The Epic of Gilgamesh
The epic story of Gilgamesh in its long, poetic form speaks of another, fantastical world. Yet within the narrative of gods, half-gods, and humanization of creatures, many familiar themes arise that continue to be relevant and explored in modern literature. Ideas on friendship, the power of the gods and love are among those raised in the story with one of the main themes being the desire and search for immortality. As the story unfolds, Gilgamesh, King of Uruk, learns of death leading him on a quest for eternal life only to discover and finally accept the inevitability of humans dying. Recognizing that he will one day die allows Gilgamesh to finally appreciate the city he has built and the people within it.
Gilgamesh,
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This is the one human being who has received the gift of immortality from the gods. While Gilgamesh’s expedition with Enkidu to the Cedar Forest was in spite of the strong threat of death, his second journey to Utnapishtim is to find a way to escape it. On his way, Gilgamesh stops for a rest and to the ale-wife, Siduri, he begs “Let me not see the death which I ever dread”. Ignoring her advice to live for the day and enjoy life’s pleasures, Gilgamesh asks how to reach Utnapishtim. Once he arrives, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh that nothing is forever. That houses are not made to stand forever and rivers not always to rise and that man is the same. The gods have decreed that man be mortal, although the day of his death they do not tell. He explains to Gilgamesh that the quest for immortality is pointless and unavoidable by the very nature of being human. Not satisfied, Gilgamesh then asks Utnapishtim who is himself a man how he managed to achieve immortality. Utnapishtim tells his story of a famous flood brought down by the gods in which he and his wife were spared. Utnapishtim then tells Gilgamesh that he must endure a test to prove to the gods that he is worthy of being given eternal life. He must remain awake for six days and seven nights but Gilgamesh ends up falling asleep. Utnapishtim is to about to …show more content…
The search for eternal life in the epic of Gilgamesh can be compared to all humans even today, where we attempt to ensure that we live for as long as possible. Many humans had searched and failed to find “the fountain of youth”, an imaginary promise of living forever, much like the plant Gilgamesh found in the sea. Yet when we inevitably die, what is left of us are the memories, good and bad, that we created while alive. Building is better than destroying in passing forward a memory that will live forever and this is what Gilgamesh also learned. The epic adventures of Gilgamesh who feared death has, on the contrary, immortalized him in history and through
True love and immortality in life would be a dream come true to many people. To spend time with a special someone; the person one feels closest to; the so-called soul mate and to never have that high feeling of emotion end mentally and physically would greatly appeal to most people. But when death steps into the picture, even with all the pain and devastation, one starts to re-evaluate themselves and realizes the important things in life and puts it all into perspective. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character, Gilgamesh, is a powerful, arrogant king and part god. Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s partner, is animal-like but later takes on more humanistic traits such as his contemplation’s of death. The friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is a very powerful, loving friendship. Enkidu is Gilgamesh’s soul mate, not only acting as his friend but as a lover too. Enkidu’s presence in Gilgamesh’s life allows Gilgamesh to see what is truly good in life and to accept his mortality much easier.
As a natural phenomena that occurs frequently yet is still not completely understood, death has confounded and, to a certain degree, fascinated all of humanity. Since the dawn of our species, people have tried to rationalize death by means of creating various religions and even attempted to conquer death, leading to great works of literature such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Cannibal Spell For King Unis. Considered one of the earliest great pieces of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh tells an adventurous yet profound tale about the god-like king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and his quest to find immortality. While his name now lives on through the Epic, Gilgamesh did not attain eternal life as the plant of immortality was stolen from him by a snake.
The manifestation of science itself as a disciple over the centuries and its clear fascination with the purpose of life and how we came to be and especially with the concept of immortality are strong resonances of Gilgamesh’s own struggles with life and death. This leads one to believe that Gilgamesh could indirectly be one of the causes of its creation. As Gilgamesh goes through his journey, his linear development can be seen. This is the way characters are developed into the plot of a Western text, hence improvement has a goal, development stops when the goal is reached whereas in an Eastern text it would be a cyclic development, and hence improvement is a never ending journey that has no limits. Gilgamesh himself and the whole epic is essentially about the idea of finding yourself and trying to overcome the realities of death, aging and life. As Western epics are written with linear methodology of problem, struggle, realization, a change of some sort and the glory of that hero idea in mind. When Gilgamesh is distraught at Enkidu’s death he promises that if he does not get to see Utnapishtim he will “roam the wilderness in my [his] grief”, this is ultimately how people of West handle themselves when faced with a situation that is less than pleasing and too morbid too handle in the time of grief.
After encountering the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh realizes that all men will die. Gilgamesh evolves from the beginning of The Epic of Gilgamesh as an unruly king to a realistic king who’s life ends in death. In the end after accepting that he too must die and be subject to fate, Gilgamesh settles back into his city setting, only this time to be a wise king rather than the foolish hero he once was.
Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of his own mortality, sets out on a journey to search for a way to preserve himself. Although the journey that he endures is much larger than life, Gilgamesh comes to realize that he can never achieve immortality. Before the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh is a man without an equal match. He is an individual with overwhelming power, and it is because of this that makes Gilgamesh a very arrogant person.
