Gilgamesh Quest For Immortality Essay

1671 Words4 Pages

In, Gilgamesh, the quest for immortality is important in order for Gilgamesh to cheat death, after his one and only best friend’s quick fatal fall to illness. Gilgamesh being two-thirds God and one-third human has many great obstacles to overcome, especially with the Gods. The search for immortality and overall self may be a great accomplishment for Gilgamesh to overcome. We face many quest today in order to obtain certain intangible objects such as love, friendship, and curiosity. However, there are quest for the tangible objects in life like looking for the perfect book, trying to find your car keys, or playing hide and seek. Most of the time intangible objects are worth the quest, they are the things we cannot see or touch. Gilgamesh’s …show more content…

Enkidu’s deathly dream involved the Gods anger over the death of Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven. Shamash, the sun god, stands up for the pair of friends. He tells the other Gods that he sent the two on the quest to kill these two characters. Gilgamesh was not able to understand why the Gods would take all their anger out on Enkidu and not him also. The Gods had made up their minds and Enkidu was going to die: “The day he had the dream, his strength ran out. / Enkidu lay there one day, a second day he was ill, / Enkidu lay in his bed, his illness grew worse” (Gilgamesh, …show more content…

Gilgamesh must stay awake for six days and seven nights. He believes this to be a simple task, yet as soon as Gilgamesh takes a seat he falls asleep. Utanapishtim does not wake him; he asks his wife to bake a loaf of bread for every day and night that Gilgamesh remains asleep. Every loaf is put beside Gilgamesh as he sleeps for six days and seven nights. Gilgamesh wakes up and denies he ever slept, however the range of moldy bread to fresh bread suggest otherwise. Gilgamesh is forced to accept the truth. Utanapishtim, thanks to his wife, tells Gilgamesh of a plant that can be found at the bottom of the sea, if Gilgamesh eats the plant then he will become young again. Gilgamesh digs a hole until he reaches water, then he attaches rocks to he feet so he will sink, to reach the plant. Gilgamesh does not plan on using the plant at once, he plans on giving it to an old man in Uruk to see if the man becomes young again. If it works he will then use the plant on himself. However, Gilgamesh and Urshanabi stop by a spring on their way back and Gilgamesh leaves the plant on the ground as he takes a

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