Who is the real monster? - An analysis of Gilgamesh and Hercules
Monsters appear in all cultures, across all time, however, the line between monster and hero has often been blurred, with strong warriors mirroring the traits of the monsters they vanquish. The two men, Gilgamesh and Hercules, are not the heroes which they seemingly appear to be. The intended monster is not always the only monster visible.
“Why must men, who cause these aggression problems in the first place, go around slaying dragons?”
Indeed why are these hyper-masculine heroes initiating the violence and reflecting the monstrous nature of the monsters they fight? Hercules is a well-known character in Greek and Roman myth, although Gilgamesh, from Sumerian myth, is less so. The ancient Mesopotamian myth, the Epic of Gilgamesh, tells us of his ‘heroics’ as the king of Uruk and is inscribed on a number of clay tablets. Both Gilgamesh and Hercules have divine parentage and are presented as significantly large, strong men. Their strength and size are two identifiable features which set them apart from the other characters within their stories. Gilgamesh is giant in stature, described as ‘so tall, magnificent and terrible’ and is written to have been 11 cubits tall (approximately 18 ft). Hercules is a similarly large man, with great muscles emphasising his strength. His immense size can be seen through his conflicts as he fights barbarically, using his bare hands or a large club. His ability to wield large weapons of wood or stone, and to kill people using his bare hands, attests to his size and power in contrast to other regular people. In Book 8 of Virgil’s Aeneid Hercules can tear apart the natural surroundings with his bare hands to reveal Cacus' cave which emphasises his physical prowess.
‘Torso of Hercules Sculpture’
Gilgamesh’s monstrous qualities begin to be exemplified by his various interactions with his people. His position of physical and political power allows him to do as he wishes with his subjects. He fights men for fun when he’s bored, even though they could never win against his size and strength. His people view him as tyrannical and are opposed to his actions, however, they do not have the power to stop him.
Similarly, Hercules has many interactions with other men during his travels and a vast number of them do not end well for the other party. Hercules, like Gilgamesh, is frequently savage in his everyday actions. He parallels Gilgamesh, yet takes the aggression and violence further. Hercules’ lack of emotional control creates violent outbursts, as opposed to Gilgamesh’s bored fighting. In Book 9 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Hercules fights the river god Achelous for the hand of a beautiful girl, Deianira. His attack is aggressive and Hercules is very barbaric in his methods, using his bare hands and mutilating Achelous even after ‘winning’; there is a lot of unbridled aggression from Hercules: ‘His anger was blazing, he couldn’t control it’ (Ovid, Metamorphoses 9.28). The men’s strength over others allows them to avoid the consequences of their behaviour. Their super-strength places them in a position of power, above ‘the law’ and nobody can match them, other than the divine. Their violent encounters with other men, highlight the monstrosity of each character and how their ultramasculinity makes them almost untouchable.
'Colossal statue of Gilgamesh’
The monstrosity of these men is also highlighted when Hercules and Gilgamesh fight against traditionally perceived monsters, blurring the line between who the real monster is.
Humbaba is the key monstrous figure that Gilgamesh interacts with and the episode begins with his desire to slay Humbaba. This does not stem from any threat, but from Gilgamesh’s ambitions to establish fame and cut down the cedars of the forest where Humbaba resides. One variation of the story refers to Humbaba as a ‘guardian spirit’, however, Gilgamesh maintains his violent desires. His justification for killing Humbaba strays no further than his own selfish impulses, not taking into account the importance of his spiritual role in the forest. Gilgamesh embodies the monstrosity of a perverse hypermasculinity as his own anxieties of being forgotten to push him to destruction. His hyper-masculine identity is fuelled through this act of violence he wishes to be remembered for. Humbaba’s characterisation as a protector of the forest adds to Gilgamesh’s cruelty as he is killing an ancient deity, and destroying the forest for his own personal gain. It is Gilgamesh who displays monstrous characteristics, the ‘monster’ is actually peaceful and the ‘hero’ is the one acting monstrously, and with unwarranted violence. This episode of Humbaba illustrates the ambiguity over who the real monster is.
Similarly, Hercules has dubious encounters with monsters where the lines of monstrosity begin to blur. His attack on Cacus in Book 8 of the Aeneid mirrors his interactions with men, where an emotional outburst leads to Cacus’ violent death. Here, Cacus takes some of Hercules’ cattle and Hercules flies into a rage before ripping the top off the mountain where Cacus resides and strangling him to death with his bare hands. Cacus, like Humbaba, has a breath of flame and smoke and lives in a cave on the outskirts of society, like a traditionally created monster.
‘Hercules and Cacus, by Hendrick Goltzius (1588)’
Cacus, however, mirrors Hercules and the monstrous characteristics that are emphasised in Cacus, are also prevalent in Hercules. They both have a divine father and are of excessive size, however, Cacus is depicted as a feared giant, whereas Hercules is a super-strong hero. Additionally, Hercules’ ability to fight and kill others, without needing a weapon, argues for his monstrous characterisation; his strength comes from brute physical force, not skill. The monsters that Hercules fights have done nothing to necessarily aggravate him, and yet he is unnecessarily cruel and violent. Gilgamesh similarly searches for a fight despite not being threatened.
These traditionally constructed heroes display the same characteristics as the monsters they fight. Gilgamesh is abnormally large and holds both political and physical power over others, allowing him to do as he wishes and terrorising both the men and women of Uruk. Yet, he also embodies the monster through his unprovoked desire to kill. In tandem with this, Hercules’ barbaric methods of killing, using his bare hands and physical strength to crush those in his path, place him as a monstrous character. His lack of emotional control and aggressive outbursts match the ‘out of control’ monsters he faces.
The shared perspective created by these two men together highlights the toxic masculine behaviour that is displayed and the importance of distinguishing who the real monster is. The conventional monster often displays less ‘monstrosity’ than the hero of the story, challenging the traditional male-dominated narrative. Through examining the tales of these two classic ‘heroes’ we must now rethink, who is the real monster?
By Maisie-May Gilchrist
Bibliography:
Primary sources:
The Epic of Gilgamesh, trans. by A. George (2020) London.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, trans. by D. Raeburn (2004) London.
Seneca, Hercules Furens, trans. by J. G. Fitch (1979) Cambridge, MA.
Virgil, Aeneid, trans. by C. Day Lewis (1986) Oxford.
Secondary sources:
Asma, S. T. (2011) On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bernstein, N. (2017) Seneca: Hercules furens, London: Bloomsbury.
Fleming, D. & Milstein, S. (2010) The buried foundation of the Gilgamesh epic: the Akkadian Huwawa narrative, Boston: Brill.
Levy, G. R. (1934) ‘The Oriental Origin of Herakles’, The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 54, pp.40-53.
Wilson, D. H. (2010) ‘An Evolution of Monsterology [Review of On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, by S. T. Asma]’, Science Fiction Studies, 37(3), pp.495-498.
Images
1. ‘Torso of Hercules Sculpture’ https://shop.getty.edu/products/torso-of-hercules-sculpture
2. 'Colossal statue of Gilgamesh, original in Khorsabad, late 8th c. BCE' https://www.archaeologs.com/i/430/gilgamesh?gobacklng=en
3. ‘Hercules and Cacus, by Hendrick Goltzius (1588)’ https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/276.2013/