What if women ruled the world? The question doesn't seem as strange today as it might have in 2500 BCE, when people told stories about the great king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Although the story of "Gilgamesh" revolves around themes of masculinity and brotherhood - with its male prerogative, its composers develop several strong female characters who suggest that women have great influence in a male-dominated Mesopotamian society . The first female character who influences a man is the prostitute. She is left at the spring by the hunter so that she can sleep with Enkidu and make the other animals abandon her. According to the tale, Enkidu behaves like an animal. Nevertheless, he is attracted to the prostitute. She is wise and knows the nature of man. She tells Enkidu that he is no longer an animal, he is like a god, like Gilgemesh. She uses her influence to get him to go to Uruk. We could say that the prostitute plays a maternal role. She dresses him in her dress and takes him to a house where he is taught to live like a human being. After teaching him everything he needs to know, she sends him to Uruk to confront Gilgamesh. She does not lead him, she follows him, signifying her desire to be a man. The prostitute is an independent person. Aside from being led to the spring where Enkidu lies, she does not need to be told what to do or how to influence him. She has her own agenda and accomplishes her mission successfully. Ninsun is the next woman to use her influence on men in history. She is the mother of Gilgamesh and a minor goddess. She is the only person with whom Gilgamesh shares his thoughts. Ninsun interprets her son's dreams. He gives her all, if not most, of his trust. She is the calming influence when he is middle of paper......Press, 1986. 143-187. PDF file.---. “The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 121.4 (2001): 614-622. JSTOR. Internet. February 28, 2014. Harris, Rivkah. “Images of Women in the Epic of Gilgamesh.” Gilgamesh: a reader. Ed. John R. Maier. Wauconda: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc., 1997. 79-94. Google Play Reader. Karahashi, Fumi and Carolina Lopez-Ruiz. “Rejected Love: Some Notes on the Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Greek Myth of Hippolytus.” » Journal of Cuneiform Studies 58 (2006): 97-107. JSTOR. Internet. February 28, 2014. Mason, Herbert. Gilgamesh: a story in verse. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003. Print. Young-Mason, Jeanine. “Understanding suffering and compassion. » Cross Currents: Journal of the Association of Religion and Intellectual Life 51.3 (2001): 347-358. EBSCO. Internet. February 28 2014.