Many of the texts in world literature are epics or long tales of heroes who embark on lengthy journeys to fulfill a greater mission. Within these stories, the protagonist typically relies on many supporting characters to help him along the way. Many of them happen to be powerful women.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh there are several strong female characters all who play vital roles. Although the story is centered around King Gilgamesh’s personal journey to find immortality, it is the valiant women that are critical to the movement of the story. Similarly in The Iliad, there are several powerful women who play important roles throughout the war.
The mothers in each of these stories are central characters and they share many similarities. Gilgamesh’s mother is Ninsun who is characterized as a divine Goddess known for her infinite wisdom. She is always at her son’s side serving as his voice of reason and does her best to offer her knowledge and advice on personal and political matters.
Achilles’ mother, Thetis, plays an equally active role. She also possesses that divine quality because she is Goddess of the Sea. Although Achilles is a great warrior she still plays a strong maternal role and protects her son to the best of her ability. We see this occur several times throughout the text. For instance, when Achilles goes to her in tears, upset over Agamemnon taking his prize away, she tries to console her emotional son and even acts on his behalf. There are other instances where she intervenes like the time when she asks Zeus to favor the Trojans or when she requests a new suit of armor be made for Achilles. Both of the mothers go to great lengths to provide assistance and comfort to their sons.
While The Iliad and The Epic of Gilgamesh are two different stories all together, they share one strong commonality – the women, particularly the mothers, of these tales are powerful forces who contribute a great deal to the story line. Despite their sons being strong leaders and warriors, the mother’s go to great lengths to protect and comfort them. They provide insightful advice on love, war, and politics. They are not passive characters at all. In fact, they are crucial to each character’s development and progress throughout the story. We can see this through some of the art that depicts important scenes from each story.
This piece of art depicts the scene in The Iliad where Thetis receives the new suit of armor she requested from the skilled craftsman Hephaestus for Achilles.
Museum Collection: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Catalogue Number: Boston 13.188
Beazley Archive Number: 203143
Ware: Attic Red Figure
Shape: Amphora, Nolan
Painter: Attributed to the Dutuit Painter
Date: ca 480 BC
Period: Early Classical
This painting illustrates the scene where Thetis brings Achilles the new piece of armor she had gotten made for him. This painting expresses a lot of emotion through the facial expressions of each character which gives us an insight to their personalities. Achilles clearly looks angry or upset almost in a very child like manner. His mother, Thetis, floats over him like a guardian angel of some sort and she seems very happy to be so close to her son.
Title: Thetis Bringing Armor to Achilles
Artist: Benjamin West
Date: 1806
This sculpted artwork is one of the few artifacts found. Unfortunately, the limestone slab broke but the piece on the left is a depiction of Gilgamesh’s mother, Ninsun. While we can’t see the whole scene, the detailed carvings of her apparel and headpiece indicate that she is powerful and highly regarded.
