The Epic of Gilgamesh Essay

Gilgamesh knew that Enkidu was just as magnificent as himself, so after his death When Gilgamesh knew death was around the corner he did not enjoy worldly pleasures, thus making him more god fearing.

In the epic of gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is a man and a God. He built high walls and had orchid fields around his city. He also wasn’t respectful. He touched women whenever he wanted to, He never gave his servants any type of love. Enkidu is a man who was created to tame gilgamesh. He was created by the Gods. The Gods wanted to tame him so they sent an equal power which was enkidu. A wild man who becomes Gilgamesh 's best friend. After being visited by Shamhat, the prostitute, Enkidu is civilized and leaves the animal world behind to journey with Shamhat to Uruk. Enkidu accompanies Gilgamesh to defeat Humbaba before he passes away. Gilgamesh journeys to the Underworld to try to bring

Gilgamesh is considered a hero because of his skill, intelligence, and willingness to die, not to mention his feeling of reverence and respect for death. Throughout the entire epic, Gilgamesh demonstrates outrageous skill as a warrior and leader. While Gilgamesh was respected, many people felt disdain for him. Gilgamesh was born two-thirds god, and one-third man, giving him supernatural abilities. Because of this, the gods challenged Gilgamesh. These abilities made him arrogant, and although it is not now, back then it was respected. Gilgamesh used to do whatever he wanted. When Enkidu, a wild man who first lived

With the death of his dearest friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh now begins to actually fear death and begins searching for the one man that was made immortal by the gods to ask him how to overcome death. In Gilgamesh’s own words, the death of his friend Enkidu has shaken him to the core. When speaking of his death he says “Enkidu, whom I so loved, who went with me through every hardship. The fate of mankind has overtaken him. Six days and seven nights I wept for him…I was frightened..I have grown afraid of death, so I roam the steppe, my friend’s case weighs heavy upon me..my friend whom I loved is turned into clay…Shall I too not lie down like him, and never get up forever and ever?” (pg. 78) Where before Gilgamesh wanted immortality so that he could continue a life of fame and

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.

Gilgamesh encounters Utnapishtim, a man who survives the great flood and receives immortality. Utnapishtim gives Gilgamesh eclectic tasks to achieve eternal life. The first task is to stay awake for seven days, which Gilgamesh is unable to accomplish. Feeling sorry, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh a secret that if he finds the “plant that grows under the water… [it] restores his lost youth” (31). Gilgamesh lights up and ties rocks to his feet to sink down to search for the marvelous plant. Gilgamesh finds the ultimate boon. He is overjoyed and eager to bring the plant back to his homeland to restore the youth of all the men there. The refusal of the return occurs when, he was returning home and becomes careless and bathes in a nearby well of cool water, leaving the plant unattended. A snake suddenly appears and eats the plant, restoring the snake’s youth. Gilgamesh begins to weep upon seeing that he failed in his quest for immortality. Gilgamesh returns back to his homeland, Uruk, and engraves his story on a stone for everyone to see and

So, they put him through pain for so many days until he finally dies. His death changes Gilgamesh so much that he realizes he not the immortal god he thinks he is. This is show in this quote from the story “Hear me, great ones of Uruk, I weep for Enkidu, my friend, Bitterly moaning like a woman mourning I weep for my brother O Enkidu, my brother, You were the axe at my side, My hand's strength, the sword in my belt, The shield before me, He realizes that he is just like us a mortal mostly human being. Which lead to him searching for the one thing he now wants most in his life, Immortality. He goes on a quest to find him leads to him finding Utnapishtim. He tells Gilgamesh about the plant at the bottom of the river that will give him what he seeks, the key to immortality. When Gilgamesh retrieves it though, a snake comes up and eats the plant becoming immortal in the process. This means that he can no longer become immortal. He then comes home and becomes the good king and lives out the rest of his life until his death. This is shown in this quote from the story” The king has laid himself down and will not rise again, The Lord of Kullab will not rise again; He overcame evil, he will not come again; Though he was strong of arm he will not rise again”

The second significant change in Gilgamesh was caused by the loss of his brotherly companion, Enkidu. Gilgamesh couldn't bear the loss of a love so powerful. Despite his astonishing power and leadership, something in his life was missing. He wept for seven days and seven nights, in hope of bringing Enkidu back to him. Gilgamesh said, "I thought my friend would come back because of my weeping. Since he went, my life is nothing". It is in this stage of the epic that we see the truly sympathetic and compassionate side of Gilgamesh. The grief in his heart had far surpassed the magnificent pride that he had previously displayed so boldly.

