The Mythology Book

ASIA 195

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 finest

What can I do,

Utnapishtim? Where

can I go? Death lives in the

house where my bed is.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

His 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 sat

at 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