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Essay about Overview of The Epic of Gilgamesh

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poetry that originates from Mesopotamia. It is among the earliest known literature in Mesopotamia. Many scholars believe that it originated from a series of Sumerian poems, and legends about Gilgamesh who is the protagonist. It is known to be the oldest recorded story in the human history that is over 4000 years old.
The story portrays Mesopotamia’s society in the third millennium B.C.E vision of after life. In addition, the story tells shows the reader how the people in Mesopotamia believed in the gods, and offered sacrifices for their prayers to be answered. The people of Uruk cried to the gods to be liberated from the cruelties of Gilgamesh, and they did so by offering sacrifices to the gods. It shows
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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. The major theme in the literature work is death, and how it affects the protagonist. The story highlights that death is inevitable, and no one is immortal, not even the king. The theme of death is portrayed by the protagonist, Gilgamesh who had the curiosity about immortality. Gilgamesh feared death, and he could not imagine dying at any time. He says, “Shall I die too? Am I not like Enkidu? Grief has entered my innermost being, I am afraid of Death, and so I roam open country.” This is the reason as to why he embarked on a journey to seek eternal life in order to avoid
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