The end of my last post about the Epic of Gilgamesh saw the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s best friend. His death hit Gilgamesh hard; when next we see the mighty king it is after the funeral service, and he is roaming the wilds in his grief, clothed only in the skins of animals.
This might seem like a little bit of an overreaction to you. Many of us have best friends; if something were to happen to them, we’d probably retreat into ourselves to mourn. Maybe we’d even travel and get away for a little while...but would we drop everything to go and wander the wilderness?
In truth, Gilgamesh is wandering as much out of fear as of grief. He has tasted death through the passing of his friend, and he fears it. I would imagine that his own mortality never occurred to Gilgamesh before Enkidu’s death, for several reasons.
Firstly, his quasi-divinity. Gilgamesh is said to be two-thirds god, one-third man (I’m still not entirely sure how that works.) One doesn’t normally think of a god dying (even though they do), so why should someone who is two-thirds god die?
Next, his power. Gilgamesh is a mighty king, and with great power comes the idea that the normal rules do not apply to you. (Just look at Tony Stark!) The Epic of Gilgamesh tells us that he slew beasts of the gods - something that no ordinary man would ever dare to attempt. Gilgamesh was also a womanizer before he met Enkidu; he even planned to sleep with a bride on her wedding night! (Gilgamesh was not the groom, by the way.) Gilgamesh acted as though he was above the laws of men - so might he not have also thought that he was beyond the reach of the universal law of death?
The last reason ties in to the second. Gilgamesh is young, or at least acts as a young man, one without the wisdom of years. When we are young, we think ourselves invincible. We have no true concept of mortality. As a young man Gilgamesh might not have thought about the consequences of his actions...but the death of Enkidu brought those consequences into the light.
As I mentioned in my first post about the Epic, the gods created Enkidu to be the equal of Gilgamesh. This is why his death was so startling to the king. Enkidu was young, powerful, and created by the gods. Despite this, he still died.
And if Enkidu could die...why not Gilgamesh?
This is why we find Gilgamesh roaming in the wilderness - partly out of grief, but mostly because of the irrefutable knowledge that he will one day die.
Most of us would probably accept that fact after a while and move on with our lives - after all, it isn’t as though there’s much we can do about it! But Gilgamesh realizes something as he mopes in the wild lands. He has heard tales of a mortal man upon whom the gods bestowed immortality. Determined to discover the secret behind this man’s eternal life, Gilgamesh sets out to find him.
The journey is long, but Gilgamesh eventually finds himself in the garden of the gods - a place he is only allowed to enter when its guardians recognize his semi-divine nature. Within the garden Gilgamesh finds a ferryman, who agrees to take Gilgamesh across the Waters of Death to the island where the immortal man lives.
The man’s name is Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh begs him for the secret to his eternal life. To the king’s surprise, Utnapishtim rebukes Gilgamesh for searching for immortality. He says that the quest is futile, and that looking for eternal life takes away the joy of mortal life itself.
Despite this warning, Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh the story of how he was granted immortality. This story involves a great flood sent by the gods to destroy mankind, an ark built by Utnapishtim to escape it, and the survival of the human race through one man and his immediate family.
Sound familiar? I’d imagine it does. The story of a great flood can be found in many religions and mythologies from around the world - from Noah in the book of Genesis to Deucalion in Greek mythology, and many more.
In this particular flood story, the gods (particularly Enlil) have grown tired of the noise of the humans. Enlil sends a flood to destroy them, but Ea takes pity on mankind and orders Utnapishtim to construct an ark. Utnapishtim escapes the flood on this ark, along with his family, the craftsmen who helped him build it, and all of the beasts of the field.
A great storm brings the flood; when it finally calms down, Utnapishtim releases a bird, which soon returns to him. The same thing happens the next day. On the third day, the bird fails to return - so Utnapishtim knows it has found land. He and his family disembark and offer a sacrifice to the gods. Ea apologizes for the destruction of the rest of mankind (I wonder if Hallmark has a card for that...), and makes Utnapishtim and his wife immortal.
Gilgamesh is amazed by this story - but Utnapishtim tells him that Gilgamesh will never overcome death. Gilgamesh is offended by this, but is mollified when Utnapishtim gives him a parting gift: a plant that can restore a man’s youth. Gilgamesh is thrilled with the gift and plans to test it out as soon as he gets home.
Unfortunately, this never happens. After being ferried back across the Waters, Gilgamesh stops to bathe. While he is so occupied, a serpent comes out of the water and seizes the plant, immediately shedding its skin and becoming young again. Left with nothing, Gilgamesh resigns himself to his mortality and despairs.
The story says that Gilgamesh then returned to his city, where he sat down and wrote the Epic of Gilgamesh...
And that, my friends, is the conclusion of the Epic, and of this series of posts on Mesopotamian mythology! I hope you enjoyed this look into a fascinating ancient culture.
There will be a post this Friday, but starting next week I’ll be switching to a once-a-week schedule, with new posts going up on Monday. I apologize for the switch, but my school schedule has necessitated it. I’ll do my best to keep my posts long and interesting!
Please feel free to email me or post below with any questions or comments you have about the Epic of Gilgamesh, or about Mesopotamian mythology in general! In the next few weeks I hope to take a look at several different fairy tales, as well as stories from mythology that may have inspired them. However, this Friday I plan to talk about the mythology of...
...Star Wars!
I’ll see you then!
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