RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The objective of the article is an analysis of the Epic of Gilgamesh from the perspective of political philosophy. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The main research problem undertaken in this article is the problem of human nature and its connection with political power in light of the Sumero-Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh. The article is based on an analysis of the source text (the Epic of Gilgamesh) in the English version by Andrew George, with the secondary literature also taken into consideration. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The point of departure is a justification of the subject undertaken here, with a reference to Leo Strauss’ political philosophy. Next, three key aspects of the subject matter are analyzed: the humanization of Enkidu, the search for immortality, and the conception of political power. RESEARCH RESULTS: The main result of the scientific analysis is the indication of themes concerning the significance and understanding of human nature and their relationship to the concept of political power that formed in Mesopotamia. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In the conclusions, the author indicates the unmistakable presence of a notion of human nature in Sumero-Akkadian reflection, as well as the connection between this notion of human nature and a paradigm of political power. The author also points to a religious aspect crucial for understanding these concepts.
The article deals with the issues surrounding the creation of humanity and its aspirations to immortality. The two issues are treated with great piety in mythology, literature and strictly religious works. One can even recognize that they are a kind of leitmotif of local issues related to the human condition. While creation tries to arrange man as a tool in the hands of the gods, so man in his quest for the immortality tries to achieve divine status. This widely recognized theory, especially concerning the creation of man, has a number of exemptions, which the author presents step-by-step in Sumerian and Akkadian literature. In Mesopotamian mythology anthropological threads intermingle with the philosophical, all this in order to find a satisfactory answer to the most important questions about man and his relationship with the divine.
The article deals with the issues surrounding the creation of humanity and its aspirations to immortality. The two issues are treated with great piety in mythology, literature and strictly religious works. One can even recognize that they are a kind of leitmotif of local issues related to the human condition. While creation tries to arrange man as a tool in the hands of the gods, so man in his quest for the immortality tries to achieve divine status. This widely recognized theory, especially concerning the creation of man, has a number of exemptions, which the author presents step-by-step in Sumerian and Akkadian literature. In Mesopotamian mythology anthropological threads intermingle with the philosophical, all this in order to find a satisfactory answer to the most important questions about man and his relationship with the divine.
The memory of a disastrous and vast deluge that took place in a very distant past appears in the texts of legends that originated in many civilizations and cultures. The biblical tradition, or rather traditions (pre-pastoral and pastoral), borrow numerous images and symbols from this heritage of mankind, so that within their own monotheistic theology the episode in the history of the early stage of mankind could be recorded. What in the Middle East mythologies and epics was ascribed to jealous gods’ whims, in Gen 6-9 is presented as the work of a just God, who rightly punishes the corrupted mankind for having destroyed His work of creation. In the biblical tradition also another theological motif appears that is completely missing from any ancient accounts of the deluge - the motif of God’s mercy and God's salutary interference into the history of the world and of man that aims at a revival of the universe and assumes the shape of a new work of creation. The present article tackles the issue of Gen 6-9 in a broad context of its relation to analogous Middle East traditions in order to show the origin, the process of editing as well as the literary and theological specificity of the biblical account of the Flood as completely as possible.
The memory of a disastrous and vast deluge that took place in a very distant past appears in the texts of legends that originated in many civilizations and cultures. The biblical tradition, or rather traditions (pre-pastoral and pastoral), borrow numerous images and symbols from this heritage of mankind, so that within their own monotheistic theology the episode in the history of the early stage of mankind could be recorded. What in the Middle East mythologies and epics was ascribed to jealous gods’ whims, in Gen 6-9 is presented as the work of a just God, who rightly punishes the corrupted mankind for having destroyed His work of creation. In the biblical tradition also another theological motif appears that is completely missing from any ancient accounts of the deluge - the motif of God’s mercy and God's salutary interference into the history of the world and of man that aims at a revival of the universe and assumes the shape of a new work of creation. The present article tackles the issue of Gen 6-9 in a broad context of its relation to analogous Middle East traditions in order to show the origin, the process of editing as well as the literary and theological specificity of the biblical account of the Flood as completely as possible.
The current short Sumerian literary text, which was written in Old Babylonian time and which consists of only 16 lines, is a dedicatory inscription. This text was written on a bronze axe that was dedicated to Nergal, the main Mesopotamian god of the netherworld. The text reflects the imaginations of ancient Sumerians and Akkadians concerning afterlife in the netherworld. In ancient Egypt the fate of people after death was decided by the great gods of the netherworld and people could be happy if they had not committed any serious sins. In Mesopotamia life after death in the kingdom of Nergal was quite different from that of ancient Egypt – people suffered under very bad conditions. They were in pain, frozen and hungry, and their drinking water was very dirty. Some other literary texts, such as “Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld” also describe these harsh conditions in the netherworld of Mesopotamia. Of course, if a person had donated to gods, especially to Nergal, abundant gifts and offered sacrifices, they might have been given a possibility to drink clean water. Nibrutalu, the author of this text, which was called by researchers “An Axe for Nergal”, dedicated this axe with inscriptions to god Nergal. With this act he hoped to be given the possibility to drink clean water.
