User:ZulaikhaN/sandbox

GILGAMESH THE LEGEND AND THE STATUE



Context The sculpture is on the grounds of the University of Sydney, between old teachers college and women’s sports centre. It stands facing the road behind CPC. It’s back towards the oval. Rhetorical situation- this cast bronze sculpture was created on the university’s 150th anniversary (2000) by the Gilgamesh culture centre, on behalf of the Assyrian community (Stone ,2012). The Assyrians have a historical connection to the man being represented- Gilgamesh, legendary king (Abusch, 2012) of the ancient city of Uruk (modern day Iraq).



Purpose The purpose of this sculpture is multifaceted and will be viewed differently depending on the person viewing it. Its purpose includes, to inform the audience about an important Assyrian story and move them through this story, furthermore it adds a sense of respect and authority to the university via the symbolism of Gilgamesh himself and his legendary story). It is also an avenue to immortalising his story.



Author The author is Lewis Batros, an independent artist who lives in NSW, Australia and is a renowned artist. He is from Iraqi descent, more specifically, Assyrian. He has done other works for the Assyrian cultural centre. His creation is very regal and formal, standing with authority- the material and the posture adds to this. The style and representation agrees with others Gilgamesh sculptures as well as stories written about Gilgamesh (Abusch, 2012). However this Gilgamesh is not smiling and looks off into the distance. This suggests that the sculptor takes his art very seriously, and sees the subject as one of power, authority, and seriousness but of sadness too. He is not too concerned with the opinions of others who have represented Gilgamesh.

Does he/she communicate effectively to INTENDED AUDIENCE or unintended audience? The audience is in general, those who come past the sculpture. The positioning, materials and the way in which the sculpture is created- its posture, the block of marble (?) it is standing on and it’s sturdy build help to effectively portray the importance of Gilgamesh to the Assyrians, his authority and even the mystery that surrounds him. Furthermore, the inscription- a concise description of who Gilgamesh is- adds to the piece’s ability to show the importance of Gilgamesh.



The author artistic skill and evident research into the subject help to build his ethos. Which is further improved upon after researching the subject- he has sculpted Gilgamesh almost perfectly bringing together all the aspects that make Gilgamesh so majestic a character. The audience are not left to assume much about the sculpture, there Is an inscription that tells them the main things they need to know. The rest of it follows the general rule of art, i.e. the audience will bring their own meaning to it. Gilgamesh is believed to be real by some, but in essence he is a legend. He was never a real being, and this is reflected in the style, clothing and manner of the sculpture. It emanates a sense of other-wordly, or fiction.

Audience The audience is in general, those who come past the sculpture, in general this will mean the students and staff of the University of Sydney, furthermore it will also include any general pubic and tourists who come to the university. Due to the internet the audience is extended to anyone who looks up Gilgamesh on a search engine It seems that at the time of creation, the author was not aware of the wider audience that may exist on the internet (the internet was not a ‘big’ in the year 2000). The author is appealing to humans’ devotions to a particular cause- the inscription which states his story alludes to the devotion and cause that Gilgamesh himself had. It also appeals to feelings and ideologies of strength, honour and bravery- these are signified by the tamed lion at his side. The lion is also an appeal to gentleness and devotion, as it has now been tamed.

The text Made of Cast bronze, it is a representation of one of the world’s most legendary stories and characters, it immortalises Gilgamesh and links the University to one of the oldest and most legendary stories and a region that was once the heartbeat of literature and science. It is therefore adding to the university’s ethos. (Stone ,2012). It achieves this through mostly visual and some written forms. It’s accessibility adds to its appeal and effectiveness in linking the university to power and authority and immortalising Gilgamesh. It is out in the open for all to see, you will however have to know where it is to find it. i.e. it is not in the centre of university so it is less accessible than the law building or the quad. Rhetorical devices used- Epideictic branch, appeals to pathos and ethos. No logos evident. There is also an appeal to the authority of Giligamesh, as well- the demi god in him is being appealed to as a form of authority and strength. This is symbolised through his height, stature and Poseidon like clothing, beard and posture. Multiple motifs and symbolism is evident, for example the snakes wound around his wrist and upper arm symbolise the part of the story where a snake steals the plant of youth from Gilgamesh, forcing him to face his mortality and therefore find deeper meaning in his life (Stone, 2012).The snakes as well as the lion are symbolic of his strength and bravery- a theme which is also evident in the stories about him (most of which display his heroic feats). Furthermore the lion being so close to his side is symbolic of the pride he has in himself, his abilities and his royal position, which is so bad it can be seen as arrogance. This arrogance is shown in the way his head is held high and his eyes not deeming to look down upon those viewing him, rather his eyes seem to be glazed over, looking in the distance to a place more worthy than the present.



