Characteristics Of Gilgamesh An Epic Hero

In the final half Gilgamesh attempts to drive his immortality through questioning others. Gilgamesh first attempts to find his purpose on his own, but failing in that effort turns to others for it. In clear contrast the first and second halves of this epic convey the universal truth that happiness, meaning and purpose to ones life are found internally, not externally. But we must not forget that the story of Gilgamesh is a common one. How often does man look externally for happiness when it is best found within?

The epic of Gilgamesh is about demigod created to rule over the people of Uric but fears death, Throughout the epic, Gilgamesh faces many obstacles while undergoing a series of changes and developments; starting out as an arrogant and selfish king. The king of Uruk, an arrogant dictator who was created to to be perfect. “when the gods created Gilgamesh they gave him a perfect body. Shamash the glorious sun endowed him with beauty, Adad the god of the storm endowed him with courage, the great gods made his beauty perfect, surpassing all others, terrifying like a great wild bull. Two thirds they made him god and one third man.” (Gilgamesh, 504) Although Gilgamesh was created to be perfect, his style of ruling became to be a problem.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is the greatest text of Mesopotamia and one of the earliest pieces of world literature. Gilgamesh quest for immortality explores human concerns about death, friendship, nature, civilization, power, violence, travel adventures, homecoming, love and sexuality. Gilgamesh is 2/3 god because of his superhuman strength and endurance; he is 1/3 human because of his mortality. The gods are portrayed in a variety of ways in the Gilgamesh epic. In this epic the gods acted very unfairly and impulsively throughout the epic, but also take action to help their people.

For Achilles, his tragic flaw would be the fact that he is proud and gets enraged easily; and he lets it consume him. Homer states in The Iliad, “But any men he saw retreating fro... ... middle of paper ... ...oesn’t go on an epic journey, he is a great king and he endures an epic battle; he is also the face of unity and peace. All of these heroes are epic for their own reasons, yet some are more epic than others. Works Cited Galvin, Rachel. "The imprint of immortality."

For only a fool would want to live forever and a day. It takes will, strength, power, and a motive to keep a balance of liberty and just to slay beast. Perhaps it takes a man to want nothing more than to see his family again in order to pursue a quest that overcomes all obstacles. The closest thing to a god that a mortal being can become is nothing more than a hero amongst men. Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and Odysseus were all mortal beings, yet each of these men portrayed god like qualities.

Similarly, Gilgamesh is also given a grand introduction. He is described as, “the strongest one of all, the perfect, the terror” (Ferry, 4). However, the overall view of Gilgamesh is not as honorable as Beowulf. The people of Uruk are lamenting to the god Aruru: (Ferry, 5) “Neither the father’s son nor the wife of the noble is safe in Uruk; neither the mother’s daughter nor the warrior’s bride is safe. The old men say: Is this the shepherd of the people?

Once there they fight Humbaba and defeat him then chop down th... ... middle of paper ... ...nd his beloved city of Uruk. Humbaba has no real purpose except that he is to die to Gilgamesh and Enkidu and curse Enkidu. Ninsun is Gilgamesh’s mother and protector. She asks the help of the sun god Shamash to look over Gilgamesh while he fights Humbaba. As a recap Gilgamesh is a feared tyrant and the gods create a warrior to defeat him.

For Gilgamesh, the most predominant heroic figure, the desires for divinity and destiny as a mortal man in this regard have become the gateway for the internalization of humanity through the following intertwining aspects: the meaning of love and compassion, the meaning of loss and of growing older as well as the meaning of mortality. Gilgamesh’s first trek into humanity can be traced back to the one point that suggests him as someone who is much less the master of his fate than he presumes to be. He has not much control over his destiny despite being the King of Uruk and seemingly able to work his desires at the expense of his own subjects. Being two third divine and one third huma... ... middle of paper ... ... like the rest of the mortals. Life that gods retain in their own keeping is not human life, for human life in reality depends on the passage of time and every possibility of death (Sandars 102).

, my belief is that a hero should always have these characteristics and more. Dedication is a trait that should be in all heroes. Beowulf and Gilgamesh go beyond means proving that each hero is a carrier of this trait. For instance when Gilgamesh friend Enkidu passes away, he sets out a journey to discover Utnapistim and the answers to immortality. During any point of his journey Gilgamesh could’ve threw in the towel when it started to become

As Gilgamesh cleans himself and his blood stained weapons, Ishtar, the goddess of love and beauty, takes notice of his beauty and offers to become his wife. Gilgamesh refuses with insults, listing all her mortal lovers and recounting the dire fates they all met with at her hands. Ishtar is enraged at the rebuff. She returns to heaven and begs her father, Anu, to let her have the Bull of Heaven to wreak vengeance on Gilgamesh and his city. Anu reluctantly gives in, and the Bull of Heaven is sent down to terrorize the people of Uruk.