W artykule analizie poddano poemat Seamusa Heaneya „Audenesque” [W stylu Audena], poświęcony pamięci Josifa Brodskiego. Autor przedstawia problem śmierci w kluczu transcendencji. Reminiscencje z Boskiej komedii Dantego i starosumeryjskiego Eposu o Gilgameszu nadają tekstowi utworu metafizyczną głębię i pozwalają stawiać „odwieczne pytania” o pośmiertne losy człowieka oraz nieśmiertelność. Wbrew własnej sekularnej świadomości lat dojrzałych Heaney, wychowany jako katolik, widzi rozstrzygnięcie problemu wyższego sensu bytu w systemie wskazań religijnych. W utworze stwierdza, że charakterystyczna dla Brodskiego „idolizacja” języka, kiedy język zamienia Boga i stanowi podstawę wszystkiego, co istnieje, jest niepewna. Na podstawie materiałów, wypowiedzi i wspomnień Heaneya oraz Brodskiego jest badany stosunek przedmiotowych poetów do duchowej sfery życia: trudna droga poszukiwań religijnych Heaneya, intuicyjne zakorzenienie irlandzkiego poety w tradycji chrześcijańskiej i metafizyczny nihilizm Brodskiego, odrzucającego jednoznaczną przynależność do jakiegokolwiek systemu wyobrażeń religijnych. W wierszu “Audenesque” [W stylu Audena] poprzez zmianę rejestru emocjonalnego i odniesienia intelektualne Heaney wyraziście uwydatnia nieujawniony za życia Brodskiego, ale ostro przejawiający się w świadomości irlandzkiego poety po śmierci przyjaciela konflikt metafizyczny, którego rozwiązanie jest możliwe jedynie w kontekście wyższych sensów religijnych.
EN
This article analyses the poem “Audenesque” by Seamus Heaney, dedicated to the memory of Joseph Brodsky. The poem addresses the phenomenon of death in a transcendental way. Reminiscences from Dante’s Divine Comedy and the ancient Sumerian epic of Gilgamesh give the text of the poem a metaphysical depth and allow us to pose those eternal questions about the posthumous fate of man and immortality. Contrary to the secularised outlook of his middle years, Heaney, a Catholic by upbringing, sees the solution to the problem of the ultimate meaning of being in the system of religious indications. In the poem, Heaney asserts the failure of language in the face of death, which is a characteristic of Brodsky’s “idolisation”, namely, when language replaces God and appears as the basis of all that exists. Drawing upon interviews, memoirs and statements by Heaney and Brodsky, the authors of the article reflect on the poets’ attitudes towards the spiritual life: Heaney’s religious searches, his profound intuitive rootedness in the Christian tradition, and Brodsky’s metaphysical nihilism, denying his belonging to any religion. In “Audenesque”, through the change of emotional registers and intertextual references, Heaney sharpens the metaphysical conflict. This conflict, which was implicit during Brodsky’s life, flared up in Heaney’s consciousness after his friend’s death. Heaney is certain that only in the context of ultimate spiritual meanings can the solution to this conflict be found.
RU
В статье анализируется стихотворение Шеймаса Хини «Оденское», посвященное памяти Иосифа Бродского, в которой автор в трансцендентном ключе обращается к проблеме смерти. Реминисценции из Божественной комедии Данте и древнешумерского Эпоса о Гильгамеше придают тексту произведения метафизическую глубину и позволяют ставить «вечные» вопросы о посмертной участи человека и бессмертии. Вопреки собственному секуляризованному сознанию зрелых лет Хини, католик по воспитанию, видит решение проблемы высшего смысла бытия в системе религиозных координат. В стихотворении он утверждает несостоятельность перед лицом смерти характерной для Бродского «идолизации» языка, когда язык замещает Бога и предстает как основа всего сущего. На основе материалов интервью, высказываний, воспоминаний Хини и Бродского рассматриваются позиции двух поэтов по отношению к сфере духовной жизни: трудный путь религиозных исканий Хини, интуитивную укорененность ирландского поэта в христианской традиции и метафизический нигилизм Бродского, отрицающего свою отчетливую принадлежность к какой-либо системе религиозных представлений. В стихотворении «Оденское» через смену эмоциональных регистров и интертекстуальные связи Хини до предела заостряет неявный при жизни Бродского, но остро вспыхнувший в сознании ирландского поэта после смерти друга метафизический конфликт, разрешение которого, по мысли поэта, возможно лишь в контексте высших духовных смыслов.
