Gilgamesh As A Hero Essay

In the novel, The Epic of Gilgamesh, one question that wanders though every reader’s mind is whether of not Gilgamesh is a hero? Through the course of the story, Gilgamesh commits some outlandish actions towards the citizens of his city, whom he is supposed to protect. But as the story progresses, Gilgamesh’s true identity is uncovered, and the traits that a hero possesses begin to show. A hero is someone who is noted for courageous acts or nobility of character. Many readers believe that Gilgamesh should not be able to hold the title of a hero, or the role of a king from the characters of the novel’s viewpoint, due to the immoral actions that he has committed, but this just means that he is an unusual hero. In addition, Gilgamesh has proven

Gilgamesh mother is the goddess, Ninsun, and his father is a priest, making him two-thirds divine and one-third human. This type of ancestry is one that many others do not possess, and with such divine parents, his appearance and physical strength is like no other. Gilgamesh is described as “the tall, magnificent and terrible, who opened passes in the mountains, who dug wells on the slopes of the uplands, and crossed the ocean, the wide sea to the sunrise …” (George, 2). Along with this, he created the city of Uruk, building temple towers, surrounding his city with high walls for protection, as well as laying out fields filled with flowers, wheat, and much more. Gilgamesh abilities in a physical aspect are something that cannot be matches by any other person roaming the earth. In addition to this, Gilgamesh physical appearance is imposing, “his build was perfected by diving Nudimmud … six cubits was his stride … by earthly standards he was the most handsome” (George, 3) and that when he walks, the people of city portrayed him as a wild bull. Gilgamesh is like no other specimen, his physical characteristics and knowledge that he possesses is unlike no other than that of a hero. Along with this, the courageous acts that he portrays helps further drive the point that Gilgamesh is in fact, a