The Epic of Gilgamesh Analysis

Analysis of The Epic of Gilgamesh
Introduction
The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the few great literatures that survived the ruin of ancient civilizations, more particularly the ancient Mesopotamia. It is a poem that tells the story of two great heroes, friendship, adventure, and the gods. Comprised of twelves tablets, each depicting a section of the overall tale, the Epic of Gilgamesh exists in various versions—with the Akkadian and Old Babylonian versions being the most prominent. This essay considers various parts of the Epic and seeks to examine/illustrate a few details about the heroes “Gilgamesh and Enkidu”, their relationship, the actions of the gods, and the overall significance of this Epic—as regarding its depiction of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization.
Gilgamesh and Enkidu
Gilgamesh was the first character, of the two, to be introduced. In the introduction, Gilgamesh was described as one who had exceptional qualities that transcends that of mere men. He had esoteric wisdom of ancient things (Abusch 615), the strength of many men, and the pomposity that is often common in men of extreme capacity. It is also to be noted that Gilgamesh was two-thirds god and one-third man (Khan 2), which is due to his lineage (Gilgamesh is a direct descendant of the sun-god: through his father Lugalbanda, and his goddess mother: Ninsumun). Furthermore, he was a bully king. He would often challenge his male subjects to various competitions, which he was certain to win (due to his obvious advantage). To the females in his kingdom, he had his way with whomever his heart chooses. This behaviour seemed to conflict with the initial idea of him as the protector and shepherd of his kingdom (George 228), Uruk. Due to the continued complaints of Gilgamesh’s subjects to their respective gods (complaints of their oppression, and request for a salvation), the next hero “Enkidu” is introduced.
Enkidu was introduced out of necessity: to curb the excesses of the mighty king Gilgamesh. The gods had a consensus that Gilgamesh must be tamed, and interestingly introduced a “wild man” to do the deed (the irony is quite intended). Enkidu was described as a man that fed and slept with the animals of the wild. Un-cultured, wild, and mighty in strength (Dickson 171). He was meant to be the equal of Gilgamesh, or maybe even more powerful. He was discovered by a trapper, who reported him to Gilgamesh as one who is worthy of the king’s challenge. However, this was a strategic move for the trapper, who hoped to use the opportunity to stop Enkidu from continually destroying his traps and freeing the animals it caught. Irrespective of the motive, Gilgamesh had found his worthy opponent and sent a prostitute to turn him into a civilized person. The second tablet talks about the transformation of Enkidu, through the power of sex and femininity. Enkidu finally faces off with Gilgamesh, and after a fierce battle, acknowledges the superiority of Gilgamesh’s strength. Quite unexpectedly (in contrast with the intention of the gods), the two became kindred spirits and embarked on exceptional quests. The relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu could be described as that of deep friendship, brotherhood, adventure, redemption, and love. This can be observed from the actions of Gilgamesh and Enkidu who, despite the differences in their background, found a commonality in their exceptional capabilities and strength of will. Their relationship also became a turning point for Gilgamesh, who no longer reigned as the tyrannical king, but as a reformed man with his “wing-man”. Finally, Gilgamesh deeply loved Enkidu (George 239), as his heart was exceedingly broken when Enkidu died.
Role of the gods
The gods in this Epic were very meddlesome. They, in the context of the Epic, were acting to keep a balance. At first, Gilgamesh was born of gods to be the protector of his realm. When Gilgamesh seemed too ill-mannered for the job, they introduced Enkidu to overcome Gilgamesh and restore balance to the realm. Unfortunately for them, the two great men became allies. Seeing that they now have a bigger threat than before, and considering the exploits of Gilgamesh and Enkidu—the killing of Humbaba (Al-Rawi and George 74), a powerful demi-god that keeps humans from cutting down the sacred cedar trees; the killing of Gugulanna (the “bull of heaven”), a terrifying beast Ishtar spawned in anger due to Gilgamesh’s refusal to be her lover/husband—the gods decided that one of the heroes must die. Enkidu was killed (Abusch 617), and this sparked a desire to overcome death by Gilgamesh (Kline 24).
