Gilgamesh Essay Paper

The story of “Gilgamesh” depicts all of the heroic triumphs and heart-breaking pitfalls a heroic narrative should depict to be able to relate to today’s audience. However, “Gilgamesh” was once considered a lost and forgotten piece of literature for thousands of years, so there is a tremendous gap between the time it was created and the time it was translated into language that today’s audience can understand. That gap in history makes several aspects of the story of “Gilgamesh” strange and unfamiliar because what we now know about ancient Middle Eastern cultures and languages is a lot less than what we know about the cultures that prospered after ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Much of the content in the story of

The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the world’s oldest existing stories that were collected in Mesopotamia. It is a story about a heroic king named Gilgamesh, who treated his people in a nasty way. He was a domineering, and cruel leader, feared by many because of his unnatural strength. He forced his people into labor in order to expand his kingdom. The people cried unto the gods and they created Gilgamesh’s equal Enkidu, who they later became friends. Gilgamesh witnessed the death of his close friend Enkidu, and this made him to search for immortality because, he was afraid to die. However, he learnt that, no human was immortal, and that he was destined to die, just like his friend Enkidu.

(Gilgamesh 71)” Gilgamesh's grief for his friend was natural, but he shouldn't have abandoned his people and his royal duties. As ruler, his people have to follow his decree, and need his support to thrive. By forcing them to grief, and abandoning his position, he left them in a very vulnerable position. His last and final abandonment of his people began with Gilgamesh's quest for immortality. He was so upset and shocked by what occurred to Enkidu's body after death, that he vowed he would never die. His selfishness has grown so far, that when he finds his cure for mortality, he chooses to let an old man test the plant in case it brings death instead. “I will bring it to Uruk-Haven, and have an old man eat the plant to test it. The plant's name is “The Old Man Becomes a Young Man.” Then I will eat it and return to the condition of my youth. (Gilgamesh 106)” Gilgamesh was a powerful man with a lot of ambition, and potential. It was just ruined by his selfish nature. He was, all-in-all, a famous and great ruler... but not a just one.

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.

The epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest primary document discovered in human history dating back to approximately 2,000 B.C.E. This document tells a story of an ancient King Gilgamesh, ruler of Sumer in 2,700 B.C.E. who is created gloriously by gods as one third man and two third god. In this epic, Gilgamesh begins his kingship as an audacious and immature ruler. Exhausted from complaints, the gods send a wild man named Enkidu to become civilized and assist Gilgamesh to mature into a righteous leader. However, Enkidus death causes Gilgamesh to realize his fear of immortality and search for an escape from death. On his journey, Gilgamesh learns that the gods will not grant his wish and that he must

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale from ancient Babylon. Its hero, Gilgamesh the king of Uruk, is two-thirds god and one-third man. Throughout the epic, which consists of three stories, the character of Gilgamesh is developed. This is accomplished by changing the vices he possesses at the start of the epic, and replacing them with virtues he receives by its completion. “A virtue is a quality of righteousness, goodness, or moral excellence; any good quality or admirable trait of a character.” (Halsey Collier’s Dictionary 1114) “A vice is an immoral or harmful habit or practice; fault or fall” (Halsey Collier’s Dictionary 1111). Gilgamesh is not the only character in the

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.

