Friendship In Homer's The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Friendship has proven to be a formidable aspect within many of the world’s epics. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the protagonist, Gilgamesh suffers the loss of his best friend, Enkidu. A parallel experience occurs in Homer’s The Iliad with Achilles and his best friend, Patroclus. In these epics, friendship is a theme that leads to an epiphany within the protagonist. In both instances, Achilles and Gilgamesh undergo a loss that is the catalyst for a monumental shift that develops them into heroes. Gilgamesh meets his equal when Aruru creates Enkidu. Despite a rocky start, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become best friends and go on various adventures until one day, Enkidu meets his fate on behalf of the god’s wrath. After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh mourns for seven days and six nights and realizes that death will also come to him. Gilgamesh decides he does not wish to meet the same fate as his dear friend and is evident when he voices his …show more content…
Gilgamesh realized the value of life and improved his leadership of his country. Achilles decided he wanted to die a warrior for his country in honor of Patroclus. Before the death of their friends, both Achilles and Gilgamesh were at a stalemate in their life. It was not until after the deaths of Patroclus and Enkidu that Achilles and Gilgamesh began to change. For Achilles, the desire for revenge was his motivation and for Gilgamesh, it was his desire to live eternally. While both were selfish reasons, they were in honor of their fallen comrades. These epics embrace “the forces represented by the absolute commitment of the powerful and heroic male to energy and battle and on the other, the forces that represent some newly emerging situations and value systems