The Epic: Audience and purpose
The main purpose of the Epic can be inferred from its teachings. The theme points to the realization of mortality as an intrinsic nature of man (Kline 28). This knowledge is humbling in its simplicity, as it speaks of the commonality between wild, poor, great, and exceptional men. The lesson: no matter how great you are or what you achieve, death is a certain plague that falls on everyone. This is understood by Gilgamesh on his return trip (Abusch 616), after meeting with the “ancient/immortal one”. Thus, the Epic identifies man’s illogical fear of death and his continuous actions to transcend it (Christman 297). As the Epic is also a very fascinating read, it seems to be more than just for attaining wisdom as it has some elements of entertainment. The kind of audience this piece was written for (at the time), were the nobility and people of court (high social status).
Ancient Mesopotamia
The Epic of Gilgamesh gives some insight into the mindset and structure of the ancient Mesopotamian civilization. The first idea it depicts, is the amount of power and reverence accorded to the monarchy in old Mesopotamia. The kings are regarded as part divinity, as is attributed to Gilgamesh. This is also like what may be observed from history of later Asian civilizations (George 228) like the Chinese dynasties, Persian empires, and the Indian empires, etc. Another element from the Epic is about religion in Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamians are implied to be polytheists, which is a common feature of many ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Africans, etc. The Mesopotamians also believed in the justice system of the gods and would rather go make their complaints to their god than confront their leadership. This is seen in the very first tablet, where Gilgamesh basically did whatever he wished, and the people only complained to the gods. As a validation for said belief system, the gods in the story decided to punish Gilgamesh of his wantonness by creating Enkidu as his nemesis. Finally, it shows a bit of the old Mesopotamian views on sex (George 235). The concept of a “sacred prostitute” describes a view on the religious/spiritual aspect of sexual intercourse and the significant power it wields. It is also a common part of many old cultures, like those described by Herodotus in his account about ancient Babylon (incidentally, the ancient Babylonians have an account of the Epic of Gilgamesh as well).
Conclusion
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a tale whose lessons are still relevant in our modern civilization. The fight against mortality is unending and mankind still wrestles with the dissatisfaction of this limitation. Technology has provided us with a stronger weapon this time around; however, we are still far from winning at this moment.
Works Cited
Abusch, T. "The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay." Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 121, 2001, pp. 614-622, doi:10.2307/606502. Retrieved from: https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.2307/606502
Al-Rawi. F. N. H., and A. R. George. "Back to The Cedar Forest: The Beginning and End of Tablet V of The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgameš." Journal of Cuneiform Studies, vol. 66, 2014, pp. 69-90, doi:10.5615/jcunestud.66.2014.0069. Retrieved from: https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.5615/jcunestud.66.2014.0069
Christman, J. "The Gilgamesh Complex: The Quest for Death Transcendence and the Killing of Animals." Society & Animals, vol. 16, 2008, pp. 297-315, doi:10.1163/156853008x357649. Retrieved from: sci-hub.tw/10.1163/156853008X357649
Dickson, Keith. “Looking at the Other in ‘Gilgamesh.’” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 127, no. 2, 2007, pp. 171–182. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/20297248.
George, Andrew R. "The Mayfly on the River: Individual and collective destiny in the Epic of Gilgamesh." KASKAL: Rivista di storia, ambienti e culture del Vicino Oriente Antico, vol. 9, 2012, pp. 227-242. Retrieved from: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/15817/1/Kaskal_9 227-242 George.pdf
Khan, Anika. “Gilgamesh and medicine’s quest to conquer death.” Hektoen international: A Journal of Medical Humanities, vol. 11, no.4, June 2019, Highlighted in Frontispiece pp. 1-3.
Kline, J. "The Oldest Story, the Oldest Fear, the Oldest Fool: The Religious Dimension ofThe Epic of Gilgamesh." Jung Journal, vol. 10, no.2, 2016, 24 – 36, doi:10.1080/19342039.2016.1157411. Retrieved from: https://sci-hub.tw/https://doi.org/10.1080/19342039.2016.1157411