Comparing Gilgamesh And Enkidu's Friendship

He sets to battle Gilgamesh even though he know Gilgamesh is undefeatable fighter. The story states “... for the fellow whose features were fair, for Gilgamesh, like a god, was set up a rival”. The citizens of Uruk was happy to see a man big as Gilgamesh and seen it as a fair fight. They begin as enemies , fighting each other on the street of Uruk. Gilgamesh wins but the two laugh at each other. Gilgamesh is shocked he finds another man nearly strong as him and to challenge him into a battle. He feels immediately respect for Enkidu for his effort.

In the story The Adventures of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu started as enemies. Enkidu was sent out to defeat Gilgamesh for his rampaging. When Enkidu was about to finish Gilgamesh in a battle he realized something. According to the story, “Gilgamesh,” said he, “you have proved full well that you are the child of a goddess and that heaven itself has set you on your throne. I shall no longer oppose you. Let us be friends.” This example shows the beginning of their friendship. Gilgamesh grew to be very compassionate about his friend. This is another characteristic of a Babylonian hero. He showed compassion when Enkidu was growing weaker and weaker. “For nine days Enkidu languished upon his bed, growing weaker and weaker, while Gilgamesh watched beside him, torn with grief’ (Gaster 119). This also shows he had a great deal of empathy. This is another emotion a Babylonian hero should feel. Also as a good companion to Enkidu he also felt sympathy for him. He felt sorry for the bad fate the gods have punished him with. “Now,” said Gilgamesh, “I have seen the face of death and am sore afraid One day I too shall be like Enkidu” (Gaster 119). This shows he was very saddened about what

Gilgamesh's friend Enkidu runs wild until he sleeps with a harlot, after which the wild beasts which were once his friends reject him, suggesting that femininity is also a source of male disempowerment. Although Aruru is the source of both the life of Gilgamesh and his beloved companion Enkidu, the two friends create a society between themselves that is essentially masculine. This masculine relationship is the most positive force in the epic. Gilgamesh is known for his sexual prowess amongst women, but his feelings for Enkidu run much deeper and are more profound. He is said to be drawn to Enkidu "as though to a woman" but no relationship Gilgamesh has with women parallels the one he has with Enkidu (2).

It discusses Gilgamesh, a king, and Enkidu, created by the gods to stop Gilgamesh from oppressing people. Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends and journey to defeat Humbaba, a monster. It shows a strong connection between the Gods and their effect on how people live and should behave, causing the formation of traditions designed to please the Gods.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu helps act as a catalyst for the transformation of Gilgamesh’s character from an undefeatable god-like brute into a complex thinker. In the eyes of Gilgamesh, he is unstoppable and is willing to challenge death itself so long as he is remembered as a hero by his subjects. With Enkidu’s help, Gilgamesh learns to become a better person as a ruler, not as a better warrior. Although not blood related, Enkidu was like a brother to Gilgamesh and the duo shared an inseparable bond. Throughout the epic, Enkidu teaches Gilgamesh that he is not unstoppable, being stubborn will not stop him from dying, and that there are no easy solutions to life.

Many stories address the importance of companionship in one’s life and how a closeness with another person can lead to a mutual improvement on both sides of the relationship. The ancient Sumerian epic Gilgamesh explores the relationship between two soul mates, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, whose story was immortalized because of their dependence and trust in each other. Gilgamesh would not have been able to reach his full potential as a king, warrior, or person if it was not for the influence of Enkidu.

     Another aspect of the story that has some comparison to my own life is Enkidu as a friend to Gilgamesh. I, as all kids do, had a best friend in elementary school, and in the third grade he moved away. I have never seen him since nor will I probably ever see him again. My friend did not die like Enkidu, but he did go away. As a nine year old this was something I had never dealt with before. Looking back upon the situation I learned a great deal from my friend leaving. I learned how to say goodbye to someone forever and that I might not always see the people around me again. Gilgamesh had different influences from his friend’s death, but he did come to a realization like me. Enkidu was Gilgamesh’s best friend and his best guide to the real world. “‘My friend, the great goddess cursed me and I must die in shame. I shall not die

