Character in Gilgamesh Undertakes a Journey Which

¶ … character in Gilgamesh undertakes a journey which is more than a trip from one place to another. This kind of journey is a quest, a quest for self. Gilgamesh is trying to learn who he is and to understand his place in the world, and this is the quest he begins, a quest that takes him far and that takes a lot of time to complete. The physical journey he takes is only the visible part of the quest, while the main part is internal, a journey into his own soul to find himself.

The time of the story is one in which human beings felt close to the gods and felt that the gods intervened in their lives. Gilgamesh is a ruler who is considered to be too devoted to war, and the gods hear the lament of the people and send their own created hero, Enkidu, to do battle with Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh defeats Enkidu, after which they are friends. They set out together against Humbaba to do battle. When Gilgamesh refuses the marriage proposal of the goddess of love, Ishtar, she sends a divine bull against him, and he and Enkidu kill it. Enkidu dreams that he must die for his role in killing the bull, and he does die. Gilgamesh seeks a way to see that his friend is granted eternal life and sets out on a journey to meet the one man who survived the Great Flood and who can give him answers.

Many of the elements in this epic can be found in other epics, from the journey as a quest for some advantage to the slaying of a creature sent to do destruction. The epic also involves certain social values in its celebration of the hero, its reverence for the gods, and its belief in the ruler-hero as a god himself. The people of this time also believe in fate and place their fate in the hands of the gods. Gilgamesh has these same values and lives in a way that is ordained by the gods. Gilgamesh is described as "the favorite of the gods, the beautiful, / strongest of all, the terror, the most desired" (9). He is the leader, and he is the most revered and because he represents the fate, security, and stability of the people and their kingdom. When Gilgamesh dies, the people lament. Every aspect of life is ascribed to a god or gods -- the death of Gilgamesh is attributed to Ereshkigal, the Queen of Death, and it is said that "He did not fall in battle . . . The Nether World itself it was that seized him" (90).

The people see the world as a place of dangers, ruled by different gods who behave as rulers of their particular kingdom. The people value the warlike strength of Gilgamesh because he can protect them from these other gods, as well as from other rules who might attack them. At the same time, as is shown in the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh himself is ruled by the gods and subject to their will, though his strength and power are such that he becomes a god himself in the end. The gods speak to individuals through their dreams, and dreams foretell the future and provide lessons which come directly from the gods.

The quest undertaken by Gilgamesh has two aspects, as noted, the first being the physical journey, and the second being the quest for an understanding of himself. The first is heroic in the epic mold, taking Gilgamesh into danger. Gilgamesh is warned by the old men of the city that there will be danger, and they say "Helpless is he who enters the Cedar Forest" (18). Gilgamesh says he will enter the forest anyway. The journey he undertakes with Enkidu is difficult, and especially difficult for Gilgamesh as "The two of them traveled fifty leagues a day, / Never resting except at night" (21). This is not a hardship for Enkidu, who does not eat or sleep, but it is difficult for Gilgamesh, who does need to eat and sleep. Gilgamesh also undertakes a different sort of journey in his dreams, for dreams are a way for the gods to speak to humans and to take them on a journey to the soul in a less direct manner. His dreams are ominous, but they are interpreted as good omens by Enkidu. Gilgamesh learns from these dreams, but he often has to be told what he should learn by Enkidu.

Gilgamesh learns from his experiences, from what happens to himself and to Enkidu, from those he meets along the way, and from his dreams and even the dreams others report to him. He also learns from his battles, such as that with Huwawa, the guardian of the forest. He then returns to his normal existence in the city. At home, he knows that he is the ruler and knows his place in the social order, but he searches for more because he wants to know more about his own heart. In the beginning, as the gods see, Gilgamesh is too dedicated to war, and he must learn more about himself to change and to be a better example to his people. On the last journey he undertakes, he does so not for himself but for Enkidu, wanting to give Enkidu eternal life. At the same time, Gilgamesh shows that he is concerned about himself, asking, "Must I die too? Must Gilgamesh be like that?" (48).

His quest is in part to find the answer to these questions. Each step in the journey involves a new danger, and all the time Gilgamesh is in danger of being attacked and killed. In spite of this and his fear that this is what may happen to him, he keeps going. Before he can find what he is looking for, he finds himself in darkness, surrounded by it as if in a prison: "The darkness pressed in upon him, both nothing and something" (52). Gilgamesh emerges from this darkness into the day, passing through the night to have the world visible to him in the sunlight: "He emerged from the mountain into a wonderful garden" (53). Gilgamesh identifies himself by the battles he has fought and won and by the enemies he has killed: "It is Gilgamesh, who killed the demon guardian, / Huwawa the guardian of the Cedar Forest" (55). His journey takes him across the water, and he is powered by his grief. He tells this to the boatman and to others as he travels, and everywhere he stops, he thinks about death and about how he wants to escape death.

He still learns from dreams, but he must interpret these dreams himself he learns from Shamash, who gives him directions. Shamash also tells him about the dead and about what it is like in the Netherworld. He seeks Upa-napishti, who will tell him about the flood and whose survival shows that he knows how to escape death. He learns more directions from those he meets as they direct him on his quest. He tells his story to several of those he meets. Uta-napishti tests him and finds him wanting. He wants Gilgamesh to stay awake for seven nights, but Gilgamesh fails and so is denied the eternal life he seeks, he also loses the only treasure he has acquired on his trip. He learns that he is not worthy of eternal life,