Gilgamesh
The main characteristics of Gilgamesh were
his superhuman strength and great willpower- traits symbolized in this statue by the
commanding way in which he holds the lion.
WEST ASIAThe story of Gilgamesh, the King of Uruk, is the oldest extended narrative
to have come down from the ancient world. It survives in the form of an
epic poem written on clay tablets in the 7th century BCE in Assyria, although
the story dates back to the 3rd millennium BCE. Its themes of heroism,
friendship, and the quest for immortality, together with the poem’s exotic
cast of characters, have proved fascinating for generations of readers.The Epic of Gilgamesh
to seduce him, but he
rejected her. Normally
irresistible, she resented
this rebuf and complained
to the gods, who responded
by sending another
monster, the Bull of
Heaven. But even this creature was
killed by Enkidu and Gilgamesh.
Now the gods decided that one of
them must pay for killing Humbaba
and the Bull of Heaven.
They decreed that
Enkidu would die.THE SEARCH FOR IMMORTALITY
Enkidu’s death forced Gilgamesh to consider his own mortality.
He knew of a man named Utnapishtim who was the sole
survivor of a great flood and had been granted immortality. So
Gilgamesh visited Utnapishtim to find a way of attaining
immortality. Utnapishtim told him that the gods had caused
the flood because they were angry at the sins of humans. But
Enki (Ea in Babylonian myth), the water god, had appeared in
a dream to Utnapishtim and instructed him to build a boat.
Utnapishtim advised Gilgamesh to accept his fate as
a mortal, but also told him of a plant growing at the bottom
of a lake in the Underworld that gave everlasting youth to
whomever ate from it. Gilgamesh went to the Underworld and
found the plant, but on his way back, a snake stole the plant.
Realizing the futility of his quest, Gilgamesh accepted his fate.THE MYTH
Gilgamesh was a ruthless and cruel ruler of Uruk. He forced
the men to be his slaves and the women to be his mistresses.
Helpless against the mighty Gilgamesh, the people prayed
to the gods for help and they responded by sending a wild
man named Enkidu to fight Gilgamesh and subdue him.
Gilgamesh attempted to tame Enkidu by sending a temple
prostitute to seduce him. The woman took Enkidu to Uruk
to civilize him, but when they arrived at a wedding in the city,
Enkidu saw Gilgamesh demanding to sleep with the bride, and
challenged him to a fight. They were both strong and evenly
matched, and realized after a long struggle that there could
be no winner. Thus, they embraced and became friends.THE TWO TYRANTS
Now there were two tyrants terrorizing the people of Uruk.
This time the gods sent a creature called Humbaba, who was
a fire-breathing monster. But Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who
were supported by Shamash, the sun
god, fought the monster and killed
him. Next the gods tried to trick
Gilgamesh by sending the attractive
Inanna (known as Ishtar in Babylon)The Bull
of Heaven
Killing supernatural
monsters of great
strength like the bull
was common for the
hero and antihero in
ancient epic poetry.86