A Hero’s Quest for Immortality
Gilgamesh, just like the other heroes, received a vision from the gods pertaining to his fate, “The father of the gods has given you kingship, such is your destiny, everlasting life is not your destiny.” Somehow, it is not surprising for me that Gilgamesh would face death by the end of the epic because it is not new that a person, even a hero, would die. But the famous Babylonian hero proved to me that death is not a hindrance to remember the heroic and glorious deeds that a person once did.
The quest for immortality is a common theme in mythologies. Heroes undergo challenges against gods and supernatural creatures in order to get the desired item that would restore one’s youth. The whole notion of going through
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When Gilgamesh finally got a hold of the life-restoring plant, a serpent managed to snatch it away. He lamented over it and he realized that the journey he took was all meaningless. In spite of that situation, it transformed Gilgamesh into a new person with new perspective and ideas in life.
And finally, the hero will return to his or her home, carrying the lessons and values acquired in the adventure they gone through, to share to their people. Gilgamesh decided to go back to Uruk and he devoted his life to be a great leader of his beloved city and rejoiced in the work of his hand.
Despite of his grief and his tiresome journey, Gilgamesh proved himself to be a great hero for giving up his own desire for a greater cause. As Campbell said, “When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.” It is revealed to me that the whole quest of Gilgamesh for immortality is not pointless because he became successful in obtaining everlasting life in a sense that his legacy continues to live on. The kingship that the gods bestowed upon him is fulfilled as the people today still remembers and looks up to his unexampled