Socrates Vs Gilgamesh

A detailed Summary of Socrates Vs Gilgamesh

Socrates' view of death in the Phaedo, Crito, and Apology is complex. His argument tries to prove that philosophers, of all people, are in the best state to die or will be in the best state after life because of the life they lead. Socrates' views are sharply contrasted in The Epic of Gilgamesh. In fact, he would probably say that Gilgamesh had not lived the proper kind of life and his views of life, and death would lead to an unsettled existence in the afterlife. Socrates' view of death, from his opinions on the act of dying, the state of the soul after death, and the fear of death, differs from that of The Epic of Gilgamesh to the extent that Socrates would refute every belief about death presented in The Epic of Gilgamesh.

Socrates believes the act of dying to be a separation of the soul from the body. The soul is that which attains knowledge, and the body is that which experiences senses and emotions. In Gilgamesh there is no distinction between the body and soul. In the Phaedo, before Socrates drinks the poison Crito questions him as to how he would like to be buried to which Socrates replies, "I do not convince Crito that I am this Socrates talking to yo

Grube. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc, 1981.

The last and perhaps the most important difference between Socrates and The Epic of Gilgamesh is the fear of death. In the Apology, Socrates states that "To fear death . . . is no other than to think oneself wise when one is not . . . No one knows whether death may not be the greatest of all blessings for a man, yet men fear it as if it were the greatest of all evils" (Plato 34). Later in Phaedo, he asserts that "Any man whom you see resenting death was not a lover of wisdom but a lover of the body, and also a lover of wealth or honors, either or both" (Plato 105). Gilgamesh and Enkidu repeatedly curse death and show their cowardice toward dying. After Enkidu's death Gilgamesh says, "Because of my brother I am afraid of death" (Gilgamesh 101). If we analyze the lives of the two main characters in Gilgamesh we can easily see that they fit into Socrates' idea of one who fears death. Gilgamesh and Enkidu repeatedly go in search of honors, delight in the pleasures of the body, and think they are wise when they are not.

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Approximate Word count = 1225
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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