Many of the ideas and practices that were common over four thousand years ago have died out, been changed, or are viewed today as being outlandish. For example, the practice of the divine right of kings or royalty and polytheism are a little outdated and rarely practiced in this day and age. Gilgamesh, the oldest existing piece of literature, mentions both of these ideas. Thinking about the epic in a way with a closed mind may discourage some readers to stop reading it and disregard the piece of work as ancient nonsense or insignificant writings of a dead civilization. However, many of the themes in the epic are universal. They transcend time and culture, and they are still relevant in today’s world and in American society. Themes like life
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At this point, he knows in the back of his mind that “only gods live forever,” (Anonymous and Gilgamesh 93) the same way people know that the Earth is round. It seems obvious, and it is ingrained in people’s minds, but they have never tested it out themselves. At first, Gilgamesh is fine with that knowledge, though, and is content with making his name live forever and not himself. It is only when death comes so close to him that he becomes scared of death and doubtful of the necessity of it. After Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh, like a child in his grief, questions whether he must die (Mitchell 47). He realizes the obvious answer and goes on a quest to find a way to gain immortality out of his fear of death, “How can I bear… this fear of death that relentlessly draws me forward,” (Anonymous and Mitchell 159). Through many trials, Gilgamesh is given very wise advice by two people that he encounters: Shiduri, a tavern keeper, and Utnapishtim, the man who survived the flood and gained immortality. However, contrary to Shiduri’s advice to live life to its fullest, Gilgamesh wastes it by looking for a way to live forever. It is one big, tragic contradiction. He spends so much of his time preoccupied by the shortness of a mortal life and risks his welfare over and over to look for a way out of death when he could have been in his palace having the time of his life, but, like a child, Gilgamesh must learn about the importance of …show more content…
She wants to marry Gilgamesh or make him her lover. However, he vehemently refuses. In this sense, he inadvertently chooses humanity over divinity because he would rather live as a human than be her lover and transformed into something else but live on like her other lovers. Gilgamesh struggles with the divinity and humanity inside himself as well. Being two-thirds god, he is stronger and mightier than a normal man. However, since he is one part human, the mortality takes over and he will die, but there has been an exception before him, which means “there may be a second,” (Mitchell 48). In the beginning of the tale, he was content to let his name go down in history and accepts of the fact that he will die, but after Enkidu passes away, he becomes dissatisfied with his own humanity. It can be said that Enkidu grows into his humanity after human contact and intimacy. Before his death, he curses the priestess responsible for this growth, but Shamash, a god, reminds him that his humanity was precious and should be viewed as gift. He was loved, both by the people of the kingdom of Uruk and his other half, Gilgamesh. Using this information, it could be said that Gilgamesh was so ready and willing to give away his humanity in exchange for divinity because he had just lost touch with other people in his grief, and his most intimate friend had died right in front of him. When he laments to
At this point, he knows in the back of his mind that “only gods live forever,” (Anonymous and Gilgamesh 93) the same way people know that the Earth is round. It seems obvious, and it is ingrained in people’s minds, but they have never tested it out themselves. At first, Gilgamesh is fine with that knowledge, though, and is content with making his name live forever and not himself. It is only when death comes so close to him that he becomes scared of death and doubtful of the necessity of it. After Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh, like a child in his grief, questions whether he must die (Mitchell 47). He realizes the obvious answer and goes on a quest to find a way to gain immortality out of his fear of death, “How can I bear… this fear of death that relentlessly draws me forward,” (Anonymous and Mitchell 159). Through many trials, Gilgamesh is given very wise advice by two people that he encounters: Shiduri, a tavern keeper, and Utnapishtim, the man who survived the flood and gained immortality. However, contrary to Shiduri’s advice to live life to its fullest, Gilgamesh wastes it by looking for a way to live forever. It is one big, tragic contradiction. He spends so much of his time preoccupied by the shortness of a mortal life and risks his welfare over and over to look for a way out of death when he could have been in his palace having the time of his life, but, like a child, Gilgamesh must learn about the importance of …show more content…
She wants to marry Gilgamesh or make him her lover. However, he vehemently refuses. In this sense, he inadvertently chooses humanity over divinity because he would rather live as a human than be her lover and transformed into something else but live on like her other lovers. Gilgamesh struggles with the divinity and humanity inside himself as well. Being two-thirds god, he is stronger and mightier than a normal man. However, since he is one part human, the mortality takes over and he will die, but there has been an exception before him, which means “there may be a second,” (Mitchell 48). In the beginning of the tale, he was content to let his name go down in history and accepts of the fact that he will die, but after Enkidu passes away, he becomes dissatisfied with his own humanity. It can be said that Enkidu grows into his humanity after human contact and intimacy. Before his death, he curses the priestess responsible for this growth, but Shamash, a god, reminds him that his humanity was precious and should be viewed as gift. He was loved, both by the people of the kingdom of Uruk and his other half, Gilgamesh. Using this information, it could be said that Gilgamesh was so ready and willing to give away his humanity in exchange for divinity because he had just lost touch with other people in his grief, and his most intimate friend had died right in front of him. When he laments to