The Epic Of Gilgamesh : The Jeopardy Of A Hero

The earliest surviving literary work, dating from 2100 BC in the Sumerian city of Uruk, The Epic of Gilgamesh tells the story of a hero’s journey to immortality. The Epic of Gilgamesh, written by the Sumerians in their akkadian text and translated by George Smith in the early 1870s, follows the main character Gilgamesh, the unjust and cruel king of Uruk, and his friend Enkidu on their journey to achieve greatness in which Enkidu dies, prompting Gilgamesh to seek immortality. In the story, Enkidu’s character serves as a foil to show and exaggerate Gilgamesh’s immorality and bravery.

The short epic revolves around the namesake character Gilgamesh, who regularly acts impulsively using his intuition and instincts without heeding the advice and wisdom of others. The adventures and downfalls of Gilgamesh illustrate why using reason matters so much. Gilgamesh’s propensity for rashness can be seen early on in the epic when he meets Enkidu and immediately decides to go after the monster Humbaba. Once he decides to go, nothing can persuade him otherwise (Gilgamesh 109-110). Even when Enkidu, who lived in the area where the monster guards, tells Gilgamesh “The haunt of Humbaba is a hopeless quest (110),” Gilgamesh remains steadfast in completing his conquest of the monster. When the elders hear about their king’s plan they sternly tell him:

This explain that Enkidu is trying to point out how dangerous Humbaba is. Gilgamesh didn’t care how powerful Humbaba is because he believe that he could take anyone down, he didn’t care about Enkidu thoughts of Humbaba. “Gilgamesh opened his mouth to speak,/ say [to Enkidu:]/ why, my friend, do you speak like a weakling?/ with your spineless words you [make me] despondent.” (19). This shows that Gilgamesh is arrogant and immature, thinking he could defeat the monster himself without having any fear. Gilgamesh went back to the Uruk to make an announcement of battling Humbaba the vicious monster. Gilgamesh said, “I will conquer him in the Forest of Cedar:/ let the land learn Uruk’s offshoot is mighty!/ let me start out,/ I will cut down the Cedar./ I will establish for ever a name eternal!” (20). Next, Gilgamesh and Enkidu climbed up the hill into the forest to find Humbaba. They end up on the hillside to rest before the battle. Gilgamesh had his first dream, “[My friend, did you not call me? Why have I wakened ?]/ [Did you not touch me? Why am I startled ?]/ [Did a god not pass by? Why is my flesh frozen numb?]/ [My friend, I have had the first dream!]” (30). This symbolize fear, for the first time Gilgamesh experiencing the feeling of being afraid. Gilgamesh suddenly changed as he went onto a Journey to the Forest of Cedar. When Gilgamesh continue to see Humbaba knowing that he is

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a Mesopotamian myth and the oldest known narrative there is, originally created on clay tablets written in cuneiform. The story focuses on two individuals. Gilgamesh, who is the tyrannical ruler of the kingdom of Uruk. Then his counterweight, Enkidu who resides in the forest and was raised by animals. It may seem that neither would have much in common, considering one is royalty and one is a wild man. However, these two characters balance each other despite their differences, which results in a beautiful friendship, but both will lose as well as gain in the end.

People have been fascinated by tales of heroism for centuries. In ancient Mesopotamia, heroes give people hope and comfort, and fill them with strength. Ancient Mesopotamia is filled with tales of heroes- mighty warriors battling monsters, men ready to risk life and limb to save their true love or to fight for their nation. Still, there is a great difficulty that lies in defining what a hero truly is. Strength alone does not make a hero; nor does intelligence. Moreover, the Epic of Gilgamesh truly defines the definition of a hero. Gilgamesh is portrayed as a true hero through his skill, intelligence, willingness to die, reverence, and his respect for death.

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.

