Gilgamesh Case

In this essay I am going to illustrate how power turn can change people, or in this case, half person half god. Gilgamesh is not the only king or governor that has been terrible throughout history. I will compare Gilgamesh with other kings that have been known as bad kings that only cared about themselves, as well compare the similarities between him and today's governors.

Gilgamesh was the king of Uruk; he was two-thirds god, one-third man. He became a bad king because the gods created him as a strong, beautiful and intelligent king. "Gilgamesh's personality is poisoned by his self importance. Even with Enkidu to temper his selfishness, Gilgamesh can only think of how to benefit himself. In this respect, he is not a champion because he fights simply for glory. This is primarily true of the battle with Humbaba"(Mitchell para 2).

There have been many kings in history that have only wanted the good for themselves and not for the people they reign. What amazes me more about Gilgamesh is that he would do anything to show that he is the most powerful man, even if he has to fight against other gods or just humans he would do everything just to show he is the king and no one else matters. "The story starts by introducing the deeds of the hero Gilgamesh. He was one who had great knowledge and wisdom, He was an oppressive ruler, however, which caused his subjects to cry out to the "gods" to create a nemesis to cause Gilgamesh strife."(Lorey para 5)

Gilgamesh's power made him believe he could be immortal; However, after the death of his best friend, he realizes that he would not be able to live forever. Gilgamesh finally sees himself as a bad king when he is looking immortality and comes back to the city that is completely different. Gilgamesh realizes that all he does is only for his happiness and not for the good of his people. "Gilgamesh has no compassion for the people of Uruk. He is their king