ipl-logo

The Role Of A True Legacy In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

1254 Words6 Pages

The Building of a True Legacy

In the poem, Epic of Gilgamesh the arrogant abusive king, Gilgamesh embarks upon a journey in which he realizes what it means to hold a true legacy of being human through mythical battles, witnessing death over life, and the failure of his ultimate quest for immortality. Due to Gilgamesh’s feeling of fulfillment and connection in his brotherhood with Enkidu and Enkidu’s fate, ultimately forced Gilgamesh to evolve and slowly change his view of mortality as a person over the course of this epic.
Gilgamesh’s close relationship with Enkidu proved his mortality as he experienced human emotions which made him more understanding and relatable to that of a “regular person”. In the beginning of the story, Gilgamesh, …show more content…

15) This changes the entire course of the story up until now as Gilgamesh never had another human being match his strength. Gilgamesh, like other humans, gained a friend and through his love for Enkidu he connects on a deeper level with his human interests. If you look at it, Enkidu was a human connected with nature, born with animals and the most down to earth person. (EG p. 6) Instead of forcing Gilgamesh to become a better person, he influenced him and transformed him into the perfect leader of the city. As Enkidu and Gilgamesh embarked on a journey to the Cedar forest in order to defeat the monster Humbaba, we see a change in attitude Gilgamesh has towards living creatures. Before his friendship with Enkidu, Gilgamesh would often hurt and and rape young virgins without considering their humanity, but as he takes a sword to Humbaba, a monster, he shows compassion, almost sparing his life. (EG p. 45) It is mentioned in the story that if Enkidu didn’t encourage Gilgamesh to end Humbaba’s life quickly, he might’ve spared him due to his new appreciation of being alive. He watches Humbaba try to negotiate and struggle for his last breath at his own mercy. Because of his growing relationship with Enkidu, Gilgamesh finds value in the living and takes time to realize …show more content…

When Enkidu and Gilgamesh defeated the Bull of Heaven together, furthering their deep friendship and brotherhood, the gods sentenced Enkidu to death. (EG p. 54.) This was a pivotal part in the story as Gilgamesh realized Enkidu’s fate could have been his due to how he views his relationship with Enkidu. Gilgamesh saw Enkidu as a true equal to him so if the gods can so easily send Enkidu to death, if they wanted to, what would stop them from doing the same to him? Through the mourning of Enkidu, whose passing has brought home to Gilgamesh his own mortality as a human, his mindset changed from that of an abusive overbearing king that was able to do as he pleased with no consequences to that of a frightened normal human being at the palms of death. Humans are all equal when it comes to facing death and this began the journey of his search to become immortal. Gilgamesh embarks upon a journey in which he hopes to discover how to become immortal due to his fear of his eventual

Show More
Related
1890 Words | 8 Pages

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu knows that his fate is death after he falls ill. While dying, he begins to grow worried due to the dreams he has of Gilgamesh not saving him from danger as he thought he would. His worry causes him to curse those who love him, like Shamhat, a woman who turned him from a beast into a human, and gave him Gilgamesh. Enkidu then immediately regrets the curses he puts on Shamhat after an unidentified voice, similar to God, explains that Shamhat has given him Gilgamesh, and Gilgamesh, “will have the people of Uruk shed bitter tears for [him once he passes], [and] he will make the pleasure-loving people burdened down for [him]. (lines 99-100).

Read More
1018 Words | 5 Pages

When becoming friends with Gilgamesh, Enkidu developed a feeling of love, in which he didn’t have before living in the wild. A social norm in this period would be slaying beasts and monsters, as an activty. This bond these two friends make are unbreakable until the Gods intervene and this is when Enkidu questions if it was worth becoming civilized just to die in the

Read More
220 Words | 1 Pages

When he died, Gilgamesh started changing for the superior. Just as the article says, Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic Life, “The most a man

Read More
1622 Words | 7 Pages

Nonetheless, as the story continues, the character changes to harmful and destructive. He slays Humbaba and is sentenced to death. When he dies, Gilgamesh remains without a friend, an advisor, and an interpreter of his dreams. 2. Why do you suppose that Gilgamesh is presented as 1/3 human and 2/3 god while Enkidu is presented as a sort of half-human and half animal before he is tamed?

