Joseph Campbell’s definition of the hero’s journey can be directly applied to Gilgamesh’s story even though some may not consider him to be a hero. Gilgamesh proves to be unworthy of the title “hero” at the beginning of the story, but once Enkidu arrives, they perform heroic acts together. Departure, fulfillment, and return are the three steps that Joseph Campbell considers to be the hero’s act which is all part of the hero’s journey. In the epic Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Gilgamesh follow these steps by leaving to kill the infamous Humbaba; the enormous beast that terrorizes all of mankind and is considered to be an enemy. In a way, Enkidu makes Gilgamesh into a hero by taming his aggressive side and translating that aggression onto these quests
