Enkidu's Death In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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.

The afterlife as a residence for souls after death has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This idea intrigues many. As Christians we believe that heaven is a place where believers go where life there will be a continuation of their present life, while hell is a place of judgment and punishment where many experience severe treatment. Direct experience is the only way individuals can experience these concepts, but once we obtain the experience it cannot be shared. This ultimately makes us want to know more leading many to visualize the afterlife. Starting with the earliest Greek Epics, such as The Iliad, society has imagined an Underworld, a place beneath the Earth where souls go once the body dies. Our thoughts and expectations about such an idea have changed over time; the idea of the Underworld continues in many Greek and Latin poems and it still used today (Spiegel).

The tale, The Epic of Gilgamesh dates to the time of ancient Mesopotamia in the most important city, Uruk. The people were governed by a powerful and impulsive king, Gilgamesh, who’s dictatorial traits set him up for great failure in the end. He led his people with an iron fist and took what he wanted from them. The people of Uruk plead to the gods to end the torment and wish to live in peace. The god solution was to create an equal being to balance the storm of Gilgamesh’s heart. Thus, Enkidu is created. Known as a wild man with strength equivalent to Gilgamesh yet blessed with tender charisma. His general purpose is to influence Gilgamesh to stop terrorizing his city. As these opposite characters cross paths, they bump heads and fist. Their

Enkidu is a vital part of Gilgamesh’s life. At the beginning of the story, Enkidu embodies the opposite of Gilgamesh, his other half. After Enkidu’s death Gilgamesh cannot go back to live as it was, he is lost and for the first time in his life, afraid. The fate of all humankind, death, becomes the last obstacle for Gilgamesh to conquer. When he learned of Utnapishtim- the immortal human-Gilgamesh determined to be immortal as well and now has some proof that it is possible. However, if living forever were possible than The Epic would not have a point. As Utnapishtim and Siduri tell Gilgamesh death is inevitable. Thus life should be valued. To look for immortality is a waste of life and the gift of life should be appreciated because it has an end. Gilgamesh then wishes to give the flower of immortality to the city of Uruk and return it to its glory. This change of heart in Gilgamesh is nothing the reader would have expected at the beginning of the poem, as the poem begins with descriptions of Gilgamesh's selfish characteristics. This setup allows us to now view the distinct change in Gilgamesh and that Gilgamesh see’s what immortality is. By restoring the city, he is making not only his but Enkidu’s memory immortal.

As long as humans have lived and died, we have strived to know the meaning of life. We assume that there is a meaning or importance to life, and in doing so try to provide some permanence to our existence so that a greater machine might continue to function. It is only natural, then, for us to be interested in the concept of immortality. If there is purpose to an ending life, a life that does not end must be supremely important. This idea is exemplified throughout time in stories both historical and fictional. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one such story. Gilgamesh deals with immortality on nearly every level, and at the same time points back to mortality, trying to extract a reason for living and dying.

The underworld in Greek mythology was not a lively place, for it was where all the dead souls went. When a person died, the soul would be sent to Hades, a more formal name for the underworld. "The dead would go to Hades because there was no annihilation in the Greek mythology. The dead are dead because they have a flavorless and unhappy existence".

In The Epic of Gilgamesh a young man meets and befriends a wild man named Enkidu. Enkidu, once a man who lived among animals, became civilized after having sex with a female. From this point on Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s relationship start, but shortly into the novel Enkidu becomes sick and dies. This is the start to Gilgamesh journey in attempting to avoid death by seeking immortality. In his quest Gilgamesh meets several people all who assign different routes to the next person he should speak to. Eventually he comes up and meets Urshanabi; the ferryman who then takes him to Utnapishtim. Urshanabi explains to Gilgamesh how the Gods met up and decided to destroy mankind through a flood. Also how Utnapishtim was informed of this and he built a huge wooden boat where he would take the seed of many different species of animals. Utnapishtim does not believe he is worthy of the gift so challenges him to a task where Gilgamesh must stay awake for days, he fails the challenge. Instead Utnapishtim advises Gilgamesh to retrieve a plant on the bottom of the ocean that will restore youth to anyone who eats it. When Gilgamesh goes back home he showers and in the midst of it a snake eats the flowers he returns to the city empty handed but full of wisdom. His journey has taught him that although he cannot live forever the human species will remain to live as an immortal species as long as they reproduce.

In conclusion, Enkidu character highlights the lack of morality and courage shown in Gilgamesh’s character by having an opposite personality. The relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s personalities and how they got along very well despite having great differences in their personalities is what makes the oldest known literary work the

Later, Enkidu is punished for killing the Bull of Heaven and Humababa, Enkidu suffers from illness and ends up dying. Enkidu’s death affected Gilgamesh a lot; Enkidu’s death marks a change in Gilgamesh life. Gilgamesh change from a harsh and a strong person into someone who has feelings and a loving heart. Gilgamesh keeps thinking that if Enkidu can die then he can die too and all that Gilgamesh

Enkidu's death left Gilgamesh frightened and confused. The despair in his heart was so great that he could not rest; would he ever be at peace? He became terrified of his own death. Puzzled and searching for answers, Gilgamesh set out on a quest for Utnapishtim. It is on this great journey that Gilgamesh learns of a

The afterlife in ancient Greece was Known as Hades. It was a grey world ruled by Hades, the Lord of the Dead. If they had a virtuous life they could enjoy the sunny pleasures of the Elysium or paradise, if they had a wicked life, then they fell into the dark pits of Tartarus, while if they

Together, the two undertake dangerous quests which displeasured the gods. They went out to fight obstacles to save the world. In their journey to the Cedar Mountain, they killed the Bull of heaven that the goddess Ishtar had created to punish Gilgamesh for snubbing her advances. Enkidu later on dies, and this affects Gilgamesh so much. Enkidu died of punishment for challenging one of the gods. Gilgamesh feared death especially after his close companion’s death, and this led him to embark on a quest for immortality. He was very bitter that only gods can live forever without dying, and he was terrified of death and wanted eternal life. In the end, Gilgamesh in his epic learns that, death is inevitable, and an inescapable fact in human life. The story has a number of themes like the inevitability of death, and immortality is unachievable.

Through the wrath of the gods Gilgamesh and Enkidu felt true human suffering; Enkidu was not dying in battle, where he could make his reputation great, but rather he was dying in bed, of some mysterious illness. Enkidu grieved even more because he was leaving his friend Gilgamesh, who would continue to build up his own reputation. Enkidu, like Gilgamesh sought glory and honour and soon realized that he would not die a honourable death but he would die a death not of a warrior in battle but instead his death was something that he could not physically fight and overpower, "[My god] has taken against me, my friend"¦ [I do not die] like ones who falls in the midst of battle.

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s pursuit for immortality is marked by ignorance and selfish desire. Desire and ignorance, as The Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha suggests, pollutes man’s judgment resulting in his inability to break the cycle of birth and death. At the core of Gilgamesh’s desire resides his inability to accept the inevitability of death, making his rationality behind the pursuit of immortality ignorant and selfish. Implicitly, Gilgamesh’s corrupt desire for immortality conveys that Gilgamesh does not mature as a character.

end, Enkidu 's death also forces Gilgamesh to continue living the life he still has left. He was so