Gilgamesh and current day society hold many similarities in grieving rituals, showing how humans have something we all share even being apart in history. Gilgamesh finds a way to cope with his feelings for a while, “Six days and seven nights I mourned over him and would not allow him to be buried until a maggot fell out of his nose.”(Gilgamesh Tablet 7 In. ) Gilgamesh experiences one of the stages of grief, denial. Many people go through these stages of griefs, to deal with the loss. This is a normal reaction, as it acts as a defense mechanism. Our brains slow the immediate shock, by blocking out words and facts to hide from the truth. Gilgamesh refuses to accept Enkidu’s death, until he noticed a key sign that he was never coming back. In
