Epic of Gilgamesh

What better way to begin literature reviews with what is considered the world’s first truly great work of literature. The first surviving version dating back to the 18^th Century BC, “The Epic of Gilgamesh” is a Babylonian and Akkadian tale consisting of combined poems and stories from 11 tablets.

Gilgamesh is the strong, handsome king of Uruk who spends his time sleeping with new brides the night of their weddings. He’s also two-thirds god and one third mortal. When the people of Uruk beg the gods to provide Gilgamesh with a better pastime, they create Enkidu, who lives among the animals. He’s found by a trapper and is made civilized by a temple harlot. After fighting in the streets, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become inseparable and go on a few adventures. But soon, Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh goes to the ends of the earth to find the secret of eternal life.

There’s nothing really great about “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” it’s only really notable for being the first at… well everything. But despite that, it’s still pretty interesting. Even though it has a dim view of women and their place in society, the story does well in portraying the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu while at the same time, showing that even a king that’s two-thirds god can be afraid of something.

 The story does have a dim view of women and their roles. The only two women that really appear in the story is Shamhat, a temple prostitute and Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. And all they really do is have sex or try to have sex, because to the story, that’s all they’re really good for. Sex civilizes Enkidu and Ishtar stresses that the importance of a wife for Gilgamesh is sex.

On the other hand, it has a good portrayal of Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s friendship. This can be seen when Enkidu is dying and curses Shamhat for civilizing him. But when the gods remind him that her doing so caused him to meet Gilgamesh, he praises her instead. And the two need each other, as Enkidu is the brains to Gilgamesh’s brawn. When killing the demi-god Humbaba Enkidu tries to rationally dissuade Gilgamesh, but when it doesn’t work, he helps him strategize.

This friendship is why Enkidu’s death affected Gilgamesh so much. He essentially loses a part of himself, realizes that even he will die someday and seeks immortality. This is where the famous portion of the epic comes into play. The flood story, which is really only a part of the last tablet, goes to show Gilgamesh that he can’t get immortality because only one person got it and that was because the gods were impressed that the guy tricked them. Life is for the gods and death is for humans.

“The Epic of Gilgamesh” really shows the closeness and friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu while at the same time, showing that life is short and death is inevitable. It’s not the best, but it was the first and is pretty good.