The Epic of Gilgamesh: Are Gilgamesh and Enkidu Equal?
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Are Gilgamesh and Enkidu Equal?
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest literary work has been found so far. It has written onto twelve tablets of clay. The epic recounts the adventures of Gilgamesh who is the historical king of Uruk. Uruk was located, the east of the Euphrates, these days it is located within the borders of Iraq. In this epic, the life of Gilgamesh is handled. Throughout the epic both human and god elements can be observed of Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh was the hero of the kingdom of Uruk. He was known as the most strongest and powerful living thing. He was not a total person or a total god; his two thirds were god and one third was human. His mother was a goddess; thus, he had the strength of the gods. As a description of Gilgamesh, it’s said that “He is fair in manhood, dignified in bearing, graced with charm is whole person. He is strength more mighty than yours, unsleeping he is by day and by night.”(page 9). Therefore, he was a very forceful human-god and his primary target was to kill other strongest ones and become more powerful in the eyes of the other gods and other people. Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s devoted friend, on the other hand, had also super-human powers. He was not a god, but he has the strength of scores of wild animals. To describe Enkidu, while he was talking to harlot, she said that “You are handsome, Enkidu, you are just like a god!”(page 8). In this quotation, it is said that since Enkidu was a good-looking human, he seems like a god in the eyes of the harlot. Besides, he knew how to live in the wild; hence, he was a strong person either. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are indisputably the two major characters in the epic. Thus, they are the super-human beings livens up the epic. In my essay, I want to discuss and compare Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and show if they are equal or not by proving my points with examples from the poem.
The strength and physical qualities could be counted as a difference between
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest literary work has been found so far. It has written onto twelve tablets of clay. The epic recounts the adventures of Gilgamesh who is the historical king of Uruk. Uruk was located, the east of the Euphrates, these days it is located within the borders of Iraq. In this epic, the life of Gilgamesh is handled. Throughout the epic both human and god elements can be observed of Gilgamesh.
Gilgamesh was the hero of the kingdom of Uruk. He was known as the most strongest and powerful living thing. He was not a total person or a total god; his two thirds were god and one third was human. His mother was a goddess; thus, he had the strength of the gods. As a description of Gilgamesh, it’s said that “He is fair in manhood, dignified in bearing, graced with charm is whole person. He is strength more mighty than yours, unsleeping he is by day and by night.”(page 9). Therefore, he was a very forceful human-god and his primary target was to kill other strongest ones and become more powerful in the eyes of the other gods and other people. Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s devoted friend, on the other hand, had also super-human powers. He was not a god, but he has the strength of scores of wild animals. To describe Enkidu, while he was talking to harlot, she said that “You are handsome, Enkidu, you are just like a god!”(page 8). In this quotation, it is said that since Enkidu was a good-looking human, he seems like a god in the eyes of the harlot. Besides, he knew how to live in the wild; hence, he was a strong person either. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are indisputably the two major characters in the epic. Thus, they are the super-human beings livens up the epic. In my essay, I want to discuss and compare Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and show if they are equal or not by proving my points with examples from the poem.
The strength and physical qualities could be counted as a difference between