Od kiedy w roku 1902 Peter Jensen wynotował podobieństwa między Odyseją i Eposem o Gilgameszu i opowiedział się za zależnością homeryckiego poematu od mezopotamskiego eposu, uczeni spierają się o naturę relacji między poematami. Niniejszy artykuł stawia sobie za cel wykazanie, że między Eposem o Gilgameszu a Odyseją istnieje nie tylko wiele epizodycznych podobieństw, ale że obiektywna narracja o powrocie Odyseusza na Itakę (Od. 5-13) jest powtórzeniem fabuły wyprawy Gilgamesza po nieśmiertelność (tabliczki IX-XI): epizod dotarcia Gilgamesza do góry Maszu i spotkania Siduri znajduje paralelę w przebywaniu Odyseusza na Ogygii u nimfy Kalipso. Przeprawa Gilgamesza do Dilmun przypomina przeprawę Odyseusza z Ogygii na Scherię. Dilmun i Utanapisztim odpowiadają w wielu elementach Scherii i Alkinoosowi. Wreszcie, istnieją analogie między powrotem Gilgamesza do Uruk a powrotem Odyseusza na Itakę. Wniosek o fabularnym podobieństwie między obiektywną narracją o powrocie Odyseusza a opowieścią o wyprawie Gilgamesza po nieśmiertelność może posłużyć jako argument dla zwolenników tezy o zależności jednego poematu od drugiego.
EN
Since 1902 when Peter Jensen advanced a thesis about the dependence of the Odyssey on the Epic of Gilgamesh, scholars have argued about the nature of the relationship between the two poems. This article aims to show that there are many similarities between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Odyssey not only in episodes, but also that the objective narrative of Odysseus’s return to Ithaca (Od. 5-13) is a repetition of the plot from Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality (Tablets IX- XI): the episode of Gilgamesh’s arrival to the Mount Mashu and his encounter with Siduri finds its parallel in Odysseus’ stay in Ogygia at nymph Calypso’s. Gilgamesh’s crossing of the sea to Dilmun resembles Odysseus’ crossing of the sea from Ogygia to Scheria. Dilmun and its ruler Utanapishtim correspond in many aspects to Scheria and Alcinous. Finally, there are parallels between Gilgamesh’s return to Uruk and Odysseus journey to Ithaca. The conclusion about the existence of a narrative analogy between the objective narration of the Odysseus return in Odyssey and the Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality deepens the relationship between the two poems.
This article contains new suggestions for interpreting and translating the story of Noah’s Ark in Genesis regarding the building material of the ark as well as its dimensions. According to the author of the article, the dimensions of the ark given in the book of Genesis are too large to have been built by a team of several people within seven days. Since the description of the ark’s construction was probably taken from the older Epic of Gilgamesh, this article attempts to determine its dimensions based on Sumerian and Akkadian texts as well as Babylonian mathematics.
PL
Artykuł zawiera nowe propozycje interpretacji i przekładu opowiadania o arce Noego zawartego w Księdze Rodzaju dotyczące budulca arki, a także jej wymiarów. Zdaniem autora artykułu wymiary arki podane w Księdze Rodzaju są zbyt duże, by kilkuosobowy zespół mógł ją zbudować w ciągu 7 dni. Ponieważ opis budowy arki autor biblijny zaczerpnął najprawdopodobniej ze starszego Eposu o Gilgameszu, w artykule podjęto próbę ustalenia jej wymiarów w oparciu o teksty sumeryjskie i akadyjskie oraz matematykę babilońską.
The topic of our deliberation is resonance as an issue of understanding ourselves and the world, — an understanding that is undoubtedly related to speech. Resonance, as an issue, opened by senses in the world; an issue opening for senses and in the world; resonance as a matter of senses, whose sensorium commune is the body: becoming of the body (the body-becoming), therefore always a question of identity and difference (identifying and identified, marking and marked, differentiating and differentiated). The subject of our deliberation is the undulation that shapes cannot be represented by the shape of the wave or by the sum of individual shapes of the waves (any confirmation, reassuring of My-self in a shape or by a shape is always seriously threatened by the disintegration of Me). So, if Eastern thought says “the shape is empty”, besides the philosopher of being and existence, besides the phenomenologist, besides the metaphysician, besides the philosopher of the body, besides the philosopher of significance, in our reflection we also recognize the philosopher of emptiness.
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