Gilgamesh As An Epic Hero Essay

In this day and age, heroes are defined as ordinary people who have special powers, which they use to save the lives of others. However, this has not always been the profile of heroes. Epics, which are as old as time, are tales of a hero’s journeys and achievements. An epic hero, who doesn’t necessarily have super powers, is usually very strong, wise, and has made many admirable accomplishments. An epic hero is perceived as courageous, honorable, and worthy of holding a high rank in hierarchy, such as king or god. In the story “Gilgamesh”, while the main character, Gilgamesh, has an incredible amount of strength and embarks on many dangerous journeys, he still can not be viewed as an epic hero. In the “ Epic of Gilgamesh”, Gilgamesh can not be categorised as an epic hero because, while he does achieve many accomplishments that involves going through dangerous journeys and facing menacing enemies, he does things that will benefit only him. Most of the decisions he makes are based on how it affects him, as oppose to how it affects others. One example is in Tablet 2, where he “proposes a great

Enkidu was created by Anu, the sky-god, to “serve as the subhuman rival to the superhuman Gilgamesh.” In tablet 2, when Enkidu is first introduced to the city of Uruk, he stands up to Gilgamesh for abusing his power to sleep with the wives’ of others. When Enkidu loses to Gilgamesh, accepts his dominance, and the two become friends. This shows Enkidu’s modest attitude, as opposed to Gilgamesh’s egotistical and arrogant attitude. Alos, when Gilgamesh proposes killing the demon, Humbaba, Enkidu accompanies his, despite being apprehensive and risking his life to make sure the king doesn’t die. In tablet 5, while facing Humbaba, Enkidu comforts and encourages Gilgamesh when he runs and hides, which shows how Enkidu thinks of Gilgamesh as a friend. These feelings, however, are not