In the epic of Gilgamesh the transformation of Enkidu is a crucial turning point of the story. The mixture of Enkidu spending nights with a prostitute and his desire to challenge Gilgamesh caused Enkidu to become a human man. Before humanity Enkidu was a wild man of the steppes who did not know fear or wisdom and had a certain state of innocence not much seen in human kind. It wasn’t until after spending the nights with a prostitute and observing Gilgamesh that Enkidu realized the aspirations of the human species. One

The people saw him as a problem, so his mother sought out a companion for him. In the eye’s of the people, Enkidu, was seen as a hero and someone that could possibly stop Gilgamesh from committing his careless acts. I noticed that the two, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, were opposites, but contained similar physical traits. The creation of Enkidu creates a platonic love. The text constantly repeats that Gilgamesh wants a friend, “his own counselor.” Enkidu’s creation fills the void Gilgamesh has and friendship is introduced. I find the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu to be very interesting. The two did not welcome each other with open arms, but with a show down in front of the church doors. After receiving a blessing from Ninsun, the two became a “team.” After Ninsun’s blessings were given, a sense of agape love was created. The deities instructed Enkidu to guide and protect Gilgamesh. Due to Enkidu’s knowledge of the forest of cedars, it only seems right that he leads the way keeping the two of them out of danger. Enkidu has to risk his life by leading the way displays a self-sacrificing and spiritual love for Gilgamesh and with the deities. Eros is also introduced when Shamhat encounters Enkidu. The luring of Enkidu required him to lay with her, causing a sexual love to evolve. The use of the harlot caused the man to present himself, rather than the beast we were

In the epic of gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is a man and a God. He built high walls and had orchid fields around his city. He also wasn’t respectful. He touched women whenever he wanted to, He never gave his servants any type of love. Enkidu is a man who was created to tame gilgamesh. He was created by the Gods. The Gods wanted to tame him so they sent an equal power which was enkidu. A wild man who becomes Gilgamesh 's best friend. After being visited by Shamhat, the prostitute, Enkidu is civilized and leaves the animal world behind to journey with Shamhat to Uruk. Enkidu accompanies Gilgamesh to defeat Humbaba before he passes away. Gilgamesh journeys to the Underworld to try to bring

Ninsun was right, and the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu was one of great loyalty and trust. The formation of the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu was very abrupt. Upon meeting, they fought fiercely, stopped, and embraced. This pithiness gives an air of ingenuity to the relationship, but that is later shattered by their loyalty to one another in following scenes.

Enkidu and Gilgamesh helped each other grow and conquer their insecurities and weaknesses which shows how affectionate and caring they were towards each other since the moment they became

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, friendship is a strong theme that drives the story. The bond that Gilgamesh and Enkidu develop throughout the myth is a bond similar to that of brothers. Gilgamesh was fearless, but arrogant and Enkidu was created by the gods specifically to keep the legacy crazed Gilgamesh in check and to teach him humility; Enkidu becomes his conscience of sorts. Gilgamesh was oppressing the people of Uruk and Enkidu and needed to put a stop to it by confronting and fighting him. From what initially started as a violent encounter, their relationship bloomed into something that neither of them could have expected. Their connection really takes off after their encounter with the giant Hambaba and seals the deal on their friendship. They become basically inseparable and after Enkidu passed it completely rocked Gilgamesh because he had lost a huge part of his life. Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s eventual bond is the perfect example of checks and balances within life making this oldest hero’s tale still very relevant today.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a historic story of the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. The story depicts the short lived friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The story begins as Shamat the harlot seduces Enkidu and convinces him to go to the city of Uruk and meet Gilgamesh. From that moment on, the two were very close. They planned a trip to the forest of cedars to defeat the monster known as Humbaba so that Gilgamesh could show his power to the citizens of Uruk. However, Enkidu tried “vainly to dissuade” (18) Gilgamesh in going to the forest. Despite Enkidu’s plead, the two continued on their voyage to the forest where Humbaba lives. Once they arrived, they found the monster and killed him.

However, Gilgamesh befriends Enkidu and the two of them form a bond surpassing that which Gilgamesh has felt for women. Through his physical overcoming of Enkidu and his civilization of the other man, Gilgamesh begins to show more of an inner life than he did