Historical Relations Between “the Epic of Gilgamesh” and “the Golden Ass”
Historical Relations Between “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and “The Golden Ass”
Conventional wisdom has it that any type of literary work written, whether it be fictional or factual, has been somewhat influenced by the way that society and culture are seen in the era that it was written. Some works have a greater influence than others however, and it is debatable to say which books have a greater or lesser influence than others. This argument is definitely present in the literary works of “The Golden Ass” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. Some scholars argue that these works reflect greatly how society and culture actually were in their respective times that these books were written, while others disagree and argue that little or no cultural and social expectations are reflective of these works. Obviously, both works reflect some parts of how society was and what the culture was like in their respective times based on a few themes. In “The Golden Ass”, some concepts that seem to be reflective of actual Roman culture and society were the views of poverty and the lower class, and also their vices and virtues. Lucius, the main protagonist, had to go through a great journey and on this journey, he encountered many different people of different social statuses. Mainly, he encountered people of the lower class and it was interesting to read the differences between lower and upper class. One noticeable difference was the different types of clothing worn in ancient roman times that represented ones social status. Those of lower class wore clothing of course, dark brownish colors, while those of upper class wore white clothing such as linen. Also, women were expected to wear closed shoes and were not allowed to show their feet. This different type of clothing was very important in ancient roman times because it represented ones social status. (Cohen, 599) The second concept that is reflective of Roman culture and society are the vices and virtues. These are present
Conventional wisdom has it that any type of literary work written, whether it be fictional or factual, has been somewhat influenced by the way that society and culture are seen in the era that it was written. Some works have a greater influence than others however, and it is debatable to say which books have a greater or lesser influence than others. This argument is definitely present in the literary works of “The Golden Ass” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh”. Some scholars argue that these works reflect greatly how society and culture actually were in their respective times that these books were written, while others disagree and argue that little or no cultural and social expectations are reflective of these works. Obviously, both works reflect some parts of how society was and what the culture was like in their respective times based on a few themes. In “The Golden Ass”, some concepts that seem to be reflective of actual Roman culture and society were the views of poverty and the lower class, and also their vices and virtues. Lucius, the main protagonist, had to go through a great journey and on this journey, he encountered many different people of different social statuses. Mainly, he encountered people of the lower class and it was interesting to read the differences between lower and upper class. One noticeable difference was the different types of clothing worn in ancient roman times that represented ones social status. Those of lower class wore clothing of course, dark brownish colors, while those of upper class wore white clothing such as linen. Also, women were expected to wear closed shoes and were not allowed to show their feet. This different type of clothing was very important in ancient roman times because it represented ones social status. (Cohen, 599) The second concept that is reflective of Roman culture and society are the vices and virtues. These are present
Cited: Apuleius. The Golden Ass. Trans. Jack Lindsay. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1962. Print. Cohen, Elizabeth S. "Honor and Gender in the Streets of Early Modern Rome." The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 22.4 (1992): 597-625. Print. George, Andrew, trans. The Epic of Gilgamesh;. [Baltimore]: Penguin, 2003. Print.