What Role Does Sex Play In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

The poem Epic of Gilgamesh, which was translated by Stephen Mitchell and was first written in 2100 BC. We see the main character, Gilgamesh, a corrupt king of Uruk, form a close friendship with Enkidu, a god-created being who is sympathetic to all living beings, while he is a wild man. When he transitions into a civilized human he loses his sympathy. Sex plays a big role in his transition because it gives him the ability to understand the human race and form relationships. This transition also causes negative changes in him. At first he is sympathetic to other living beings and nonviolent. However, we see that in the end, after he spends time with Gilgamesh, he becomes a murderer. He becomes violent when he is going to kill Humbaba, pressuring

It is he who mates first with the lawful wife” (87). In this quote we see that the virgin would wait for Gilgamesh so that they could have sex right after she gets married. Enkidu did not like that, he was “pale with anger” and he went to “challenge him”, so we see Enkidu protecting the virgin by challenging Gilgamesh. We see how Enkidu protects the weak and forms good relationships with living beings. He is sympathetic with them.

Sex plays a significant role in Enkidu's transformation from an animal-like creature into a civilized man. Before he was very compassionate and kind as an animal, but when he turns into a man, we start to see that he can also be compassionate as a man. After Enkdiu turns into a civilized man the animals scatter and run from him because they know he is not the same person he was before. Sex plays a significant role in Sumerian society, because people viewed it as sacred and a form of prayer to the goddess Ishtar. That is why, when Gilgamesh first heard of Enkidu (the wild man), he sent a boy to the temple of Ishtar to ask for Shamhat because she gave her body to any man. Gilgamesh wanted Shamhat to “lie there naked, ready, with her legs apart" (77).This is because Enkidu would grow curious and

Enkidu changes for the worse. This is because when we first encounter Enkidu in the text he “tears out the traps I have set, he frees the animals'', the quotes provide us with evidence that Enkidu was very sympathetic to the animals, and he did not want to see them trapped or hurt. Now, we see him disregard another living being's life - the life of Humbaba, a sacred guardian of the forest. When Gilgamesh and Enkidu enter the cedar forest they kill Humbaba. Gilgamesh was reluctant to do it, he was even surprised when Humbaba cursed them to tragic ends. However, Enkidu was pressuring Gilgamesh to end his life, he was yelling at Gilgamesh to “‘Slaughter him! Now!”’(125) Enkidu wanted to take away another living being's life, which was way different from when we first saw him being empathetic to animals. Not only that but Humbaba is a representation of nature's dark side and was god-made to protect the forest, Humbaba is the same as Enkidu, Enkidu is god-made, and he was made with all the good attributes of Gilgamesh. So not only was Enkidu promoting the murder of a being, he was promoting ones that were identical to him. The reason he pressures Gilgamesh is that if they do not kill Humbaba he will kill Gilgamesh, so he wants to protect his true friend. This shows the extent Enkidu would go to so that Gilgamesh could stay safe, and he goes against his