Epic Of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient artifact from Sumerian literature. There actually was a King in Sumer by the name of Gilgamesh, who lived at about 2700 BC. The Epic casts Gilgamesh as a ruler and great hero and cast as being part man and part god. The story has Gilgamesh set off with a companion in search of cedar wood to bring back to their woodless land. His companion is killed during a violent storm. The Sumerian Epic blames the death upon the storm god, Enlil. Gilgamesh then searches for the plant that restores youth, a recurring theme throughout centuries of literature. The Epic concludes with Gilgamesh dying.

The renowned work, The Epic of Gilgamesh is the one the earliest pieces of literature recorded. Originating from ancient Mesopotamia, The Epic of Gilgamesh has captivated audiences due to its riveting tale of King Gilgamesh. During his journey for immortality and glory, Gilgamesh encounters Enkidu, the half-man half-beast. The gods create Enkindu as an imitation of Gilgamesh, with the purpose of countering Gilgamesh. Both dynamic characters Enkindu and Gilgamesh share similar characteristics; however, they also have their differences.

Epic of Gilgamesh is a piece of the ancient Sumerian poem with a somewhat close resemblance to the biblical text. It is a demigod, Gilgamesh who seeks to find out the meaning of life, death, the presence of an afterlife and ultimately whether eternal life exists. The poem has various characters all who come in at different parts of the verse. The text speaks of interaction between human beings and gods, their might and the adventures carried out by Gilgamesh and his best friend, Enkidu. The poem is quick to show the importance of religion in human life. As such, this is demonstrated by the division of the gods, ruling over various aspects of nature and the human world. That is, Ereshkigal portrayed as the

The Epic of Gilgamesh details the adventures of Gilgamesh, a king, and his friend Enkidu. Throughout the first five tablets, these two friends are introduced to each other, allowing the storyteller to detail the influence two unlike worlds and people can have on each other.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the paths of two extremely different men converge and propel them on a journey to become of the most legendary duos in literary history. Fate, it would have it, destined them to collide and satiate their desire for companionship. Enkidu and Gilgamesh are a complementary match. Many factors contribute to the significance of this relationship and what each stood to gain from the other.

Enkidu a man sent by the gods to fight Gilgamesh. Was part of the animals and lived with them, in the meadows. Contrarily, Gilgamesh wanted to have all women as part of his bride chamber. And that's where Enkidu catches him. But after they meet, Gilgamesh suddenly changes his way. After Enkidu dies by a supposed illness induced by gods. Gilgamesh’s heart is shattered.

“Who says Gilgamesh ever died?” (Ziolkowski 57). The Epic of Gilgamesh has remained a widely read story throughout the years. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story of an imperfect hero on a journey for everlasting life. It features Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild beast man, on a journey of heroic quests and misadventures. This story has inspired many new literary and visual works in many languages; it has also inspired modern archeologists to learn all about the ancient city from the epic.

The Epic of Gilgamesh gives a lot of insight to what was happening and what was expected in ancient Mesopotamia. The epic poem which revolves around a king, includes many details about the civilization, beliefs, and values of the Mesopotamians. The king thrives to be remembered and many of his actions reflect that. The Epic of Gilgamesh, which involves culture, religion, and heroism is one way to learn about ancient Mesopotamia and the king’s involvement in the city states.

A prelude introduces us to a hero, Gilgamesh, an ancient king of Sumer who lived about 2700 B.C.E. He was the wisest, strongest, and most handsome of them all. People praised him and basically looked unto him like a god, made him feel like one as he started to oppress the people of Uruk. He raped the noble’s wives, took whatever he pleased and also made every young man a soldier, even if they were not interested. Gilgamesh was literally a tyrant ruler. The people then cried and were heard by the gods; they then instructed the god of creation, Anu, to create a match for Gilgamesh. Enkidu was then made; he was uncivilized and he lived and dined in the forest with wild

