The Epic of Gilgamesh: A Hero's Quest
The Epic of Gilgamesh is a classic poem from the old Mesopotamia that is considered as one of greatest surviving works of literature. Despite most stories ending with a happy ending, the heroic character in this poem does not have a successful quest. Therefore, this article attempts to understand why this poem does not end as most heroic endings.
Internal and External Battles
First, it is important to understand that Gilgamesh is struggling with both internal and external battles. His external quest involves an attempt to establish a famous dynasty that would exist for ages (Clay, 12). On the other hand, Gilgamesh is also trying to search for immortality in a bid to escape death, “In his despair, Gilgamesh begins a lengthy quest to find the answer to life’s mysteries, especially the mystery of eternal life” (Gale, 9). Possibly, the hero is trying to understand how to overcome death to experience the famous dynasty. Additionally, Gilgamesh is also learning to understand how to avoid grief as they embark on a journey with Enkidu to seek the Humbaba monster. Therefore, the success of this hero depends on his achievement to overcome and understand these ideologies. Unfortunately, some of his desires are mysteries thus impossible to achieve while others can be achieved.
Victory in Achieving Fame
Gilgamesh was victorious in achieving his long-desired fame, “I must establish eternal fame” (Puchner, 111). This success implies that the hero was successful in some of his quests. The poem states that Gilgamesh’s fame was far much more compared to tyrannies that preceded him. He was also a developed, respected and robust ruler by his people. Even though he tormented his people Enkidu was created, his people respected him as a hero. This success is also an indication that as a hero, he is reconciled with his quest to understand and avoid grief at all cost. However, this success does not impact Gilgamesh’s battle to solve some of his mysteries since he continues his journey to pursue psychological satisfaction.
The Irrelevance of Success
Notably, success is irrelevant to any heroes’ quest. It is considered as an irrelevant issue since most heroic stories should be linked to heroism instead of their success. However, heroes such as Gilgamesh have shown that success can be a major determinant of their success as heroes. The degree of a hero’s success greatly depends on what he aims to achieve and what he manages to achieve. Their experiences while trying to achieve their objectives are also perceived as a major determinant of their success. Therefore, Gilgamesh is not a hero because of what he has achieved but rather what he is going through while trying to understand immortality and the search for knowledge. If the hero succeeds in understanding how to avoid death, it will benefit all people in his community. Therefore, such a quest is highly valued by the people in his community thus termed as a heroic act.
Pursuing a Monster: A Heroic Act
Secondly, pursing a monster is also considered as a heroic act despite their success or failure to achieve this goal. Besides, these heroes' lives are at stake and an attempt to search for it portrays Enkidu and Gilgamesh as heroes. Personally, I perceive this battle as an attempt to seek civilization among people. In this instance, civilization is of paramount importance since it aims at reconciling people with the wilder and natural state of their surroundings.
A Journey of Reconciliation
Reconciliation is a prevalent theme in this epic story as evidenced by the journey between Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Together, they embark on a journey without considering Enkidu as a lesser person despite their physical or social differences. They develop a bond that strongly links them. At some point, the two confront each but reconcile and continue their journey. Besides, Gilgamesh's quest begun when Enkidu was created hence he is an important component in fulfilling his kingship duty.
Leadership Flaws and Flawed Heroism
Gilgamesh is also a victim of leadership flaws just like other common leaders (Puchner, 150). Most heroes are not always praised for their success since a majority of them have shown various signs of flawed leadership. At the beginning of the poem before the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh was filled with pride to the extent of tormenting his people. He was overwhelmed by the ambitions that made him undermine his people. Young men could not have the pleasure to stay with their wives. Additionally, the poem adds that Gilgamesh did not leave any girl with their parents since he took them. In other words, he did not allow his people to live in peace despite him being their hero. This is ironic since he was expected to lead them while making sure they live in peace and free from internal and external attacks. This flaw disrupts him from his responsibility to seek immortality. We also realize from this flaw that it was his kingship duty to discover immortality. It is also believed that his final failure to escape immortality was due to this flaw. However, he took a new turn when Enkidu was created. The relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is strong such that he manages to shift his mind from his community leadership and instead focuses on his conquest to seek immortality. It is also through Enkidu that Gilgamesh realizes that there are other forms of immortality besides the natural state of death.
The Value of Existence and Legacy
Gilgamesh aims at finding the cure for heartache from a specific plant. However, he does not manage to get the plant despite his hope to use to get eternal life. Gilgamesh considers this as a lost battle to the serpent who managed to get the plant before him. Gilgamesh breaks down into tears since he could not afford to lose after fighting to achieve his goals to that extent, “There is no permanence” (Gale, 8). However, he remembers the city that he constructed. This flashback enables him to gain a better understanding of the significance of his existence and physical being. At the final part of the poem, Gilgamesh does not only learn about his powerlessness over death but also learns how he can leave a legacy that will survive for many years. At this point, Gilgamesh understands the true value of his work and the efforts he put in place while constructing the walls around his city.
The Heroism of Gilgamesh
Conclusively, I consider Gilgamesh as a hero who was filled with pride and desire to achieve his goals, yet did not lose his objective to discover the cure for death. However, it is also evident that he understood his roles as a leader as he struggled to get a cure for heartache. He also manages to avoid grief after gaining the knowledge regarding the actual value of an individual. Furthermore, his success is not measured by his ability to conquer all his quests but instead by his efforts to attempt to embark on this journey. Additionally, Enkidu is also portrayed as a significant part of this heroic journey.
References
Clay, Albert Tobias. An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic. Vol. 3. Quality Classics, 2013.
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for the Epic of Gilgamesh. Gale, Cengage Learning, 2015.
Puchner, Martin. "The Epic of Gilgamesh." The Norton anthology of world literature. 3rd Ed. New York: W.W. Norton " Co., 2012. . Print.
