How Did Gilgamesh Become Immortal

The idea of being immortal is shown throughout several cultures around the world. In the in book The Epic of Gilgamesh, the main character Gilgamesh, went on a quest to reach immortality. Gilgamesh’s journey consists of many trials and tribulations; however, his endeavor to yield immortal status must be granted to him from the Gods. The main character’s obsession with his own mortality is fueled by the death of his best friend Enkidu. A series of events leads to Gilgamesh’s journey and his mission to become immortal. To understand Gilgamesh’s obsession with becoming immortal, one must first understand how his obsession came to be. In the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh orders for Enkidu to be captured from the wild (Epic I. iii, 39). After Enkidu is captured, he is introduced to civilization and becomes a

The text describes the relationship between the two characters, “Then Enkidu and Gilgamesh joined in sacred friendship and sealed their solemn bond with a kiss (Epic III. i, 1-3). The quote from the text shows the bond between the two characters and can show one the despair that Gilgamesh was feeling after the loss of his friend Enkidu. So now that one can understand why Gilgamesh is obsessed with his own mortality, one can now examine the means that he pursues to become immortal. The text shows how Gilgamesh tries to become immortal when he says, “To visit my Utnapishtim, the epitome of both life everlasting and death that is eternal (Epic IX,iii, 60-2). Gilgamesh wanted to be made immortal by the god Utnapishtim. After telling Gilgamesh his story of how he became immortal, Utnapishtim states, “There is a plant that hides somewhere among the rocks that thirsts and thrusts itself deep in the earth with thistles that sting. This plant contains eternal life for you”