The two immediately become companions because Gilgamesh finally finds his match. They set off on an adventure to destroy the cedar forest and its guardian, Humbaba, all to be forever remembered. Gilgamesh appears to be improving his ways and not exasperating his people. However, Gilgamesh then takes his journey to be remembered one step too far and kills the bull of heaven. This infuriates the gods so greatly that they decide that one out of Gilgamesh and Enkidu must pay for their actions. The gods therefore bestow a deadly illness upon Enkidu, which brings about his death. Enkidu’s death devastates Gilgamesh, for he not only loses his best friend, but also comes to the realization that he soon too will die. Not only does Gilgamesh lose his best friend, but he also comes to the realization that he will also die some day. Thus, Gilgamesh decides to seek out immortality so he will not have to endure death.

The maturation of Gilgamesh and his desire to acquire wisdom throughout his journey is quite apparent. By overcoming difficulties such as upholding Uruk, becoming friends with Enkidu, and various other scenarios, Gilgamesh proves that he did in fact grow up throughout the epic.

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.

Again, reason dictates that if the elderly and wise recommend not traveling into the forest, he should not. Prior to Enkido’s introduction, Gilgamesh would have dismissed these words of wisdom as attempts to declare his weaknesses. His experience confronting Enkido, however, force him to evaluate his attempt to kill Humbaba leading him to fear the possibility of failure and the consequences that come with failure. While Gilgamesh is simply attempting to kill Humbaba, this journey subliminally represents Gilgamesh’s early confrontation with mortality. For instance, Gilgamesh dreams, “heaven cried aloud, while earth did rumble. The day grew still, darkness came forth, there was a flash of lightning, fire broke out. The flames flared up, death rained down” (George iv.99-106). His dream foreshadows Enkido’s dreams of death and Enkido’s death later in the text, introducing the concept that mortality ends in death. Right before he kills Humbaba, Humbaba states that he is not certain whether Enkido or Gilgamesh will die, but he is certain that death will come. By foreshadowing death, Humbaba reminds Gilgamesh that he is one-third human and therefore is doomed to the same fate as humans.

Enkidu is weary of Gilgamesh’s plan and is not in agreeance to join him initially. He questions Gilgamesh’s idea about the quest to kill Humbaba. Enkidu says, “How shall the likes of us go to the forest of cedars, my friend” (line 155). Enkidu is not confident in his abilities to conquer Humbaba. The author includes this line to symbolize Enkidu becoming more civilized. Enkidu shows fear for someone he used to live amongst in the forest, and he is starting to realize that nature is something to be feared. Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh has its place as one of the first examples of epic poetry in recorded history. The epic describes the adventures of the demigod-king Gilgamesh who, after the death of his close friend Enkidu, seeks immortality but is ultimately unsuccessful. This story arc is not dissimilar to those found in the epics of the ancient Greeks centuries later. This excerpt from The Epic of Gilgamesh clearly demonstrates Gilgamesh’s reckless lust for pride and fame at all costs.

There once lived a king, the great king of Uruk in Mesopotamia. This great leader was Gilgamesh. His preserved epic is of great significance to modern day culture. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is a great love, followed by a lingering grief that cause a significant change in the character of Gilgamesh.

The story of “The epic of Gilgamesh” is a tale of a mighty king, exactly two thirds god and only one third human. He was a strict king forcing his subjects to build an empire in Mesopotamia. He was a horrible king in my opinion. When the Kings ‘s subjects cried out, the gods came up with a plan to create a crazy man named Enkidu. Enkidu and Gilgamesh fought all day until Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu. After the long fight the two of them became friends. The two friends get bored one day, so they decide to go to the Cedar Forest and try to defeat Humbaba (a demon) but, the two don’t do it alone the sun god Shamash helps. The cut the biggest tree in the forest and sail home with the head of the demon with them.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is a historic story of the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. The story depicts the short lived friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The story begins as Shamat the harlot seduces Enkidu and convinces him to go to the city of Uruk and meet Gilgamesh. From that moment on, the two were very close. They planned a trip to the forest of cedars to defeat the monster known as Humbaba so that Gilgamesh could show his power to the citizens of Uruk. However, Enkidu tried “vainly to dissuade” (18) Gilgamesh in going to the forest. Despite Enkidu’s plead, the two continued on their voyage to the forest where Humbaba lives. Once they arrived, they found the monster and killed him.