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themes in the epic of gilgamesh
themes in the epic of gilgamesh
greek mythology influence on art and literature
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Death and Immortality in The Epic of Gilgamesh
The search for immortality has been a major concern for many men and
women all throughout history. True love and immortality in life would
be a dream come true to many. To spend time with a special someone,
the person one feels closest to, and never have to say good-bye 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. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh explores the
possibility of immortality following the saddening death of his friend
and brother, Enkidu. 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. This
arrogant side of him is accompanied by an extensive abuse of power,
which leads to injustice and rage in the city of Uruk: “The young men
of Uruk he harries without warrant”. This problem does not bother
Gilgamesh; he lives to display to others his royal power. The first
sign of change in Gilgamesh occurs after the birth of Enkidu.
Gilgamesh’s mother, Ninsun, said to him, “Like a wife you’ll love him,
caress and embrace him, he will be mighty, and often save you”.
Gilgamesh has finally found his match, a friend who will serve as his
life long companion. This new seal of friendship will cause a chang...
... middle of paper ...
...nsciousness after death, or maybe a combination of both, which
creates this fear. The fear felt is undoubtedly universal. However,
the ways in which it is dealt with are varied and diverse. The concept
of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s
society or culture. It is the society, which has the greatest impact
on an individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other
cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such
comprehensions.
The irony of the story is that Gilgamesh, who wanted to enjoy
immortality, actually achieves his dream. Thousands of years after his
death, he and Enkidu live through the story of their adventures, which
has been passed down through time. Gilgamesh and Enkidu will be kept
in an immortal state for however long The Epic of Gilgamesh is told.
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.
Every living thing on Earth has characteristics. Characteristics are what make humans unique. Whether someone is tall, short, intelligent, or athletic, character traits make all things on Earth unique. One of the greatest examples of characteristics is the main character of the epic Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh’s three main characteristics are bravery, strength, and arrogance.
The whole reason Gilgamesh takes this journey to search for eternal life is due to the death of Enkidu, with whom he was close with. Before all of the events occurred, Gilgamesh had never thought about the topic of death. It’s as if it never crossed his mind; as though he would live forever. He went through phases along his journey. The first was not accepting reality, the second was fighting for eternal life, and the last was accepting reality. Now, his aspirations for immortality are no longer apparent as he enters the last stage.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a story that deals with various sub conflicts that are known to create a lasting impression on how we view the characters and their status in the general schemes. Sub conflicts like Immortality vs mortality, betrayal, death, violence and sorrow, gives us a grand perspective of how negative and pessimistic the general schemes and plot of the Epic truly is. Today I will be arguing that The Epic of Gilgamesh takes a pessimistic view on mortality. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character Gilgamesh is conflicted with the death of his best friend Enkidu, in fear of death; he goes to Utanapishtim who is an immortal that is also human. Utanapishtim tells Gilgamesh about the cure and where to find it; Gilgamesh finds the cure but sets it
Death is inevitable. Even the mighty hero, Gilgamesh, “two thirds of him god and one third human” (Tablet 1, line 148), is incapable of escaping his inevitable fate. When Gilgamesh comes to the realization that he cannot escape death, he seeks consolidation from Uta-napishti the Distant; Gilgamesh says to him, “O Uta-napishti, what should I do and where should I go? A thief has taken hold of my flesh! For there in my bed-chamber Death does abide, and wherever I turn, there too will be Death” (Tablet 11, line 245). It seems that Uta-napishti denies Gilgamesh of an answer, as Uta-napishti, in response to the questions, turns to Ur-shanabi, the boatman, directing him to, “let him [Gilgamesh] wear royal robes” (Tablet 11, line 258), and return King Gilgamesh to his city.
Consequences are inevitable. A decision made today will have consequences that can last years or even a lifetime. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu made choices that changed their lives forever. Consequences can be both positive and negative, but each is equally long lasting.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first recorded story, follows Gilgamesh as he struggles to deal with mortality, loss, and his limitations as a human. As these ideas develop through the death of Gilgamesh’s friend Enkidu, a central theme around mortality emerges, refines, and develops. During Gilgamesh, readers are shown that one’s acceptance of mortality is important for recovering from a loss, and for accepting the limitations you have as a human.
The main character in the book The Epic of Gilgamesh, is Gilgamesh himself. In the beginning of the book one realizes that Gilgamesh is an arrogant person. Gilgamesh is full of himself and abuses his rights as king. He has sexual intercourse with the virgins of his town and acts as though he is a god. Throughout the story, many things cause Gilgamesh to change. He gains a friend, he makes a name for himself by killing Humbaba, and he tries to become immortal because of the death of Enkidu. Through these main actions his personality changes and he becomes a better person.
There are multiple views on death and the afterlife and each view is different depending on the religion or belief that someone practices. Some religions believe in a heaven but not a hell, some believe in both and others do not believe in either. The religions that are practiced today were created by our ancient ancestors who had the ability to think beyond themselves. Practicing a religion and having an idea of death and an afterlife back in ancient times laid a foundation on how religion is seen and practiced today. Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Hindu’s created the concept of death and life after death through what they believed and practiced in ancient times.
with it he was bathing and a snake ate the plant. As soon as that happened
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.
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.
Death it is something we all must face at one point in our lives or another. It is either a death of a loved one, friend or co-worker. Sometimes it’s the devastation from a natural disaster. No matter what makes us face the idea of death it is how we handle this realization that truly matters. When Gilgamesh is faced with the horrendous loss of his dear friend and comrade Enkidu he begins to fear death. In Gilgamesh’s youth he is proud without fear of death, it is not until he watches his friend die that his own mortality becomes a fear.
One of the main themes in the epic is that death is inevitable, which is shown through Enkidu's death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh becomes very worried, because he realizes for the first time that everyone is going to die at some point in time. The fact that Enkidu is a close friend makes it even more visible to Gilgamesh that everyone is mortal. Then, along with this realization, comes the theme of denial. Gilgamesh does not want to accept the fact that he will die. He denies the truth, because he does not want to think about the truth or cope with the tragedy that has struck him. "And he-he does not lift his head. 'I touched his heart, it does not beat'" (Tablet VIII, Column II, 15-16). "'Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was come into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road; quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. I approach the entrance of the mountain at night. Lions I see, and I am terrified. I lift my head to pray to the mood god Sin: For...a dream I go to the gods in prayer: ...preserve me!'" (Tablet IX, Column I, 3-12).
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.