The Epic of Gilgamesh

In the first readings of the selections from The Epic of Gilgamesh, there are three separate stories that all work together to produce an epic about a man named Gilgamesh. The stories were first told through song before they were actually written down and the first written form of it dates back to 600 BCE (Readings to Accompany Experience Humanities, p. 5) Gilgamesh himself happened to be the king of Sumer in 2700 BCE where his voyages and experiences were used to create The Epic of Gilgamesh. In the first selection, Ishtar and Gilgamesh, and the Death of Enkidu, we begin to learn about Gilgamesh and Ishtar. Ishtar is the goddess of love, fertility, and war who happens to fall in love with Gilgamesh and wants him to marry her. She explains to him what a wonder life they would live together and how glorious his new life would be. Gilgamesh knows about Ishtar’s past lovers and knows that their lives together would be far from glorious. When Gilgamesh tells her that he does not want to marry her, she becomes very angry She calls for her parents are orders the Bull of Heaven to be used against Gilgamesh to destroy him. Together, Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu, work together to kill the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba, a nature god. Ishtar is enraged and her parents, along with other gods, seek out to kill Enkidu. Eventually Enkidu died and was so upset that for “seven days and seven nights he wept for Enkidu” (Readings to Accompany Experience Humanities, p. 9).

In the next selection, The Search for Everlasting Life, Gilgamesh sets out on a journey where eventually he hopes to be granted immortality. In order to do this he must go to find Utnapishtim who is the god that can award him everlasting life. Gilgamesh’s first dangerous encounter occurs when he is traveling through the mountains. He has to fight and kill off lions and all types of other animals He eats the animals and uses their fur for clothing. When he reaches the garden of the gods, he first comes in contact with Shamash who tells him that he will never find the life that he is searching for. Next, Gilgamesh meets with Siduri, the maker of wine. She knows that Gilgamesh is strong and powerful which is why she criticized him for looking distraught. He explains to her why he is afraid of death and she warns him that crossing the Ocean is going to be very hard. Siduri leads him to Urshanabi, the ferryman to crosses the Ocean daily to the place where Utnapishtim lives. He gets angry and destroys the tackle of the boat which is needed to travel to Utnapishtim. Because of this, when Gilgamesh asks Urshanabi to take him, they are unable to do so. Urshanabi explains to Gilgamesh that if he wants his wish to be granted, he must go out into the forest and make the necessary materials to get them safely across the dangerous waters. When Gilgamesh gets the supplies, they safely get across where he finally comes face to face with Utnapishtim. Instead of granting Gilgamesh everlasting life,