Gilgamesh
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In the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh embarks upon a quest seeking immortality as a means to peace, meaning, and joy in life. He tries to reach it in many different ways, each as unsuccessful as its predecessor. The two main types of immortality are physical and through the actions or achievements of ones life. Gilgamesh tries first through his actions, but then undergoes a transformation which leads him to next attempt physical immortality. He eventually comes back to the point at which he began; however, now he realizes that the beginning point was always the object of his quest. Uruk, his city, is his legacy and the key to his quest. This lesson underscores his humanity, for often we cannot truly learn a lesson until we have first erred in the wrong direction.
In the first half of the epic, Gilgamesh struggles with his quest. In tablet I the reader does not know what Gilgamesh””s purpose is, but they are lead to understand his search is external. The reader learns of Enkidu””s creation, but does not know yet his real purpose. The first time the reader learns that Gilgamesh seeks his immortality externally, is when he tells his mother of his dream, “A star fell from the heavens, a meteorite, and lay on the empty plain outside Uruk.” This dream is about Enkidu””s creation. The implication of this quote is subtle, but visible; it occurs when he says that the meteorite is on the plain, “outside Uruk.” Thus his “outside” or external quest commences.
Tablets II and III reveal Enkidu””s purpose. The reader now knows that Enkidu is on Gilgamesh””s side. They also know what Gilgamesh wants, immortality. Enkidu””s purpose is to help Gilgamesh reach this immortality through his achievements, his fame. The reader is made aware of Gilgamesh searching for immortality when he and Enkidu plan to kill the guardian Huwawa, and cut down the largest cedar tree in the cedar forest. This may simply sound a heroic task, but Gilgamesh shows that it””s how he believes he can become immortal; he says, “My fame will be secure to all my sons.” In essence he is saying that once he finishes this task, this will be enough to make people never forget him.
In tablets IV and V Enkidu””s purpose as a catalyst becomes more evident, and Gilgamesh completes the task of killing Huwawa. As Enkidu and Gilgamesh journey towards Huwawa, Gilgamesh has dreams which frighten him. Enkidu always tell him the same thing after he has the dreams. He tells him, “The dream you had tonight is fortunate.” He does this to comfort Gilgamesh and encourage him on his quest.
In Tablet VI Gilgamesh and Enkidu””s fame makes them bolder, even overconfident; Gilgamesh thinks that what he has already done is enough for him to be immortal. After killing the bull of heaven, Enkidu in his arrogance, says to Ishtar, “I would do the same to you what you have seen me do to the Bull of Heaven.” They have come to believe that they are greater even than the gods, the classic sin of hubris. At the end of this passage it is evident that Gilgamesh sees himself to be already immortal when he says, “I am the strongest. My fame will be secure to all my sonsД He believes that he has made enough of a name for himself to ensure forever that his sons will have continued fame.
Enkidu dies in Tablet VII, causing Gilgamesh to transform his quest. He does not endure this transformation immediately. He first mourns his companion””s death all throughout Tablet VIII. In Tablet IX Gilgamesh realizes that he could have just as easily been killed; he now wants to never die. He now knows that he is not a god, and that the real gods have extraordinary powers over even him. He is now exceptionally fearful of death; this is seen in his repetition of, “Enkidu has died. Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that?” This fear of death, of nothingness, drives Gilgamesh to seek more desperately