than living without taking chances...However, once Enkidu bites the dust, Gilgamesh suddenly becomes terrified at the thought of death and does everything he can to prevent his own. When you think about it, there's plenty of people who can relate to such a situation. In current times, when people lose someone close to them (especially a best friend), it really can affect what they believe and how willing they are to take chances.

I think the other relation to our society from this story also deals with Gilgamesh after Enkidu's death. I feel like many of us spend our time wishing we could be something that we're not. This "something" could be a number of things (a pro football player, an astronaut, America's next top model, etc.), but in Gilgamesh's situation it was an immortal being. Instead of wishing to be something we're not, I feel that we should make the most of what we have in accordance with what we're "called" to do...Siduri offers the same type of advice to Gilgamesh saying that instead of looking for something he could never find, he should spend more time focusing on the good things in life that he can enjoy. Don't get me wrong: it's great to set goals and to "aim high" in life, but at the same time I think we should know our limits and live within them...