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protection. Despite Shamash’s
best efforts, the gods decided
that Enkidu must die.Death and the quest
Coming to grips with his own
mortality, as foretold in the dream,
Enkidu desperately prayed to
Shamash and cursed Samhat,
the temple prostitute, for showing
him the way to Uruk. Shamash
rebuked him and told him to be
glad of the adventures he had
experienced. He assured Enkidu
that Gilgamesh would give his
body the finest resting place.
Soon after, Enkidu fell ill and
died 12 days later.
Lamenting his friend’s death,
Gilgamesh enlisted all of the
people and animals to mourn with
him. Calling together the finestWhat can I do,
Utnapishtim? Where
can I go? Death lives in the
house where my bed is.
The Epic of GilgameshHis mission a failure, Gilgamesh comes
to terms with the inevitability of death.Enkidu’s death sends the grieving Gilgamesh on a
quest for immortality.Enkidu’s love for Gilgamesh inspires him to empathize
with his own people.Evenly matched in battle, the two develop
a passionate bond.Enkidu is created by the gods to subdue the
oppressive ruler Gilgamesh.craftsmen in the land, Gilgamesh
built a golden statue of Enkidu in
his honor. He then abandoned
civilization, put on animal skins,
and wandered the wilderness in
mourning. In doing so, Gilgamesh
mirrored the early life of Enkidu.
Enkidu had been a wild man who
learned to become civilized; upon
Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh, once a
civilized man, became wild.
Gilgamesh then left Uruk on a
quest for immortality, anxious not
to die like his soulmate. When he
followed the path that Shamash
took through the sky at night, he
found the tunnel to the heavens.
By speaking to the guardians of
the tunnels, he learned the story of
Utnapishtim, a survivor of the Great
Flood who, together with his wife,
had achieved immortality and satat the assembly of the gods.
Determined to discover the secret
to eternal life, Gilgamesh set out
to find Utnapishtim.
On his way to the Underworld,
Gilgamesh met an innkeeper
called Siduri, who tried to convince
him to turn back. She told the king
that the journey was not safe for
mere mortals. When he insisted
on continuing, she reluctantly
gave him directions to Urshanabi,
who ferried people across the
River of the Dead. Gilgamesh
found Urshanabi, who agreed
to help him on his mission.
As they crossed the river,
Urshanabi asked Gilgamesh why
he had made the journey to the
Underworld. Gilgamesh told him
how his grief at the death of Enkidu
had driven him to find immortality.
His words convinced Urshanabi
to take him to Utnapishtim.
When Gilgamesh eventually
reached Utnapishtim, the man who
had achieved immortality remarked
on how worn out the king looked.
Gilgamesh explained his pain at
watching his friend die and said
he was afraid of his own mortality.
In response, Utnapishtim asked
why Gilgamesh would go on a futile
quest instead of enjoying what
he had been given in life: “Why, O
Gilgamesh, did you prolong woe?” ❯❯US_190_197_Gilgamesh.indd 195 05/12/17 4:16 pm