--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In Gilgamesh the human formed from clay…" description: "\"“In Gilgamesh the human formed from clay is a wild man, with flowing hair (possibly all over his body) and the strength and manner of life of the anima..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/stephen-greenblatt-10786_life_in-gilgamesh-the-human-formed-from-clay_1222552.jpg" --- # In Gilgamesh the human formed from clay is a wild man… ![“In Gilgamesh the human formed from clay is a wild man, with flowing hair (possibly all over his body) and the strength and manner of life of the animals. In Genesis the clay human is created “in the image of God” and has from the beginning the status of one who is not a companion to the other…” quote by Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/stephen-greenblatt-10786_life_in-gilgamesh-the-human-formed-from-clay_1222552.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/stephen-greenblatt-10786_life_in-gilgamesh-the-human-formed-from-clay_1222552.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/48d/stephen-greenblatt-10786_life_in-gilgamesh-the-human-formed-from-clay_1222552.jpg) > ““In Gilgamesh the human formed from clay is a wild man, with flowing hair (possibly all over his body) and the strength and manner of life of the animals. In Genesis the clay human is created “in the image of God” and has from the beginning the status of one who is not a companion to the other animals but of one who dominates them.”” [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contrasts ancient myths: Gilgamesh’s animal-like wildness versus Genesis’s divine image, highlighting differing views on humanity’s relationship to nature. **In simple terms:** Ancient stories show different ideas of human nature. Key Takeaway Consider how cultural narratives shape our view of humanity. Themes mythology human nature creation myths Mood thoughtful analytical Type academic comparative When to use this quote - religious studies - literary analysis - education Key Concepts comparative literature theology anthropology Questions to Reflect On - How do these myths influence modern views of humanity? - What does dominance over animals imply about human identity? A Different Perspective Interpretations of myths can be biased by modern perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clay Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clay-human-3749305/) [Gilgamesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gilgamesh/) [Gilgamesh Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gilgamesh-human-3749304/) [Human Created](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-created-365389/) [Human Formed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-formed-3749306/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Wild man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-man/) ## Related quotes > [“There is something in us that refuses to be regarded as less than human. 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None of these purposes is revenge.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sameh-elsayed/each-human-is-created-for-a-purpose-in-this-life-none-of-these/) [Sameh Elsayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sameh-elsayed/) > [Nothing was ever created by a human being that was not first created in the imagination through desire and then transformed into reality through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/nothing-was-ever-created-by-a-human-being-that-was-not-first-created/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“You will never find the life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorita-d-este/you-will-never-find-the-life-for-which-you-are-looking-when-the-gods/) [Sorita D'este](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorita-d-este/) > [“Gilgamesh's sperm! That is the true treasure . . . 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Gilgamesh: "Hey, at least I got his hat!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-foglio/tarvek-you-call-that-throwing-gilgamesh-hey-at-least-i-got-his-hat/) [Phil Foglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-foglio/) > [“You have known, O Gilgamesh, What interests me, To drink from the Well of Immortality. Which means to make the dead Rise from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-mason/you-have-known-o-gilgamesh-what-interests-me-to-drink-from-the-well/) [Herbert Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-mason/) ## More by Stephen Greenblatt > [“Eve is a figure for the soul that each human should love. The commandment to be fruitful and multiply did not originally refer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/eve-is-a-figure-for-the-soul-that-each-human-should-love-the/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [I believe that nothing comes of nothing, even in Shakespeare. I wanted to know where he got the matter he was working with and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/i-believe-that-nothing-comes-of-nothing-even-in-shakespeare-i-wanted/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [I think the writing of literature should give pleasure. What else should it be about? It is not nuclear physics. It actually has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/i-think-the-writing-of-literature-should-give-pleasure-what-else/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [There's a huge amount of work on Adam and Eve, from the ancient world to the present. 