The Journey of Gilgamesh and Enkidu

The Journey of Gilgamesh and Enkidu


The Journey of Gilgamesh and Enkidu
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest known literary text, written in cuneiform and dating to about 2100 BCE in Mesopotamia. It tells the epic journeys of Gilgames, the king of Uruk, along with his friend Enkidu. There are multiple journeys in The Epic of Gilgamesh. There are journeys that Gilgamesh and Enkidu experience separately, and journeys they go on together that strengthen their friendship. Although some of these journeys are physical, they are also spiritual and emotional journeys that develop the characters of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. During their journeys, Enkidu and Gilgamesh discover who they are and their role and meaning in life. However, their journeys are opposites, as Enkidu goes from wilderness to civilization, in which he realizes his role and morals, and Gilgamesh leaves civilization and wanders in the wilderness to find his answers and end his quest for immortality.
Enkidu went through an internal journey from the wilderness to civilization, in which he realizes, with the help of Shamhat, his role in life and place in society. Enkidu was created by the gods as a half man and half beast in order to serve as a companion to Gilgamesh with the same strength, which will balance Gilgamesh’s arrogant and selfish rule and personality. However, Enkidu starts off as a wild man, living with the animals in the forest. “Coated in hair like the god of animals, with the gazelles he grazes on grasses, joining the throng with the game at the water-hole, his heart delighting with the beasts in the water” (The Epic of Gilgamesh, Book I, 109-112). Enkidu starts off living as a beast, acting like the other animals, and not knowing any other way of living. Even though he’s half human, Enkidu was delighted and happy with the simple lifestyle he had as a beast, not knowing any better. His journey to civilization starts when a hunter sees him by the water hole, living among the beasts. The hunter gets Shamhat the harlot, whose...

Similar Essays