The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh

One of the renowned epic stories ever written in Cuneiform is The Epic of Gilgamesh whose main hero was an actual historical figure. Gilgamesh was revered and celebrated for his sound judgment. Gilgamesh was a king who ruled Uruk, a Sumerian State in Mesopotamia around 2700 B.C. Uruk is one of the prominent cities of ancient Mesopotamia, a country which lay between the two great rivers Tigris and Euphrates which are now in modern day Iraq. Some of its ruins are in southern Iraq between the areas of Baghdad and Basra. The first translations of the writings about Gilgamesh were published almost a hundred years ago. The fear of death is the principal theme of this book although other themes are also described in this writing.
Gilgamesh who was a combination of both man and god, revered by all was the greatest of all men and in contrast a personification of all virtues of men. He was the bravest warrior, fairest judge and the most ambitious builder who surrounded Uruk with excellent walls. When Enkidu arrives, who is almost Gilgamesh’s equal, he positions himself to act as a balance to the extremes of Gilgamesh such as his selfishness, forced labor and abusive exercise of power. Gilgamesh and Enkidu form a deep friendship which calms him and realigns him to his roles as king. Gilgamesh is deeply affected by Enkidu’s death, and he is engulfed in grief for a lengthy period of time as he is worried about the possibility of his own death. Gilgamesh abandons his ways abruptly.

He leaves all worldly aspirations to focus on a path to eternal life. In his mission to learn the mystery of eternal life, he stumbles upon the wisdom to understand and reconcile his mortal and divine attributes. After this experience, Gilgamesh returns to his throne a changed person to become a more suitable and just king.(www.sparknotes.com)
Enkidu, entirely formed of clay starts his life as a wild man who is brought up by animals, to an extent he remains a temporary guest in the civilized world. He is however overly courteous towards women. He champions the people oppressed by king Gilgamesh and protects them from the unruly king. Enkidu succeeds in befriending Gilgamesh by charm rather than by force, and this converts him to a perfect leader. It may seem that Enkidu is deeply affected by the atrocities of Gilgamesh as he joins civilization late. Enkidu fears and resents having to die, and he, therefore, hold on to life with ferocity. The gods deliver punishment to Enkidu in a slow and painful death for killing Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven.
A temple prostitute by the name Shamhat tames Enkidu and seduces him to leave his natural state. She represents refinements of culture, food, music, alcohol, clothing, agriculture, and rituals. Love motivates Gilgamesh to change from a tyrant into a noble king and hero. This happens when Enkidu is able to pull out Gilgamesh from his self-centeredness.Utnapishtim is a name which means “He Who Saw Life.” Utnapishtim received gods favor to be immortal. His contempt for Gilgamesh’s seeking of eternal life may be seen to be selfish as he himself is immortal. Utnapishtim decided to test Gilgamesh and asked him to stay awake for one week, knowing that he will not succeed. He also knew that nothing would yield from Gilgamesh’s plant that would make him become young again because he knew Gilgamesh was part man and his mortality status was enough to seal his fate. Siduri is a tavern keeper. He advises Gilgamesh to admire the pleasures of the world. She tries to destruct him from his quest, by telling him to find one boatman who if ignored his quest would fail.(www.sparknotes.com)
No one can escape from death because it is part of human life. This is the most substantial lesson that Gilgamesh learns. He resents the fact that only gods can live forever. When Enkidu is punished with a slow and pain filled death, Shamash, the sun god consoles Enkidu who finally accepts his fate. Gilgamesh is thus afraid of prospects of his own death. From this discovery, Gilgamesh realizes that the only way in which he may expect to make a lasting impact is by doing glorious deeds that he would be remembered for.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is not just a strong desire to learn archeological history. Although it has a strange cast, and an alien theory about creation and the existence of man and gods, the story of Gilgamesh is robust and intriguing. It is an exciting piece that sparks passion and celebrates brotherhood and understanding between people. It seeks to find answers on what amount of sacrifice must be made by man to be civilized and the responsibilities of any sober king. It offers a great insight into the human conditions of life and death and all the truth that touch on all of the mankind. Above all, Gilgamesh describes the grapples men must face in their quests for fulfillment and self-discovery to appreciate life despite the inescapable situation of death.

Works Cited
www.sparknotes.com/lit/gilgamesh/summary.html.