Read More
746 Words | 3 Pages

In this tale, a godly man, Gilgamesh, develops a friendship with beast-turned-man, Enkidu, who begins to teach Gilgamesh about the world and helps him to grapple with challenges. After one challenge in particular, a battle with the giant Humbaba, Enkidu dies abruptly, leaving Gilgamesh alone again, and forcing him to overcome adversities by himself. Gilgamesh is initially despondent, but these adversities eventually give him the strength to grow in wisdom and appreciation. Gilgamesh flourishes from his failures because he can finally understand the meanings of life and death, accept

Read More
607 Words | 3 Pages

He is unable to let go of Enkidu, his faithful companion. Consequently, this unhealable wound leads to Gilgamesh’s call to adventure: the search for

Read More
2030 Words | 9 Pages

Surprisingly, Gilgamesh is scared, and almost reluctant to fight when he first sees Humbaba. Humbaba “nodded his head and shook it, menacing Gilgamesh; and on him he fastened his eye, the eye of death. Then Gilgamesh called to Shamash and his tears were flowing” (20). Gilgamesh needs help to defeat Humbaba, but his arrogance keeps him from becoming self-aware of his weakness.

Read More
631 Words | 3 Pages

Gilgamesh is somewhat bitter with the fact that only gods are able to live forever. When he thinks about death he is very uncomfortable because he feels that he is a mighty warrior of a man and the only thing that will ultimately end him is death. We also see how the death of his beloved friend Enkidu drives him to the edge of the earth in attempt to prolong or completely liberate himself from the same fate. This is a valuable lesson for mankind throughout history. No matter what you may feel or become in the

Read More
496 Words | 2 Pages

Moreover the friendship of Enkidu helps Gilgamesh change from a shallow, cruel ruler to a leader who is content with what he has achieved. Before the God, Aruru, formed Enkidu to change the character of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh was portrayed as a cruel and haughty leader. He would “leave no son to his father” and “leave

Read More
615 Words | 3 Pages

The Epic of Gilgamesh was written as a reminder to the people that the mortality of man should never change, because it is what defines humanity. However, in the world of The Epic of Gilgamesh, this does not seem to deter any who wish to break the cycle of life. Gilgamesh, distraught by the death of his companion, Enkidu, is overcome with the obsession of obtaining immortality, and goes along a journey to attain it. While on the journey of obtaining immortality, he faces many difficulties and warnings that should deter him away from doing so.

Read More
561 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
759 Words | 4 Pages

Through their relationship they become wiser and more viable assets to each other and their society. Before meeting Enkidu, Gilgamesh was a powerful leader, revered by his subjects, but his arrogance and egotism fueled his decisions. Contradistinction, Enkidu had only physical power; he was mentally incompetent as a human. The text describes their relationship as an intimate one: "'[I fell in love with it], like a woman I caressed it, / I carried it off and laid it down before you, / Then you were making it my partner'" (48-50).

Read More
406 Words | 2 Pages

(P47.115) Each learns the importance of friendship in life through the killing of Humbaba and then learning of wisdom through the experience of turning down Ishtar. This unleashes the Bull of Heaven and with the death of the bull, Enkidu is punished. So for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the end, Enkidu says to Gilgamesh, “I feared the battle but will die in my bed.

Read More
1147 Words | 5 Pages

The gods punish the two heroes by ending Enkidu’s life and leave Gilgamesh behind. After twelve days of suffering, he dies in a slow, inglorious death (62). Enkidu represents the wildness in humanity. After his journey with Gilgamesh, he becomes civilized, more mature and closer to humanity. Enkidu was afraid of confronting Humbaba, but because of their friendship he overcomes his fear (29).

Read More
1205 Words | 5 Pages

Once again Gilgamesh makes a choice, he chooses to slay the great demon. Humbaba then curses Enkidu. Sometimes a choice may not only affect the one that makes the choice, but others also. Gilgamesh chooses to kill Humbaba. Enkidu even tries to talk Gilgamesh out of it, but in the end it was Gilgamesh that is

Read More

More about The Role Of A True Legacy In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Related Topics

Open Document