NOT YOUR AVERAGE HEROIC STORY
We are used to hearing stories about heroes or at least we have heard a story like such once in our lifetime, be it a knight in shining armor or a person who stands up to injustice. However, the story that is about to be told is not what you may think is a heroic story. As I would say, the main character is not your average hero or ally of justice archetype. However, the story does have its morals and messages contained within it. This story comes from ancient Mesopotamian civilization and is one of the earliest known literary writings in the world. It is called “The Epic of Gilgamesh”.
The story revolves around Gilgamesh, a hero-king of the Sumerian city of Uruk, who was two-thirds god and one-third human as his father was a king and his mother was a goddess. Gilgamesh received many blessings from the gods such as strength, courage, and beauty making him the strongest as well as the greatest king to have ever existed. Despite all of that, Gilgamesh was a tyrannical king. He oppressed his people and would often abuse his power to get what he wanted. Seeing the situation, the citizens of Uruk prayed to the gods for judgment to come to Gilgamesh.
The gods answered the prayers of the people and created Enkidu from clay to fight and balance Gilgamesh’s might. Naturally, the two of them fought when they first met and of course, they were both equal in terms of their strengths. Surprisingly, after the battle had come to an end, Gilgamesh became friends with Enkidu and it could be seen that from this friendship, Gilgamesh experienced character development. He takes notice of what Enkidu says and learned virtues like mercy, humility, courage, and nobility. The two of them became inseparable as if they were brothers.
Years later, a thought came into Gilgamesh’s mind in which he wanted to carve his name in history and so he and Enkidu traveled to a sacred forest to kill the demon known as Humbaba. Although the battle was fierce, both Gilgamesh and Enkidu, with help of the blessings from the sun-god Shamash, succeeded in defeating the demon. Following this triumph, they both returned to the city of Uruk where they were met by the goddess of love and war, Ishtar. Ishtar proposed to Gilgamesh to marry her but he refused due to Ishtar being known for mistreating her previous lovers. Offended by this, Ishtar asked her father to summon Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh and Enkidu were able to slay the powerful beast even without the blessings of the gods. They then celebrated but not long after, Enkidu was punished by the gods for this act of blasphemy. He became more and more ill as days passed until finally, death came.
Gilgamesh was devastated. He tried to bargain with the gods but was left with no response. The sorrow and grief were so great, he refused to leave his friend’s side for six days and seven nights. After that event, he realized that he too was susceptible to the same fate as his friend. Gilgamesh then embarked on a journey for immortality and after many trials and tribulations, he found what he found immortality that took the form of a magical plant in which he would use to rejuvenate the old men of his city as well as himself. On his way back from the journey, he took a bath in a nearby lake. During his bathing session when he was off guard, a snake eats the plant and just like that, all his efforts were worthless. He then returns to Uruk, writes his story, and then in time, dies. Albeit he was a tyrannical king in the beginning, his development for the better as an individual was significant. He made amends for his past mistakes and so the people of Uruk came to mourn his passing.
The story of Gilgamesh is not your average battle of good versus evil. It is more of how a person comes to combat his wrongdoings. It is a tale of friendship and brotherhood in which encourages hope in life. It tells us that while life may be limited, what we do during that limited time is what matters. Those things can be the choices that we make, the people that we meet, alongside the memories that we have experienced. Gilgamesh’s struggle against meaninglessness is essentially what defines him as a character. It is a struggle that we have all experienced as humans.
References
Ancient-Literature. (n.d.). Epic of Gilgamesh. Retrieved April 20, 2021, from Ancient-Literature: https://www.ancient-literature.com/other_gilgamesh.html#Introduction
Mark, J. J. (2018, March 29). Gilgamesh. Retrieved from World History Encyclopedia: https://www.worldhistory.org/gilgamesh/
Spar, I. (2009, April). Gilgamesh. Retrieved from MetMuseum: https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/gilg/hd_gilg.htm
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, May 6). Epic of Gilgamesh. Retrieved from Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Epic-of-Gilgamesh