Gilgamesh As An Epic Hero Essay

A mother is a protector and a provider for her children. A doctor is a caregiver and dedicator for their patients. A hero is someone who saves a life and is admired for their bravery, but an epic hero is someone more supernatural and more brave than the regular day to day hero. In the story The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest books ever written, character Gilgamesh the king of Uruk showed his heroism by trying to find the eternal life and being a leader to his country. Throughout the story, Gilgamesh realizes even the most glorious heroes go through trials and tribulations.He shows his heroism through his noble birth, his great strength and courage, and his motivation to be a great warrior.

If you have ever found yourself captivated by a novel, or whisked away following a journey, you have most likely read an epic. An epic by definition is “a long poem, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the history of a nation”. Every epic has a main character that undergoes the same archetypal journey as all other heroes, an epic hero. There are specific qualities one must have to be considered an epic hero. Each epic hero possesses superhuman strength, displays a strong sense of leadership, and reflects their culture in a positive, admirable manner.

Further analysis of the poem The Epic of Gilgamesh, described the characteristic of king Gilgamesh from the beginning, middle, and end. Throughout the poem, there are immature and petrified moments of Gilgamesh, but more importantly he learned to grow as he explore his journey. Friendship, love, and fear appears to be essential in this poem. Why are those terms relevant ? and how does it connect with the trait of Gilgamesh ?, let’s continue to find out the truth about Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh is not a completely flawed character; he possesses, and obtains through his adventures, many positive qualities or virtues. For example, he is courageous. This virtue is evident during his battle with Humbaba. This forest giant is a fearsome adversary, aided by the gods, with a considerable size and strength advantage. Defeat of Humbaba takes the combined efforts of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. To succeed, Gilgamesh had to gain the courage to undergo this task. Enkidu rallies his friend by saying, “O Gilgamesh, remember now your boasts in Uruk. Forward, attacks, son of Uruk, there is nothing to fear.” (Sandars 20) With this, Gilgamesh’s “courage railed” (Sandars 20). He defeats and eventually kills Humbaba for which he is subsequently praised.

As the epic starts, Gilgamesh is portrayed as a self-centered, self-admiring leader who believes that he is the only individual that can lead the city of Uruk. Gilgamesh believes that he is a god-like figure and often refers to himself as one. He believes that he is above everyone else in the city of Uruk. For example, in the epic there is a scene where Gilgamesh enters the city of Uruk, the epic describes the scene as; “He entered the city of Uruk-the-Town-Square, and a crowd gathered around. He came to a halt in the street of Uruk-the Town-Square, all gathered about, the people discussed him” (15). This quote is a good example of how Gilgamesh expected those around him to respect and look up to him as a god-like figure. He did not lead the city of Uruk humbly; he wasn’t a leader who strived to feel like a normal citizen of the city. Instead, Gilgamesh felt that he was entitled to more privileges than the average person. Early on in the epic, Gilgamesh is described as a “tall, magnificent and terrible, who opened passes in the mountains, who dug wells on the slopes of the uplands, and crosses the ocean, the wide sea to the sunrise” (2). This demonstrates how selfish Gilgamesh truly was, and how all

A true epic hero has many very defining characteristics. Usually you will find this hero to be the ‘alpha male. ' With an almost super hero personality, epic heroes are extremely above an average human being. This character must be of noble birth, and as a result, this gives them great respect and many resources. There is a deep reverence for the gods and this helps the hero through tough times. An epic hero is bravery than the other characters. They are willing to take bigger risks and reap greater rewards. Despite these strong traits, there is usually an element of deep suffering that the character must deal with through out his story. No matter what, however, the epic hero will always win out in the end in a good vs. evil type of

The epic hero is a figure of great stature and may be a character from history or legend. Epic heroes’ most remarkable traits are usually the ones most valued by the society from which the epic came. The main character in this epic is Odysseus. Odysseus is on a quest to find his home after a war. Odysseus is an epic hero.

What is an epic hero? Although we would like to believe that a hero would always be there to save us as needed, that is not always the case. All heroes are different, but what makes them epic? Many would answer that question by saying because they are in an epic poem or story; however, that answer isn’t true. An epic hero, of course is in an epic narrative, but it is what they accomplish in that specific text. First, an epic hero has to make a grand journey and be in the Gods favor or shall we say the chosen one. Also, he has to be seen as superior than any other man. For clarification, the epic hero needs to be bigger, faster, stronger, and wiser than anyone else in the story, except for the Gods of course. Also, and epic hero is also

An epic hero is a hero who is brave and noble, and is admired for their great achievements. Equality 7-2521 shows to be an epic hero because he is capable of great deeds, stands for good, and proves himself to be a hero. Although Equality 7-2521 has his low points, he proves to be the ideal example of a hero. Throughout Anthem, Equality 7-2521 proves himself to be capable of great deeds.

An epic hero can also be a warrior of some sort who performs extraordinary tasks that most find difficult. This hero is strong, smart, and brave.

Odysseus displays as an epic hero in the Odyssey. But what is an epic hero? Some characteristics of an epic hero is someone who is brave, strong, and intelligent. A hero was a leader who had not only physical strength, but mental strength as well. Odysseus faces many obstacles and life-threatening situations, but he overcomes them all. Odysseus demonstrates a lot of heroic like qualities during the reading of the odyssey.

In The Odyssey by Homer, there are many different parts to being an Epic Hero. There are also many risks and dangers. If you are an Epic Hero, you are part of an epic story along with an Epic Plot, an Epic Setting, and Epic Themes. Considering these aspects of the story, being an Epic Hero is the most impressive because it demonstrates loyalty, wisdom, and bravery.

The modern Webster Merriam dictionary defines a hero “a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Epic heroes, as portrayed in literature, almost always embark on the most dangerous and overwhelming quests and journeys and risk their life through every step of their journey to take back both treasure and great wisdom for both himself and for his society. In the epic The Odyssey by Homer, a valiant yet intelligent king, Odysseus unwillingly leaves his home, Ithaca behind when he is called for battle. He returns back home after enduring many physical and intellectual trials while learning important lessons which eventually help him to transform into a better man. Odysseus

When thinking of a hero people usually think of someone who wears a cape, comes from another planet, and/or has a superpower. Though that is true epic heroes grow beyond superpowers and capes. While epic heroes have many of the same characteristics as a superhero they act much different. A great example of an epic hero would be Blake Lively. Blake Lively embodies the characteristics of an epic hero because she had a noble birth, humility, and has national heroism.

Gilgamesh was a powerful king of Uruk an ancient city in Sumer now known as Iraq. Created by the gods, Gilgamesh was 2/3 god and 1/3 man he thought of himself as undefeatable, and carried himself immorally, taking advantage of his people. Being tired of this the people of Uruk began sobbing, and the goddess Aruru heard their cries and created Gilgamesh 's equal Enkidu. Together they would go on to venture into battles, one of which leads to the death of Enkidu that brings Gilgamesh to his very own journey to find immortality. This epic demonstrates the traits identified by the renown American psychologist Joseph Campbell in the story lines of the hero 's journey.