The story begins with a description of Gilgamesh’s terrifying and powerful nature. Although he is responsible for protecting the people of Uruk, the gods hear complaints about him doing otherwise; raping women, taking from the people, and destroying anyone that stands in his way. In return, Aruru, goddess of creation, makes a being strong enough to challenge Gilgamesh; his name, Enkidu.
Once coming across Enkidu in the wilderness, a hunter is instructed by his father to bring back a prostitute from Uruk, for when she and Enkidu lie together, the animals of the wilderness will reject him and he will be weakened. After Enkidu and the prostitute lie together, he tries to return to the animals, however, is ultimately rejected, as they no longer …show more content…
The first is illustrated through the bond between Gilgamesh and Enkidu as they both develop as characters due to their strong bond. Enkidu grows from this wild man that used to live amongst animals in the wilderness, to one of nobility. Gilgamesh at first tyrannical, on the other hand, transforms into a hero that the people of Uruk come to respect. Additionally, because of their equality in strength, they’re able to connect with each other in a way that diminishes the initial feeling of loneliness they once …show more content…
When Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim in hopes to avoid the same fate as Enkidu, Utnapishtim tells him about the great flood. The gods decided to exterminate mankind by flood, a flood so tremendous that even the gods themselves escaped to the highest heavens. Overall, the story provided Gilgamesh with a painful truth; death is inescapable. Just as death is intertwined with mankind, so is life. Bringing back with him the lesson he learned about life to Uruk, he continued to rule as an honorable king until his inevitable death.
Man is incredibly inferior to the gods. As seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, people worshipped and frequently made sacrifices to them. This being so, if someone were to disobey or insult the gods, punishment would result. This is seen through Gilgamesh’s refusal to marry Ishtar.
Ishtar tells Gilgamesh to become her bridegroom and in return, she’ll shower him with many gifts. Gilgamesh, however, believes that he’ll just end up like her past lovers and continues to insult her. He states, “You are an elephant… a waterskin that cuts the hands of its bearer, limestone that weakens a wall of ashlar… a shoe that bites the foot of its
Once coming across Enkidu in the wilderness, a hunter is instructed by his father to bring back a prostitute from Uruk, for when she and Enkidu lie together, the animals of the wilderness will reject him and he will be weakened. After Enkidu and the prostitute lie together, he tries to return to the animals, however, is ultimately rejected, as they no longer …show more content…
The first is illustrated through the bond between Gilgamesh and Enkidu as they both develop as characters due to their strong bond. Enkidu grows from this wild man that used to live amongst animals in the wilderness, to one of nobility. Gilgamesh at first tyrannical, on the other hand, transforms into a hero that the people of Uruk come to respect. Additionally, because of their equality in strength, they’re able to connect with each other in a way that diminishes the initial feeling of loneliness they once …show more content…
When Gilgamesh meets Utnapishtim in hopes to avoid the same fate as Enkidu, Utnapishtim tells him about the great flood. The gods decided to exterminate mankind by flood, a flood so tremendous that even the gods themselves escaped to the highest heavens. Overall, the story provided Gilgamesh with a painful truth; death is inescapable. Just as death is intertwined with mankind, so is life. Bringing back with him the lesson he learned about life to Uruk, he continued to rule as an honorable king until his inevitable death.
Man is incredibly inferior to the gods. As seen in the Epic of Gilgamesh, people worshipped and frequently made sacrifices to them. This being so, if someone were to disobey or insult the gods, punishment would result. This is seen through Gilgamesh’s refusal to marry Ishtar.
Ishtar tells Gilgamesh to become her bridegroom and in return, she’ll shower him with many gifts. Gilgamesh, however, believes that he’ll just end up like her past lovers and continues to insult her. He states, “You are an elephant… a waterskin that cuts the hands of its bearer, limestone that weakens a wall of ashlar… a shoe that bites the foot of its