Epic of Gilgamesh as the Heroic Saga of a Demigod - Literature review Example

Gilgamesh and Enkidu The Epic of Gilgamesh – the heroic saga of a demigod – is typical of ancient tales, as it depicts the values and culture of ancient Mesopotamia known today as Iraq. However, there is more to the epic that makes it significant through all the ages across borders – the hero’s life’s journey, more importantly, provides insights on human life, which Abusch (2001) generally described as the arrogance of power, the value of friendship, the pain of loss, and the fear of death (p. 614). These universal issues of human life are beautifully presented in the epic through the transformations of its main characters: Gilgamesh and Enkidu, who could be understood symbolizing the contradictions of life from which the meaning of life is realized. Actually, it was to foil Gilgamesh that the gods created Enkidu, purposely to bring balance to the city of Uruk, which Gilgamesh’s abuse of power terrorizes. Thus Enkidu becomes Gilgamesh other self – a reflection of his weakness, as Enkidu made him painfully realize his inherent limitation as a human – his mortality, which drove him to seek eternal life. This, according to Davis (2000) is the underlying question in the epic: “Why have the gods withheld eternal life from humanity?” (p. 70). “Gilgamesh, where are you wandering? The life that you are seeking all around you will not find. When the gods created mankind they fixed Death for mankind, and held back Life in their own hands.” (Kovacks, 1989, p. 85) And it was in his search for eternal life, as he challenges death, that the answer to this question is revealed. The gods denied humanity of eternal life, because what makes human life precious, thus meaningful is no other than death. After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh desire to escape of death gave him the reason to live. It is also his fear of death that transformed Gilgamesh from a ruthless ruler to a responsible one, by which he left behind a legacy that outlived him. As Brown (1996) explained, “without death [Gilgamesh’s] life would be meaningless, and the adventures that make up the epic would disappear. In celebrating Gilgamesh… we celebrate that which makes us human.” (para. 6) On the other hand, Gilgamesh is Enkidu’s strength, since with the elders entrusting Gilgamesh to his care implies recognition of Gilgamesh’s weakness of the wilderness. As such, serving Gilgamesh has given Enkidu his worth. Gilgamesh, do not put your trust in (just) your vast strength, but keep a sharp eye out, make each blow strike its mark! The one who goes on ahead saves the comrade.1 The one who knows the route protects his friend. Let Enkidu go ahead of you; he knows the road to the Cedar Forest, he has seen fighting, has experienced battle. Enkidu will protect the friend, will keep the comrade safe. Let his body urge him back to the wives (?). (Kovacks, 1989, p. 25) Gilgamesh and Enkidu although sharply different are very much alike. If Gilgamesh is a civilized man born two-thirds god and one-third human in the city of Uruk, yet acts uncivilly and inhumanely, killing the sons and raping the daughters of his people, on the other hand, Enkidu is a primitive man born akin to a wild beast, yet acts with compassion with the beasts whom he grew with, protecting them from trappers and freeing them whenever trapped (Kovacks, 1989, pp. 4, xix). Such difference portrays the contrast between the civilized and the primitive. That civilization, as Brown (1996) noted, transforms the primitive man with no return, corrupting his innocence and weakening him, yet giving him wisdom to see life beyond the wilderness (para. 9-10) allowing him to grow and enjoy the luxuries that civilization could offer to life like wine, women, and comfort. Though born and raised differently, both similarly possess super-human physical strengths that made them both feared: Gilgamesh by his people and Enkidu by the trapper. Thus both are to be tamed: Gilgamesh by the people of Uruk to live peacefully, whereas, Enkidu by the trapper to survive. Though Enkidu tamed Gilgamesh and the Shamash tamed Enkidu, both for the first time in their lives achieved a profound relationship – true friendship – developed in their struggle with each other, as each sees his strength and weakness from the other. It was this developed friendship that gave meaning to their lives. It was this relationship that made them realized the joy and pain of loving. It was this developed friendship that made them seek more for life and made them fear death. Moreover, the process by which Gilgamesh and Enkidu achieved true friendship illustrates one important fact in life: That it entails courage to brave through human weaknesses for one to achieve what is truly precious in life. Another difference of the two is recognized by Humbaba – the guardian of the Cedar forest, himself: That Gilgamesh is a noble, whereas Enkidu is nobody, yet it was this nobody to whom Gilgamesh listened to when he killed Humbaba and cut down trees in the Cedar forest. Such on the other hand shows both to be similarly stupid, because Gilgamesh, a demigod gifted by the gods with intellect, should have been the one advising Enkidu, whose source of wisdom is far inferior to the gods, yet he listened to him. And Enkidu’s stupidity lies in his belief that they could outsmart the gods. Enkidu’s stupidity brought him his death. “May he not live the longer of the two, may Enkidu not have any shore(?) more than his friend Gilgamesh!” (Kovacks, 1989, p. 46) This reminds humans that one should act accordingly because acting beyond one’s limitation might outstretch one’s ability, but could bring more harm than expected. In the end, what differentiated Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s mortality is the time and manner of their death: Enkidu died in sickness; Gilgamesh died of old age. Both showed fear of death, but it was in death that both achieved eternal life – the legacy they left behind that outlived them, which are the lessons of life that has been made understood in their adventures. As Davis (2005) rightly observed the Epic of Gilgamesh is “an early attempt[] to answer our perennial questions about the meaning of human existence, with its painful limitations” (p. 7). This is so because the epic presents the paradoxes of life through the likeness and difference of Gilgamesh and Enkidu as they brave through their adventures in outsmarting the gods of which they realized human limitation. As the Mesopotamian proverb says: "The tallest man cannot reach heaven; the widest man cannot cover the mountain (or earth)" (Greenspahn, 1994, p. 33). This simply means that despite human greatness nothing can make him conquer death. The Epic of Gilgamesh therefore is an epic of paradox as it reveals human limitation, human imperfection, and human life’s true meaning through the contrast and similarity of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. It is in their differences and likeness that each come to realize his being – Where Gilgamesh is frightened Enkidu brings back his strength and courage and so does Gilgamesh to Enkidu. It is in their differences and likeness that each come to realize the meaning of life. It is their differences and likeness that complete each other. And so the sharp difference and likeness of Gilgamesh and Enkidu indicate human imperfection. It is this human imperfection that requires man to seek others for complementation. “A slippery path is not feared by two people who help each other” (Kovacks, 1989, p. 37). It is this human imperfection that makes life worth living, because it gives man the reason to seek for noble things that which makes him leave a lasting legacy. Truly human life, as Epic of Gilgamesh beautifully illustrated is a paradox. Thus it is said: It is in pain that joy is achieved; it is in living that man dies; yet it dying that man lives in eternity. Reference List Abusch, Tzvi. (2001). The development and meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An interpretive essay.” The Journal of the American Oriental Society, 121 (4), 614+. Brown, Arthur A. (1996). Storytelling, the meaning of life, and The Epic of Gilgamesh. In Exploring ancient world cultures: Essays on the ancient near east. Retrieved January 30, 2011, from http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/brown.htm Davis, Ellen F. (2000). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. Davis, Ellen F. (2005). Wondrous depth: Preaching the old testament. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press. Greenspahn, Frederick E. (1994). A Mesopotamian Proverb and Its Biblical Reverberations. The Journal of the American Oriental Society, 114 (1), 33+. Kovacs, Maureen Gallery. (1989). The Epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. Read More