11). By announcing this, Gilgamesh realized that he too one day would be dead like Enkidu. In refusal to accept such a future, Gilgamesh began his quest for eternal life. To achieve it, he journeyed to find Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim and his family were the only survivors of a great flood wrought by the gods to destroy humanity. As a reward for their survival, the gods gave the family eternal life and sent them to live “...in a remote island paradise beyond the waters of death” (p. 12). Utnapishtim’s island corresponds to the situational archetype of a garden where death does not exist. In such a garden, beauty and innocence are unspoiled. When Gilgamesh finally met Utnapishtim, Utnapishtim told Gilgamesh the story of the great flood, and then he revealed to him the secret of eternal life by saying, “...it is a mystery of the gods that I am telling you. There is a plant which grows under the water… which restores… lost youth to a man” (p. 14). In telling Gilgamesh this information vital to his quest for everlasting life, Utnapishtim became a mentor. He also became a secondary form of divine help to Gilgamesh because Utnapishtim received his knowledge from the gods.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the greatest surviving epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia. The original author is unknown, since the epic was passed on orally for many generations during the second millennium B.C.E before being written down in clay tablets. However, the definitive fragmented revision of the epic is accredited to Sin-leqi-unninni, a Babylonian priest and scholar. The Epic of Gilgamesh follows Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality, remarking the question of what it means to be human. The story starts with King Gilgamesh of Uruk in Southern Mesopotamia, an arrogant and oppressive ruler who is two thirds divine and one third human. The citizens of Uruk, tired of Gilgamesh’s behavior, plead the Gods to stop him. In response, the Gods fabricate Enkidu to confront Gilgamesh, but before he does that, he needs to become civilized first. In the act of turning into a civilized man, Enkidu, like all human beings, loses his innocence, as well as his deep connection with nature.

Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would quite literally go to the end of the world to retrieve it? This is an attribute that perfectly describes the character of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is the main character of the ancient Uruk epic that is known as the epic of Gilgamesh. He experiences a lot of hardship and tribulations throughout the story. Some of the things are the loss of his “brother” Enkidu, which makes him want to become Immortal, the death of Humbaba This changes him in many different ways, like how he changes the way he acts from acting like a god to a noble and fair king. My goal in this paper is to show you how the events of the death of Humbaba, the death of Enkidu and his quest for his immortality

“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.

Gilgamesh then gave up on his work to try to defeat death and despite his long hard journey, returns to Uruk no closer to immortality than he left. His fear of ending up dead like his friend Enkidu has finally become an inevitable reality and he has the ferrymen

On his quest to search for this form of unreachable eternal life, Gilgamesh learned some lessons. Utanapishtim gives him some good advice about death and how “no one sees death, no one sees the face of death, no one [hears] the voice of death, but cruel death cuts off mankind.” (82) Utsanapishtim goes on to state, “they did not reveal the time of death.” (83) Gilgamesh is given a challenge to see if he was worthy enough of eternal life. The challenge was to stay awake for several days without an ounce of sleep; if he couldn’t pass this challenge then he couldn’t expect to live forever. Unfortunately Gilgamesh fails the task by sleeping the entire week. Utsanapishtim gives his a rejuvenation plant in his last will to help Gilgamesh. However, the plant is taken away by a snake. Gilgamesh ultimately gives up at this point; “for myself I have obtained no benefit.” (95)

…"/(VI.II.28-34). Inanna did not take Gilgamesh 's rejection lightly she ran to her father and unleashed the bull of heaven upon Uruk. Gilgamesh had to protect his people, so himself along with his equal Enkidu charged after the bull and the battle ended twistedly resulting in the death of Enkidu, and the Gilgamesh 's heroic journey began at the loss of his dear friend Enkidu.

Another characteristic of an epic fulfilled by The Epic of Gilgamesh, is that the hero of the story goes on a journey in search of immortality. This is seen in many epics of the ancient world (Kramer 8). After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh realizes that one day, he too will die. From the beginning of the story, it can be seen that Gilgamesh has an obsession with fame, reputation, and the revolt of mortal man against the law of separation and death (Wolff 694). Tablets IX, X, and XI are all dedicated to this journey for everlasting life. Hoping to learn the secret of immortality, Gilgamesh makes a long and difficult journey in search of Utnapishtim, the one human being who has obtained it. Although several people told him along the way that he would not succeed in gaining eternal life, he didn’t let that stop him. When he finally finds Utnapishtim, he tells him there is no way for Gilgamesh to have what he has. He also reveals to