Following his adventure, Gilgamesh goes on a road of trials. Gilgamesh and Enkidu sacrifice themselves to fight the vicious Humbaba. They prepare to invade the forbidden Cedar Forest and fight the demon Humbaba that is “armed… with sevenfold terrors, terrible to all flesh is Humbaba. When he roars it is like the torrent of the storm, his breath like fire, and his jaws are death itself. He guards the Cedars” (Sandars 8). Gilgamesh and Enkidu are ready to defeat Humbaba and take the fame and glory. Gilgamesh refuses the quest when he fights Humbaba and puts down the offer to be his servant. Through trial and error, Gilgamesh eventually accepted the idea of killing Humbaba. The relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is so strong that they killed Humbaba together, “Gilgamesh took the axe in his hand, he drew the sword from his belt, and he struck Humbaba with a thrust of the sword to the neck and Enkidu his comrade struck the second blow. At the third blow Humbaba fell ” (Sandars 17). Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s killed Humbaba together. They have an unbreakable friendship. The two of them just watch as they “ set Humbaba before the gods, before Enlil… who is Humbaba's master and the god of

She retaliates by unleashing the Bull of Heaven onto Uruk, and the two heroes manage to slay it. However, the gods are very displeased by the show and they decide Enkidu must die in return. His friend's death only serves to awaken Gilgamesh's own fear of dying, and he decides that there must be something he can do to prevent it. Thus, he sets off to go to the ends of the Earth and find the secret of eternal life. These are yet more signs of a classic epic hero, with Gilgamesh proving his heroic worth by facing great adversity multiple times, his frequent dealings with the supernatural, showing his humility after the death of his best friend, and by his willingness to travel the world.

Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, he is also 2/3 god and 1/3 human making him a demi god. Gilgamesh has an absurd amount of power over regular humans, and so he abuses this power, making his people very unhappy with his way of ruling. The people of his kingdom get fed up and pray to the gods that they might make a man who could be Gilgamesh’s equal. The gods then create Enkidu a wild man who lives in the forest with all the beasts. Enkidu is a savage when he was first created thus giving the trappers in that area major problems. Gilgamesh decides to send a prostitute with a trapper to go tame Enkidu. After being tamed and hearing about Gilgamesh and his wedding day customs, Enkidu decides to go confront him. Once there he stopped Gilgamesh from proceeding with his regular activities. Gilgamesh was enraged by this and a clash erupted between the two. Even though he had good intentions Enkidu lost, but admired Gilgamesh’s power and strength, and so the two of them became best friends. Gilgamesh wants to steal power from the gods and so he plans to go to the cedar forest to kill Humbaba, and take power from the tree. Through out the course of the fight Humbaba tries to convince Enkidu and Gilgamesh to not kill him…to no avail. Gilgamesh kills him, and decapitates him. Both the hero’s return to Uruk to celebrate. Ishtar makes advances on Gilgamesh to make her his wife, but he refuses. When he does refuse she brings down the bull of heaven, but with Enkidu’s help he slays the bull.

Gilgamesh realizes through Enkidu that he has not made a lasting name for himself and they set out together to do this. First, they slay Humbaba, Keeper of the Cedars, based on Enkidu's urging. Then Gilgamesh refuses Ishtar and because of her rage she sends down the Bull of Heaven which they also slay. The gods become enraged and decides one of the two must die. Enkidu is the one decided upon and becomes extremely ill. Gilgamesh never leaves his side throughout his illness. Despite him knowing Enkidu will die he cannot leave his friend alone and stays with him till the

This story is centered in the relationship between the great king of Uruk, Gilgamesh and his close companion, Enkidu, a wild man created by the gods as an equivalent and rival of Gilgamesh. After their first fight, the two heroes become friends and go through missions and challenges together, which ultimately displease the gods. In the first one, they go to the Cedar Mountains, where they defeat the monstrous guardian Humbaba. Then, they kill the Bull of Heaven, sent by the goddess Ishtar to punish Gilgamesh for refusing to marry her.

The Epic of Gilgamesh begins with a very vivid description of Gilgamesh and his strength. It tells of how Anu, the sky god, tells Aruru, the mother goddess, to create something that was equal to Gilgamesh in power. Aruru makes this man out of clay and calls him Enkidu. Enkidu was a mixture between a man and some type of animal; therefore, he was able to live in the forest alongside of animals. A trapper who hunted in that same forest became angry that Enkidu was setting traps free. After going to his father, the trapper travels to Gilgamesh for help. Gilgamesh gives the trapper a harlot named Shamhat to take back with him who will seduce Enkidu and turn him into a man. When Shamhat reaches Enkidu, she beguiles him and he turns human. Now, Enkidu is not able to roam with animals, instead he scares them. Shamhat reveals to Enkidu that Gilgamesh has had dreams about him coming. Enkidu and Shamhat make a journey to Uruk so Enkidu can battle Gilgamesh.