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Kimberly Mitchell
04/20/2015
Prof. Heinger
World Masterpiece 1
Epic Final Paper
The Walls
In an epic and any novel the hero is trying to either protect their home, get home, or make
a new home for themselves. Most of the time these three situations will include the use of walls
or the building of walls, because of their significance. Walls are used as defense, in most texts
and in the real world. When a person or hero is inside their own walls they feel secure, at home,
and protected. In the classic epic like, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Iliad, the use of walls is
symbolically significant through actual walls, representations of walls, and the functionality of
both kinds of walls in the epics.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, draws the reader to the hero, Gilgamesh, and his friend’s epic
journey that they embark on. As said by Nicole Brisch of the University of Copenhagen, The
Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest Mesopotamian epics found to this day and continues to
facilitate debates (Brisch 275). The debates that the epic produces include what the symbolism of
the walls in the epic mean, if anything at all. Walls come up in tablet one of the epic when the
narrator speaks of how divine Gilgamesh is and how he built the walls himself. When the walls
are introduced in the epic, they represent the journey that this hero has already been on and
explains why he is the king and looked up to by the dwellers of the city.
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With the description of the walls, symbolism comes in and shows that the walls are the
protection of Uruk and shows how Gilgamesh used the walls to protect his people from harm. In
tablet twelve, the same walls come up again. Gilgamesh shows off the walls, he built, to the
boatman with pride. Although at this point in the epic Gilgamesh is weak and broken from losing
the youthful flower to a snake and losing Enkidu, he shows pride in the walls and his
accomplishment. The walls in The Epic of Gilgamesh are used functionally and symbolically.
The walls In the Epic of Gilgamesh are functional through the protection that they
provide the city of Uruk. Whereas the walls are symbolic through Gilgamesh, showing his divine
qualities and the true reason why he is was already a hero before his journey to the Forest of the
Cedars. The city dwellers in Uruk knew before his journey with Enkidu that he was a true hero,
but Gilgamesh was unable to see it. They considered him a hero because of the great length that
he went to in order to protect his community, through the building of the walls around Uruk.
The Iliad however, uses the functionality and symbolic uses of walls much more freely
and frequently. In the beginning of The Iliad, the epic begins with Briseis being taken from
Achilles, and then moves on to Agamemnon being influenced through the gods. During the
influences of the gods, Zeus goes to Agamemnon and tells him that if he launches a full assault
on the Trojan walls he could take the city. Although Zeus told Agamemnon those things under
false pretenses, the walls are symbolically significant as protection and as the foundation of
Troy. Zeus implies though his comment that if Agamemnon were to take the city walls that the
city of Troy would ideally crumble, and Agamemnon knows that if the city walls were to
crumble, that he would win the war without a doubt.
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Later in the epic walls come up again when introducing Hector’s character. The
protection of walls is also used again, when Andromache tells Hector that if he leaves he will
return dead. While the war continued with Hector advancing daily, Patroclus begs Achilles to
wear his armor to battle. According to James A. Francis, Achilles’ armor is one of the first
examples of ekphrasis (Francis 8). I agree to what Francis has said about Achilles’ armor; I also
think that Achilles’ armor is a metaphorical symbol for walls. Although his armor is not actual
standing walls, Achilles’ armor acts as his own personal walls. Achilles’ armor was
extraordinarily made by the god Hephaestus, and because of the maker of the armor, Achilles
could not be harmed through his armor but only through its weak spots.
Achilles’ armor acts as his own walls, it is something that he feels safe in, and is
something that protects him from others. Achilles does not have the faith in the walls that Hector
does, so his armor easily became his substitute for real belief in walls. When the battle begins to
turn, Hector and Achilles meet on the battlefield, where Achilles has the clear upper hand. When
Hector took Achilles first set of armor, off of Patroclus’ dead body, he thought his wife to be
wrong. Hector believed that after he obtained the magnificent armor set he would not be killed.
He was sadly wrong because Achilles knew where the armor’s weak spots were and where
exactly to strike Hector. Achilles spent ten years in his armor fighting, they were his walls that
protected him for all of those years, and he had the upper hand for any situation if he had his
armor. Hector had just obtained the armor set and did not know where the weak spots where, if it
had any at all, or even where to try to defeat an exact replica.
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Throughout The Iliad walls, whether functional or symbolic, are important in the epic
journey of the heroes. Whether Hector or Achilles, the walls in this epic provided the audience
with a sense of humanization. Hector thinks of his city walls as a place where no harm could
occur, and a place of protection. Achilles however, does not believe in the city walls and realizes
the possibility of their crumble. He does however use his armor as his protection from harm and
shows the audience the reason for his confidence in war while wearing it.
This statue, from the DIA, shows a few of the
aspects of visual rhetoric that are also seen in the text with
the walls. One of the aspects of visual rhetoric that this
statue portrays is the human body. This statue shows
control, strength, and proportion, all things that the walls
show in The Epic of Gilgamesh. These three
characteristics are also seen in Achilles and Hector, from
The Iliad. This statue is a warrior riding without his noble
horse. The action is more prominent in this statue than the apparel, but both have function. The
apparel of this statue shows that he is a warrior ready for battle, ready for a fight, and ready for a
win. This statues facial expressions shows that he is very unaffected by the thought of a battle
going wrong, and that he is not at all afriad. Another visual rhetoric aspect that this statue
employs is message. The human body and message of this statue work hand in hand, and with
that they become foils of each other. The message of this statue is heroism, this can easily be
seen through his masculinity and facial expressions.