Later, Enkidu is punished for killing the Bull of Heaven and Humababa, Enkidu suffers from illness and ends up dying. Enkidu’s death affected Gilgamesh a lot; Enkidu’s death marks a change in Gilgamesh life. Gilgamesh change from a harsh and a strong person into someone who has feelings and a loving heart. Gilgamesh keeps thinking that if Enkidu can die then he can die too and all that Gilgamesh

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s pursuit for immortality is marked by ignorance and selfish desire. Desire and ignorance, as The Buddha-karita of Asvaghosha suggests, pollutes man’s judgment resulting in his inability to break the cycle of birth and death. At the core of Gilgamesh’s desire resides his inability to accept the inevitability of death, making his rationality behind the pursuit of immortality ignorant and selfish. Implicitly, Gilgamesh’s corrupt desire for immortality conveys that Gilgamesh does not mature as a character.

Gilgamesh, on the other hand, is not so lucky. His weakness is something that he cannot escape. Since Gilgamesh is part human, death is an inevitable fact of life. Gilgamesh’s fate is first foreseen when he has a dream about a wild man Enkidu. Gilgamesh tells his mother,” Stars of the sky appeared, and some kind of meteorite of Anu fell next to me. I tried to lift it but it was too mighty for me, I tried to turn it but I could not budge it. – I loved it and embraced it as a wife. I laid it down at your feet, and you made it compete with me. (220-231)” Gilgamesh learns his destiny is to love Enkidu, but the gods create Enkidu to destroy Gilgamesh. When the goddess of love sends the bull of heaven to kill Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh and Enkidu defeat the bull, but the gods are not happy. As punishment, they speak the curse of death upon Enkidu. Heart-broken

     Gilgamesh sets out on his journey for immortality, leaving his kingdom and people behind to fend for themselves. He starts to become self-seeking just as he had before. He spends every waking moment searching for immortality only to benefit himself. The whole purpose of the journey itself is so that Gilgamesh can gain immortality for himself and be remembered forever. He doesn’t realize that his people are off on there own with no king to control the empire. Even when

In The Epic, Gilgamesh’s understanding of his mortality is almost dismissive; he argues that since all men die anyway, that then they might as well risk their lives to make a name for themselves. Gilgamesh does not question the value of “making a name for himself” in a world where all great heroes are forgotten-it is enough to use his allotted years to achieve fame and glory. In this case, Gilgamesh believes that the value of life is to be remembered after death. Gilgamesh’s mortality and fear of death reflect on his human side and is consistent with the human condition of fearing death. However, Enkidu views death differently. Gilgamesh rouses Enkidu with a speech, explaining to him that since all men die anyway, they should not fear

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

Two understand how the gods influenced our hero, Gilgamesh, one must first look at the various ways the gods meddled into his life. The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale of a half-mortal man whose quest to break his own boredom turns into a tale of friendship, immortality, and kingship. However, his tale would not have been able to happen if it was not for the influence of the various Sumerian deities. After the people of Uruk complained to the gods about Gilgamesh’s child-like behavior, the goddess Aruru creates the man that will become Gilgamesh’s closest friend, Enkidu. Enkidu was created as an equal to the king so that Gilgamesh would have a way to occupy his time. Unfortunately, after the two friends defeated the giant Humbaba, a terrible demon creature, the god Enlil becomes enraged, but despite Enlil’s best effort, he is unable to punish the two.