DREAM-OMENS AND PROPHECIES

The famous dream researcher Robert Van de castle believes that dream-omens hold much lesser significance culturally in modern world as they used to in the ancient world (Van de Castle, 1994). Dreams are no more a matter of study or discussion in the psychological classes and even in the practical middle-class American’s life they are being neglected or dismissed as merely meaningless and silly. This is the reason why the modern readers who will read “The Epic of Gilgamesh” will just have a very hazy or popularized notion of interpreting dreams, leaving aside the literary representations of the dreams which used to happen four hundred years ago.In “The Epic of Gilgamesh” there are three dream sequences. IN the first dream sequence , The king Gilgamesh sees a falling star in his dream which is being embraced by him and this is very rightly interpreted by the Goddess  Ninsun as the advent of  Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s should companion and best friend (Sandars, 1960). Similarly in the third set of dreams which is being dreamt by Enkidu, he dreams that the council of gods has taken a decision regarding his death and he sees very clear visions of the Sumerian Underworld. Both these dream sequences are very forthright, as Gilgamesh’s friend Enkidu arrives in the world develops deep bond of friendship and finally departs this world by dying which clearly indicates that dreams were the real causes behind his death or foreshadowing in the story.

However , if we check the second dream sequence which occurs with Gilgamesh in the forest where Gilgamesh suddenly wakes up  due to nightmares which visualise falling mountains,  lightning an flames, gigantic bulls, radiant strangers and eagle-headed lions , which appear in the translation of the original text (Mitchell, 2004) (Dalley, 1991). But in this case Enkidu interprets all these dreams in wrong manner as favourable signs, yet the dream representations are seen to be just tangentially related to the original story which follows later on. Since these dream sequences in the Cedar Forest are completely missing in the original poem of “Gilgamesh and the Land of the Living” (Kramer, 1963), it might be possible that N.K. Sanders added them just to heighten the literary tension because the original audience would be quite familiar with the whole sequence of the story so as to find out the irony in Enkidu’s positive misinterpretations before this death (Dalley, 1991). But as compared to the foretelling of the dream sequences  it seems that there is something very deep going on in the story , whether it is related to Gilgamesh’s psychology or Mesopotamian  cultural imagination, because it depends upon the way we choose to interpret the dreams (Johnson, 2012).In the same manner talking about the Mesopotamian culture of dream-omens in The Odyssey of Homer” translated by Richmond Lattimore  (Lattimore, 1968)it is found that Penelope related her dream  to Odysseus, and in the dream she saw  twenty geese  who were eating in her house  while suddenly an eagle swooped down  and slaughtered all the geese (Friedrich, 1997). While she was weeping for the dead geese, suddenly the eagle returned and claimed that he was Odysseus, who had just returned to slay down the suitors who were represented by the geese in the dream and finally in the story too the same thing happened when Odysseus returns back with the help of Telemachus to slain all the suitors and saves her. Although in the story Penelope is unable to interpret the prophetic dream rightly and considers it to be completely false. This dream has its own interpreter which is very rare form of representing dreams in literature; however there read parallels which are found in the Old Testament and in few other literary works (Amos 8, Daniel 7, and Zechariah 6.1-8). The whole dream sequence reaffirms the equation and the plot developed by the writer by now, along with the sharp-sightedness and distant visions of the eagle converts, the eagle metaphorically into a natural dream interpreter and portrays Odysseus as eagle-eyed. Another interpretation can also be done from this dream omen where the 20 geese represent the 20 years of struggle Odysseus has spent absent from Athens along with fidelity shown by Penelope in the epic and now is the time when she should either stop waiting for Odysseus or he will finally return (Pratt, 1994)( Pratt 1994). Through the ambiguous sidings  and dream-omens  (Pope, 1994)associated  which lead the readers into realms which cannot be done by human beings in real world Richmond Lattimore has tried to do word-weaving which are akin to participation in deviously (  wafting dead spirits or  omens or augury) (Friedrich, Review of Chaos Making a New Science, 1988).While studying the prophecies and dream-omens in The Apollonius of Rhodes: Jason and the Golden Fleece translated by Richard Hunter, Medea, in a dream at night envision that she is performing the task being assigned to Jason for him. But she wakes up due to fear because of realising the wrath of Aetyes upon her. Moreover she realises the dangers of helping Jason without any good cause. While she is contemplating suicide to save her nephew and to help Jason too she finds a drug which would help Jason in his trail for strength (Newman). Then she hands over the drug to Jason to help him and to save his nephews life. But her dream is not interpreted rightly as Aetes falls prey to Argo and in the end of the epic Medea along with her maids grieves over her fate as she relied upon Jason in a forlorn group. However Jason’s isolation can be seen ending by the visits of three nymphs who are the guardians of Libya, and they give mysterious instructions regarding survival (McGoodwin, 2002). On Jason’s behalf the instructions are being interpreted by Peleus, that Argo should be carried across the desert (Hunter, 1988). This interpretation done by Peleus is finally accomplished in the end when Argonauts reach the island of Sporades. There Euphemos recalls the dream of getting a divine clod which was being given to him by Triton which he uses to cast in the sea to form an island called Kalliste- Thera. Thus in this case the dreams have been achieved as they have been realised with all the support from gods (Miller, 1999) .

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