I who know him, I am terrified.” (pg.80). This quote shows that Gilgamesh is getting in over his head and is fighting with no purpose. “Gilgamesh, you are strong, but what is the Country of living to you?” (pg. 72).
After losing the plant of eternal life, Gilgamesh returns to his kingdom of Uruk. There, Gilgamesh looks over his empire, and is astonished at what he sees. He, “looked at the walls, awed at the heights his people had achieved” (92). Gilgamesh, once believing he was almighty, becomes a greater man and leader through
Gilgamesh quest to Utnapishtimis not only to escape his death, but also an experiance of life. Gilgamesh learns that no one person can escape death. He was bothered by the fact that only gods had eturnal lives. Enkidu tells him not to go to battle with with Humbuba. They tell each other life is to short and the fame is the only thing that last forever.
In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character, Gilgamesh wants to live forever, more than anything else. Even from Tablet II, you can see that he wants his to make his name immortal as he knows he will die “As for man, [his days] are numbered whatever he may do, is but wind,...exists not for me…” (19) This passage shows Gilgamesh trying to persuade Enkidu to kill Humbaba by acknowledging that their days are numbered, showing he wants to make a permanent mark on the world–suggesting he doesn’t want to be ‘but wind’. More proof that supports this is how Gilgamesh boasts to the people of Uruk, about his plans to kill Humbaba, “‘Hear me, O young men [of Uruk-the-sheep-fold,] O young men of Uruk, who understand [combat!] Bold as I am I shall tread
Both Gilgamesh and Achilles were both born with divine features and became iconic war heroes of their time. Achilles and Gilgamesh both lose close friends which leads to an undertaking of questioning immortality. They contrast in the manner they come to terms with it; Gilgamesh seeks immortality from the Gods, whereas Achilles comes to an understanding with the fact that everyone will eventually die. Their characters depicted Greek society by displaying how Greek’s valued strong relationships, the importance of love in their society, and the natural part of war in their
Gilgamesh’s ultimate goal is to achieve immortality, and this is granted to him near the end of the epic by the gods. Although more subtle and often overlooked, the topic of immortality is alluded to in the Hebrew text of Genesis. In chapter six, verse thirteen, God says to Noah, “I see that the end of all mortals has come,” thus alluding to the possibility of Noah being immortal. While this is proven to be false by his eventual death, Noah lives to be nine hundred and fifty years old. Also varying between the two stories is the length of the storms themselves.
You have toiled without cease, and what have you got! Through toil you wear yourself out, you fill your body with grief, your long lifetime you are bringing near(to a premature end)!... No one can see death, no one can see the face of death, no one can hear the voice of death, yet there is a savage death that snaps off mankind.” (Tab.X, PG. 25) Utnapishtim attempts to speak knowledge into Gilgamesh about rebirth and how he cannot escape death.
After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh goes wandering in his quest for immortality. Upon meeting Utapinishti, Gilgamesh observes that Utapinishti seems no different from himself, and asks him how he obtained his immortality. Utapinishti, a mortal man who is now a god, explained to Gilgamesh that death is our certain destiny, even if we don’t know when it will happen. Utnapishtim goes on to say that Gilgamesh inherited his father’s mortality and, like everything else in the mortal world, he is subject to death. (Gilgamesh 93).
The epic tale of Gilgamesh is about an astonishing protagonist on a quest for immortality. On this quest, Gilgamesh becomes a changeable character of one seeking knowledge. The character development represents the meanings to be human by having death, friendship, and power. At the beginning, Gilgamesh character style displays him as an antagonist, but, later on, becomes the protagonist. The theme helps develop the idea of Gilgamesh’s character as a bittersweet tale of a man’s failure to a quest.
For instance; when he loses his companion, Enkidu, Gilgamesh recalls the mortality in this citation and afterward he chooses to look for immortality. “Give me your armor to put on your shoulders; The Trojans might suppose I was you, Hold back, and give the Acheans' sons a breather, For breathing spells in war are very few. Then, with a shout, fresh men might easily turn tired men from the ships toward the city." So, like a fool he begged; for it would be an evil death and doom for himself he asked” (Lines 40-47 Book
Gilgamesh goes to get the plant in hopes of returning to Uruk and sharing the plant with the elderly. All hopes are tarnished when a snake steals the plant in the middle of the night. Once Gilgamesh realizes, he watches as the serpent slithers away with new skin growing back making it young again. Although eternal life was what Gilgamesh wanted, failing the tests he was given showed that he was meant to be mortal.
A Hero’s Quest for Immortality Gilgamesh, just like any other heroes, receives 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.” It makes no sense at first but as the story progress, we found out that Gilgamesh was never meant to live eternal life. 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.
In order to Gilgamesh to achieve immortality, he must be able to transcend the one weakness that makes man human: sleep. Sleep and death are two sides of the same coin in that the body rest and does not “live” and do any actions. The fact that Gilgamesh cannot overcome the need to sleep, the weaker counterpart to death, means he is not worthy of immorality. Sleep is deemed important to the Samarian culture, because when you dream you acquire important information of the future and receive some sort of enlightenment from their past experiences.
Yet it holds the same human experiences, same human emotions, and same human ambitions. It holds the same sentiments we hold dear today, such as life and friendship in utmost importance. It speaks of human ambition to be remembered and to live forever, that can be found even up to this day. Gilgamesh attributed his immortality with enduring monuments, such as the city of Uruk, modern day individuals, in the same manner, attribute their immortality with the name they made for themselves. The truth of society, how nature works, and how human beings relate with each other, and how man’s actions can influence other things, are greatly intertwined.
Although in today’s society Gilgamesh’s over-the-top machismo and acts of hyper-masculinity are seen as a hackneyed trope, in its time, Gilgamesh’s quests were awe-inspiring to audiences. One of the most enthralling parts of the tale is when Gilgamesh and Enkidu are on their way to fight Humbaba because of the vivid description of their journey, and the fact that this is the first time Gilgamesh showcases his combat expertise. Even though there are exaggerations throughout the story, the story reflects the culture and morals of the Mesopotamian society it was written in.
