The Book of Genesis and The Epic of Gilgamesh narrate two different stories. Genesis describes the creation of earth and all leaving things in it by the almighty God, and Gilgamesh recounts the life and adventures of a king named Gilgamesh and the people around him that one way or another have an impact on his kingdom. Although these two books recite two different stories, there are some similarities within themself. For instances, in Gilgamesh there is the account of a “flood” to terminate all humankind from earth, and so does Genesis. There is one more similarity between this two books and that’s the one I like to focus on.
In Genesis, God tells the human and his woman they can eat everything they like except from one specific tree in the garden of Eden; “From every fruit of the garden you may surely eat. But from the tree of knowledge, good and evil, you shall not eat.” (A, 30)
In Genesis the “tree of Knowledge” is just a symbol and it represents the unknown, all that is unacquainted to the human and his woman. In Genesis, the temptation for the unknown is represented by a “serpent” which in the story persuades the woman to eat from the tree; “And the serpent said to the woman; “You shall not be doomed to die. For God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will become as gods knowing good and evil.” And the woman saw the tree […] that it was lust to the eyes […] and she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave to her man, and he ate. And the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew they were naked.” (A, 31)
Right after the human and his woman eat from the tree of Knowledge all that it’s unfamiliar to them suddenly becomes acquainted, now they know good and evil. Before the human and his woman eat from the tree all they know is good, but after acquiring knowledge they are aware of themselves and everything around them.
There is a personage in Gilgamesh named Enkidu, who experiences something similar to the human and his woman in Genesis. Enkidu is created by Aruru (mother goddess) as a wild man who knows nothing else but the wilderness; “In the wilderness she created valiant Enkidu, born of Silence, […] he knew neither people nor settled living […] he ate grasses with gazelles, and jostled at the watering hole with the animals; as with animals, his thirst was slaked with water.” (A, 61)
Enkidu has no knowledge about what’s around him except for the animals and the wildness. Ones Enkidu is exposed to the “unknown” and “temptation”, which in the Epic of Gilgamesh is represented by a woman and the task of womankind (sex), everything that is unacquainted to Enkidu suddenly becomes familiar. Enkidu becomes aware of himself and his surroundings, he is more like a god now, he knows good and he knows evil; “Shamhat unclutched her bosom, exposed her sex, and he took in her voluptuousness. […] she performed for the primitive the task of womankind. […] Enkidu had intercourse with the harlot until he was sated with her charms. But when he turned his attention to his animals, the gazelles saw Enkidu and darted off, the wild animals distanced themselves from his body. […] But then he drew himself up, for his understanding had broadened. […] The harlot said to Enkidu: “You are beautiful, Enkidu, you are become like a god.” […] What she kept saying found favor within him. Becoming aware of himself, he sought a friend.” (A, 63)