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And my desk is usually cluttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/no-special-writing-rituals-and-my-desk-is-usually-cluttered/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [Compared to the unleashed forces of warfare and of faith, Mount Vesuvius was kinder to the legacy of antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/compared-to-the-unleashed-forces-of-warfare-and-of-faith-mount/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [“you needed only to comprehend that there is a hidden natural explanation for everything that alarms or eludes you. That explanation will inevitably lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/you-needed-only-to-comprehend-that-there-is-a-hidden-natural/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [“Libraries, museums, and schools are fragile institutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/libraries-museums-and-schools-are-fragile-institutions/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [A couple of years ago I picked up New Yorker writer Alma Guillermoprieto's "The Heart That Bleeds," which is reportage from Latin America in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/a-couple-of-years-ago-i-picked-up-new-yorker-writer-alma/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [“I am committed by trade to urging people to attend carefully to the verbal surfaces of what they read. Much of the pleasure and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/i-am-committed-by-trade-to-urging-people-to-attend-carefully-to-the/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [Art always penetrates the particular fissures in one's psychic life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/art-always-penetrates-the-particular-fissures-in-one-s-psychic-life/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) > [ When I was quite young I came across a collection of \[Franz\] Kafka stories and read "The Judgment." I was just floored by that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-greenblatt/when-i-was-quite-young-i-came-across-a-collection-of-franz-kafka/) [Stephen Greenblatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) [Explore all 63 Stephen Greenblatt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-greenblatt/) ## More Gilgamesh quotes > [“How long will the Gilgamesh Project – the quest for immortality – take to complete?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-long-will-the-gilgamesh-project-the-quest-for-immortality-take-to/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Gilgamesh's sperm! That is the true treasure . . . YOU CAN CREATE THE WORLD'S MIGHTIEST ARMY BY USING HIS SPERM!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-koike/gilgamesh-s-sperm-that-is-the-true-treasure-you-can-create-the-world/) [Kazuo Koike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-koike/) > [“You will never find the life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorita-d-este/you-will-never-find-the-life-for-which-you-are-looking-when-the-gods/) [Sorita D'este](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorita-d-este/) > [“You have known, O Gilgamesh, What interests me, To drink from the Well of Immortality. Which means to make the dead Rise from their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-mason/you-have-known-o-gilgamesh-what-interests-me-to-drink-from-the-well/) [Herbert Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-mason/) > [“The writer sat besides the weeping Gilgamesh, witnessed the sinking of the unsinkable ships. He was there, and he wasn't. Like a naturalist observing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jebreel-nahaary/the-writer-sat-besides-the-weeping-gilgamesh-witnessed-the-sinking-of/) [Jebreel Nahaary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jebreel-nahaary/) > [“Tarvek: "You call that 'throwing?'" Gilgamesh: "Hey, at least I got his hat!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-foglio/tarvek-you-call-that-throwing-gilgamesh-hey-at-least-i-got-his-hat/) [Phil Foglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-foglio/) > [“The writer sat besides the weeping Gilgamesh, swam out of all the unsinkable ships sank. He was there, and he wasn't. Like a naturalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jebreel-nahaary/the-writer-sat-besides-the-weeping-gilgamesh-swam-out-of-all-the/) [Jebreel Nahaary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jebreel-nahaary/) > [“Whether or not the fame of Gilgamesh of Uruk had reached the Aegean – and the idea is attractive – there can be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-sandars/whether-or-not-the-fame-of-gilgamesh-of-uruk-had-reached-the-aegean/) [N.K. Sandars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-sandars/) > [“Look for the copper tablet-box, Undo its bronze lock, Open the door to its secret, Lift out the lapis lazuli tablet and read it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-dalley/look-for-the-copper-tablet-box-undo-its-bronze-lock-open-the-door-to/) [Stephanie Dalley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-dalley/) > [“Gilgamesh, where are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/gilgamesh-where-are-you-hurrying-to-you-will-never-find-that-life-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Said Gilgamesh to him, to Uta-napishti the Distant: 'O Uta-napishti, what should I do and where should I go? A thief has taken hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/said-gilgamesh-to-him-to-uta-napishti-the-distant-o-uta-napishti-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Gilgamesh said to him, to Utnapishtim the remote, "What can I do, Utnapishtim? Where can I go? A thief has stolen my flesh. Death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/gilgamesh-said-to-him-to-utnapishtim-the-remote-what-can-i-do/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) [Browse all 13 Gilgamesh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gilgamesh/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In Gilgamesh the human formed from clay is a wild man, with flowing hair (possibly all over his body) and the strength and manner of life of the animals. 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