1

Topic #3
10:30AM
September 15, 2023

Societal roles have been set in place so that everyone has a set task to follow that will

ultimately help benefit the society as whole. However, the greater the impact one has on society,

the more problematic they can be. Hatshepsut in The Expedition to Punt and Gilgamesh in The

Epic of Gilgamesh hold high societal roles as leaders of their society and prove that holding such

a high status results in tyrannical actions. First, both Gilgamesh and Hatshepsut are very prideful

in their abilities as leaders of their country which serves as motivation to threaten their people to

accept the standards that they established. Second, the people of Egypt weren’t approving of

Hatshepsut taking the throne after the passing of her half-brother simply because she was a

woman. To assert her position, she led an expedition to Punt and unethically demanded that

luxurious goods be given to the people of Egypt. Finally, Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, was

highly powerful and used his power to his advantage by starting disputes that feed his ego. In this

paper, I will argue how both Hatshepsut and Gilgamesh prove that holding a higher societal role

ultimately leads to tyranny.

On a number of occasions, pride was used among Hatshepsut and Gilgamesh for personal

gain rather than for the benefit of their societies. Hatshepsut establishes her worthiness of being

Pharaoh by describing a conversation she had with the gods in which they tell her that she was

meant to take the throne after her half-brother’s passing and that she is highly deserving of

respect. According to Hatshepsut, the gods say that “He entrusted to her the heritage of the Two

Lands, the kingship of Upper and Lower Egypt.” (Hatshepsut 2006, 1). If the gods are telling her

that she was meant to be the next ruler of Egypt, then no one can really object to that claim

without facing consequences of apostacy. To further establish her position of power, she declares
 2

how the gods describe her by saying, “She has no enemies among the southerners, she has no

antagonists among the northerners. Heaven and all foreign lands created by the god are

completely subservient to her.” (Hatshepsut 2006, 2). Again, because these are claims that the

gods are making about Hatshepsut, the people of Egypt are inclined to treat her the way the gods

intended her to be treated to avoid conflict with government despite their own opinions. Rather

than using her pride for the people’s best interest, it was used as a scare tactic to force the people

to accept Hatshepsut as the new Pharaoh. As for Gilgamesh, he used his physical strength to

satisfy his personal cravings. On many occasions, he would cause trouble amongst the Uruk

people in which “The young men of Uruk he harries without warrant, Gilgamesh lets no son go

free to his father.” (George 2002, 3). Gilgamesh is aware of his strength and uses it simply

because he can, and the more men he is able to defeat, the further it will feed his ego. Not only

does he hunt after the men of Uruk, but also the women in which he steals men’s wives and

mother’s daughters to engage in nonconsensual sexual activities (George 2002, 3-4). Rather than

using his strength and powers to protect his people, Gilgamesh uses it to his advantage by

fulfilling his own wants and needs. This is indicated by the fact that the people are constantly

tyrannized by his actions and do not feel safe under his rule. Thus, pride as a result of one’s high

societal role is used to threaten people into accepting their orders rather than benefiting the

society as a whole.

One may argue that pride, though used to satisfy one’s own desires, can be used to satisfy

the needs of others. Hatshepsut uses her power to not only assert her position as Pharaoh, but to

bring back goods from Punt for the people of Egypt. We can see the Egyptian people’s gratitude

and acceptance of Hatshepsut’s efforts as she writes, “They brought things the like of which had

not been brought to other kings of Lower Egypt…because of the greatness of the might of this
 3

noble god Amun-Re, lord of the Thrones of the Two Lands.” (Hatshepsut 2006, 9). However, we

must also consider how Hatshepsut was able to achieve these goods for her people. During the

expedition, the King and Queen of Punt weren’t expecting the Egyptians arrival as they reacted

with shock, saying, “Why have you come here to this foreign land, unknown to Egyptians?”

(Hatshepsut 2006, 7). Rather than notifying them that they were visiting Punt, Hatshepsut’s men

made an unannounced appearance, expecting that her role as Pharaoh was an invitation in itself

to allow her to show up at any Kingdom whenever she wanted. We can also infer that the King

and Queen of Punt feared the Egyptians arrival as images depict their hands in a surrender

position. (Hatshepsut 2006, 14). Again, Hatshepsut assumes that her power grants her easy

access to these luxurious goods from Punt without considering a more respectful approach to

possessing such items. Her demanding attitude ultimately proves that when one holds a higher

societal role, it results in the false idea that things should come easy for them.

Considering that he was the strongest amongst the people of Uruk, Gilgamesh utilizes his

abilities to start conflicts with others despite people’s objections to these disputes. At one point of

the story, Gilgamesh seeks to defeat Humbaba despite Enkidu’s pleads to avoid the treacherous

journey and to avoid the terrors of Humbaba himself. (George 2002, 18-19). Gilgamesh

ultimately ignores the warnings put out by Enkidu and the elders of Uruk and sets out on the

journey to kill Humbaba in which he successfully accomplished. Even when punished for his

actions by witnessing the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh still sought for more that he continued to

believe he could attain. He went on a long journey to visit Uta-Napishiti in hopes to achieve

immortality and was disappointed when he tells him, “[Enkidu indeed] they took his doom. [But

you], you toiled away, and what did you achieve? You exhaust yourself with ceaseless toil, you

fill your sinews with sorrow.” (George 2006, 86). Gilgamesh expects that his strength and power
 4

will continue to support him beyond death and he becomes frantic when he finds out that he, like

every human, cannot cheat death and must eventually die. Thus, the more each victory one

achieves, the more that success feeds their ego which ultimately leads them into partaking in

further arrogant activities.

When one holds a higher role in society, they are more likely to participate in tyrannical

activities rather than using their platform to benefit society. We see that both Gilgamesh and

Hatshsepsut gained a sense of pride that eventually led them to use their power for their own

good. Hatshepsut, although providing her people with goods, used her power to unethically

achieve those goods from Punt without considering a more respectful approach to the situation.

Gilgamesh’s pride led him to partake in multiple disputes that will further feed his ego,

regardless of his peers’ oppositions. A common thread among those who have a higher position

in society is to see what more they can achieve by using their authority. We see this with

communist countries where those world leaders use their platform to have people follow their

strict set of rules that don’t necessarily benefit the peoples’ well-being, only their own.

Furthermore, those who’ve accomplished many goals because of their higher role in society set

greater expectations for themselves and develop a mindset in which they believe should be able

to accomplish more. When holding a high societal role, goals that were once set to satisfy the

society turn into goals that will strictly satisfy the beholder. As I mentioned previously, societal

roles are used to benefit the society as whole, and that especially applies to those who hold

authority in higher positions. If they let their selfishness get in the way of the needs of the

people, then it could lead to a downfall in the community. Overall, it is important to remember

that with more power comes greater responsibility and one must overlook their own desires to

satisfy what’s best for their society.