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Gilgamesh Knowledge

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The Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh expresses and demonstrates the power of knowledge. In the novel, Gilgamesh’s curiosity causes him to wonder and causes him to have a desire to learn more about himself. Gilgamesh wants to gain knowledge on what he must do to achieve immortality, he wants more wisdom about what death actually is, and he wants knowledge of what exactly happens to a person when death arrives. Wisdom and knowledge play a huge role in the Epic of Gilgamesh starting from the very beginning of the epic. The theme that the epic is trying to express is that knowledge and power must be balanced. This theme is evident in the Epic of Gilgamesh when knowledge repeats itself throughout the novel, when Gilgamesh realizes …show more content…

The very first appearance of wisdom appears in the very beginning, “I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh. This was a man to whom all things were known… he was wise, he saw mysteries and knew secret things,” (EOG 1). From this short phrase, it is clear that wisdom and mysteries will play a huge role in the plot of the story. Not only this, but the reader is also being told that he is about to learn the deeds of Gilgamesh. The idea of innocence and how knowledge makes people lose their innocence also appears in chapter one, “he was innocent of mankind; he knew nothing of the cultivated land,” (EOG 4). Later in the story Gilgamesh learns and educates himself about death which makes him lose his innocence. When Gilgamesh loses his innocence, he is learning more and more about the world and how it actually works. This reputation of the importance of knowledge and wisdom shows that it plays a key role in the epic of Gilgamesh. For Gilgamesh, knowledge truly plays a key role in his …show more content…

Gilgamesh first realizes that he knows very little when he and Enkidu are about to fight Humbaba, there they stood still, they were struck dumb; they stood still and gazed at the forest,” (EOG 9). Gilgamesh is dumb founded with the unknown of the forest. Gilgamesh also gains knowledge of death which he fears, “disappear is in my heart. Why my brother is now, that shall I be when I am dead. Because I am afraid death I will go as best I can to find Utnapishtin,” (EOG 16). Gilgamesh does not know what death is because he still has his innocence. The curiosity in Gilgamesh causes him to go on a quest for knowledge because he has a desire to learn. Gilgamesh wants to learn about death and he wants to learn about immortality which causes him to go on a quest for wisdom and for everlasting

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