The lion is put onto one side while the knife (?) And the snake are put on the other, i.e. lion on his right and snake on his left- it can be argued this relates to the ancient human thought that good is on the right and bad on the left. His eyes and posture all are very straight, upright and distant, yet authoritative. His name is in capital letters in front and below him- like a big announcement of his importance. The message of his story is put in front of him as well, but is made to seem less salient and less important as it is less obvious to the viewers (it is on the same block as his name, but while the name takes salience, the small letters of the message and its off-centre position makes it less important). It is all set up to give dominance to the statue, then the lion and then the name. After this we are draw to the Poseidon like hair and clothing he is wearing- a nod to him being a demi god (Mark, 2010).

In the stories about Gilgamesh, he mostly portrayed as an arrogant man who wants bigger and bigger feats, wants to be eternal, a man with a big ego In others he is shown in a kinder light, a man of bravery and greatness that does much to save and protect his people. For example, these stories show him as doing a great thing when he defeated the demon Humababa. In most stories however, he is portrayed as a great king of the once great land of URUK. The son of King Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun (Abusch, 2012), yet another source (although not scholarly) argues that he was the first comic book superhero (Museum of Victoria, 2012; Newell, 2013).

INDEX Inscription: Gilgamesh, Assyrian king of Uruk during the third millennium BC, is part god and part man, he sets out on a quest to seek immortality. In the course of his quest, he finds compassion, friendship, courage, love and peace. In the 19th century, Sir Austen Henry Layard found clay tablets recounting the epic of Gilgamesh in Ashbourbantpal’s 8th century BC library at ninevah. This epic one of the oldest written stories is the basis of many myths, legends and tales, including modern ones. The statue was presented by Gilgamesh cultural centre on behalf of the Assyrian community to the university of Sydney to commemorate its sesquicentenary. Artist: Lewis Batros Unveiled by the chancellor of the university Emeritus Professor Dame Leone Kramer. 15th October 2000. His story- summarised and re worded. Gilgamesh was a legendary king in the 5th century of Uruk. He built magnificent towers and walls around his city. He was told to be a cruel ruler who was a womanizer and lorded over his subjects, raping any women he wanted. Due to his outlandish behaviour, the Gods ere angry with him, they wanted him to be tamed in some way. To this end, they gave him an equal- Enkidu, a man just as great as Gilgamesh, but the ruler of the animal kingdom. Therefore, Enkidu was wild. Gilgamesh found him and wanted him as a friend, so he set about to tame Enkidu via the use of the castle’s prostitute. Enkidu was ‘tamed’ and eventually he and Gilgamesh become best friends (this occurs after Enkidu challenges Gilgamesh to a fight after hearing the about the way he treats his subjects). They go on adventures including one where they cut own trees from a forbidden forest and make them into gates to protect the city and ill the demon Humbaba. Along the way Gilgamesh offends the goddess Ishtar. All of their actions lead the Gods to kill Enkidu. Enkidu’s death grieves Gilgamesh and also makes him realise he is mortal. He goes on a quest to find the only immortal man Utnapishtim- he finds him and Utnapishtim gives him a challenge. He challenges him to stay awake for 1 week. Gilgamesh fails and is instead given a plant that will give him youth. He takes the plant and heads home- he falls asleep one night and a snake steals this plant, eats and sheds his skin (becoming young again). Gilgamesh therefore returns home mortal and empty handed. He does however learn that he cannot give forever, but he can immortalise his memory through his city and his actions (Mark, 2010).

REFERENCE Museum of Victoria, 2012. Gilgamesh the first superhero. [ONLINE] Available at:http://museumvictoria.com.au/about/mv-blog/mar-2012/gilgamesh-the-first-superhero/.

Newell, N.R 2013, A Reception History of Gilgamesh as Myth.Thesis, Georgia State University. [ONLINE] Available: http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/rs_theses/41

Abusch, T, 2012. The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 4/121, 614-622.

Stone, D, 2012. the epic of gilgamesh: Statu e brings ancient tale to life. MUSE, 12/2781, 28.

J. Mark 2010. The Eternal Life of Gilgamesh. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ancient.eu/article/192/.