“You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted him death, but life they retained in their own keeping,” Siduri talking to Gilgamesh. (Gilgamesh 4). The epic of Gilgamesh has an abundance of parallels to the trial and tribulations of any human life. Gilgamesh’s story is humanities story of life, death, and realization. The awaking of Gilgamesh from a childish and secure reality connects my own life experiences to the epic tale.
The stories of the hunt for immortality gathered in the Epic of Gilgamesh depict the conflict felt in ancient Sumer. As urbanization swept Mesopotamia, the social status shifted from a nomadic hunting society to that of a static agricultural gathering society. In the midst of this ancient "renaissance", man found his relationship with the sacred uncertain and precarious. The Epic portrays the strife created between ontological nostalgia for a simpler time and the dawn of civilization breaking in the Near East. In this Epic, Gilgamesh is seen trying to achieve immortality through the methods of both the old and the new. His journeys through the sacred and the profane in many ways characterize the confusion arising from the unstable social climate. Therefore, the society, by writing the story of Gilgamesh, guarantees not only his immortality, but the immortality of the new order being established.
He overcomes many obstacles to reach this man, some of which no mortal had ventured through before. Finally, when he meets Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh explains his desire to be immortal and his fear of death. Utnapishtim challenges him to "not sleep for six days and seven nights" ("The Epic"). He is determined to complete this challenge and prove to Utnapishtim and himself that he deserves immortality, however "sleep breathes over him like a fog," and he is unable to stay awake ("The Epic"). Eventually he is awoken and thinks he has only been asleep for a few minutes. He is still full of despair confident that death is fast approaching. His journey ends in failure, but also leads to an important epiphany. Even if death itself invokes fear. We know it exists but not where it leads. The mystery of death, leaves fear and sadness to cultivate in the mind of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh says, "Nobody sees the face of Death. Nobody hears the voice of Death". He goes on, nothing that "death is a picture that cannot be drawn”. This form or force that is death cannot be explained. Gilgamesh believes that something that cannot be heard or seen but that can strike and kill at any moment is something to be feared. Death gives us no clues as to what happens after life. We can only speculate as to how this mysterious element operates. Ultimately, all we know is that the human body decomposes. This grim outlook, this life constantly being empty, leaves Gilgamesh feeling only empty and mournful. But he also discovers that it is better to die happily than live in
Gilgamesh has to cut one-hundred and twenty poles to push the boat with, for each one can only be used once in order to avoid touching the "waters of death" (IX.196-217). Against all odds, Gilgamesh makes it to the other side of the sea and meets Utanapishtim. Twice Gilgamesh is given the opportunity to gain eternal life, and twice he fails. Utanapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to stay awake for "six days and seven nights," but Gilgamesh falls asleep almost immediately (XI.210-17). Out of pity, Utanapishtim tells Gilgamesh about a plant that has rejuvenating powers.
Perhaps one of the main reasons the Epic of Gilgamesh is so popular and has lasted such a long time, is because it offers insight into the human concerns of people four thousand years ago, many of which are still relevant today. Some of these human concerns found in the book that are still applicable today include: the fear and concerns people have in relation to death, overwhelming desires to be immortal, and the impact a friendship has on a person’s life. It does not take a great deal of insight into The Epic of Gilgamesh for a person to locate these themes in the story, and even less introspection to relate to them.
Gilgamesh goes on to seek eternal life. Death had never been a topic he had to deal with. Jacobsen explains, “death, fear of death, has become an ob...
This story teaches that death is an unavoidable and inevitable circumstance of mortal life, which is the most significant precept Gilgamesh learns. Gilgamesh is resentful that only the gods can exist eternally. Gilgamesh is frightened by the idea of his own destiny. Mesopotamian divinity proposes a perception of an afterlife; the deceased spend their period being dead in a netherworld. Death is inevitably entwined within the structure of creation. Life is also entwined, although mortals die, humanity maintains to live. The message that Gilgamesh returns with from his adventure is not primarily about death, but about life. Fragment of a tablet of The Epic of Gilgamesh is figure C down
Through the many of mankind’s tales of adventure the search for immortality is a very common theme. Many heroes have made it the objective of their travels and adventures. This is no different in The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey. The heroes in both are tempted by the offer of immortality, however each of them turns it down for their own reasons.
In many literary works we see significant transitions in the hero's character as the story is developed. This is also true in the Epic of Gilgamesh with its hero, Gilgamesh. In this narrative poem, we get glimpses of who Gilgamesh is and what his purposes and goals are. We see Gilgamesh act in many different ways -- as an overbearing ruler resented by his people, a courageous and strong fighter, a deflated, depressed man, and finally as a man who seems content with what he's accomplished. Through all of these transitions, we see Gilgamesh's attitude toward life change. The goals he has for his own life alter dramatically, and it is in these goals that we see Gilgamesh's transition from being a shallow, ruthless ruler to being an introspective, content man.
Gilgamesh is an epic of great love, followed by lingering grief that causes a significant change in character. It is the story of a person who is feared and honored, a person who loves and hates, a person who wins and loses and a person who lives life. Gilgamesh's journey is larger than life, yet ends so commonly with death. Through Gilgamesh, the fate of mankind is revealed, and the inevitable factor of change is expressed.