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Much like Achilles, the bronze statuette of a rider, also wears armor that acts as his walls.
Although the rider is missing his steed, the rider shows just as much nobleness and masculinity
as a rider with a horse. The way that the human body and the rider’s armor function in this piece
tell the entire story of the rider and his actions. His actions show that his armor acts in the same
way that Achilles’ does. The rider’s armor are his walls, and those are the walls that protect him
from the outside and any enemies that he came in contact with. The artist of statue is unknown,
but it can be assumed that the artist is from the Greek era. Not only does it have the same ideals
of walls that The Iliad does, it also shows the more humanistic and naturalistic ideas of the
Greek.
The use of walls in epics can symbolize multiple things, and can be metaphorically
symbolized by other things. If you take a look back to Sumerian time, like in The Epic of
Gilgamesh, and the Greek polis era, The Iliad, there was a great difference in the wall
construction and methodology they used. The ancient Sumerians took pride in the construction
and sustainability of their walls. In the following figures the one on the right is an ancient
Sumerian city, which stills stand today. As you
can see the city walls are in the general shape
of a square, so that the dwellers of the city had
clear advantage of the surrounding area. The
walls surrounding the city were built so that the
protectors of the city could walk atop them
guarding from any danger that could occur.
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Ancient Sumerians also believed in the idea of doing something right the first time so it
would last for however long they needed it. You can see this in the structural build of the walls.
The walls were built with perfect fitting stones that they manipulated themselves, using other
stones. The walls that the Sumerians built fit so perfectly that they had few gaps making them
extremely sturdy and sustainable. Uruk, the city in The Epic of Gilgamesh, is a great example of
the ideals that the Sumerians had. Uruk is one of the oldest known cities to be built and is
impressively still standing today. Many ancient Sumerian cities are still standing today and most
of the original walls still stand along with the rest of the city.
When comparing the Sumerian walls to those of ancient Greek poleis, the walls of Greek
poleis are much different. The ancient Greeks built walls for their protection, but what they took
pride in was their armies. When the ancient Greeks built walls around their poleis they were
often built in a circular shape. The Greeks did not worry about having perfect fitting walls, they
just wanted some stone in the way of an enemy army. When the walls were built for Greek
poleis they were not fitted they were simply stacked on top of one another to build the walls
height. The ancient Greeks used their walls as a stopping force for opposing armies, not as a
lookout like the Sumerians. They
instead used the acropolis inside the
walls as their lookout point, in the case
of any enemies.
Some ancient Greek poleis are
still standing today along with their
walls. The difference between the Greek
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polies and the Sumerian cities, is that the Greek polies are beginning to fall apart. Today some of
the Greek polies are caving in and weathering badly. One example of how the Greek structures
are weathering today are the cities of Troy and Athens, seen in the above figure. Troy is now
referred to as a city of ruins, and Athens has been mostly rebuilt. One of the original remaining
structures is the Parthenon, which does have some weathering damage that has caused some
parts of the temple to crumble. The Greeks did have gaps in their walls from not fitting them
perfectly, making them more susceptible to weather and things of that nature.
Although the Greek and the Sumerians have different ideas of the functionality of walls
they agreed upon their protection. The Greek focused more on the functionality of the walls then
their sustainability, while the Sumerians focused of sustainability and functionality. This idea
can also be seen in the epics that were discussed earlier. The Epic of Gilgamesh shows how the
functionality and the sustainability of the walls are both important. This is shown when
Gilgamesh is showing off the walls to the boatman, because a few years earlier, in the beginning
of the epic, it is told how he divinely built them. While in The Iliad, it is easily seen how only the
functionalism is truly important to them. This can especially be seen through Achilles, and also
when Agamemnon was contemplating attacking the walls of Troy.
Heroism and walls may not directly correlate, but in some way they do relate. Heroes are
often strong in mind or physically, and very tough or durable. In the case of heroes interacting
with walls, this can be seen throughout both The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Iliad. As previously
stated Achilles, Hector, and Gilgamesh all interact with walls. The difference between these
three heroes is how they interact with walls or symbolic walls. The differences between the three
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heroes and their way of acting towards walls, makes them much more relatable and human to an
audience. This also allows for the audience to connect with the character on how they believe
that the walls are important.
Walls do not make a hero but they do play a role in the life of a hero and their journey.
Walls can be summed up in epics as a symbolic meaning of home, protection, and hope. They
can also be seen functionally in epics and in real life. The idea of a wall being a place to feel
safe, comes from the idea of home. Which is an idea that will always stay true to meaning and
will always be seen in future novels, epics, and even in film.
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References:
James A. Francis. "Metal Maidens, Achilles' Shield, and Pandora: The Beginnings of
"Ekphrasis"." American Journal of Philology 130.1 (2009): 1-23.
Nicole Brisch. "Gilgamesh Among Us: Modern Encounters with the Ancient Epic by Theodore
Ziolkowski (review)." Classical World 107.2 (2014): 274-275.