Gilgamesh Essay
Gilgamesh was an early king of the Mesopotamian civilization; he was believed to be two thirds god and one third man. During his reign, he went on a long quest; prompted by the death of his best friend, Enkidu. Enkidu was punished by the gods and put to death; the first part of Gilgamesh’s quest was to travel to the underworld to retrieve Enkidu. While on this quest he added a personal goal also; which was to achieve eternal life. During his quest, he gained knowledge that life is difficult and that he is not immortal. In the beginning of the story Gilgamesh believed that he was better than all others, even the gods. He showed that when he and Enkidu killed the guardian of the forest, who had been put there by the gods. After Enkidu’s punishment, Gilgamesh in his arrogance felt he could got to the underworld and retrieve Enkidu. While on the quest, he met the wine goddess who taught him to live his life to the fullest which made him feel more mortal. He also met Utnapishtim who gave him a challenge to achieve eternal life. The challenge was to stay awake for seven days and Gilgamesh failed the challenge in a short period of time, proving he was fallible. He stayed from his original path and only focused on external life for himself, in the end the serpent snatched the flower that gave youth, causing Gilgamesh realized that he is the same as everyone else and that he, too, will die. Even though Gilgamesh was two thirds god, in the end it was proven that