The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest works of literature known to man. Composed in the Akkadian language, it was written in ancient Mesopotamia more than 4,000 years ago and tells the story of the great king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. Through his exploits, the reader examines some of the fundamental characteristics of human nature and questions about the mortality of humans that still remain somewhat unclear to people in modern society.
The story opens with a description of the great Gilgamesh. He has built a massive, beautiful city that has no equal on Earth. He is two-thirds god and one-third human. He’s bigger, stronger, more handsome than any other man on Earth. He epitomizes everything than humans strive to be. He’s also a big jerk. His grandiose achievements that have made him famous are overshadowed by his disregard for his human brethren. His people plead with the gods to save them from the terrible acts of Gilgamesh, and they oblige by creating Enkidu. The story continues on to document how Gilgamesh and Enkidu change from wanting to fight one another to becoming the closest of friends who set out on a adventure to find and defeat Humbaba. These two great men think that they are so big and unstoppable that they can take down anything in their path -- even nature itself.
They do defeat Humbaba, and when they return to Uruk, they are showered with praise for their heroic acts of bravery and strength. Ishtar even offers her hand in marriage to Gilgmesh after hearing of his slaying of Humbaba which he promptly declines. It’s ironic that a man who values so greatly how people think of him and wants to be great in everything he does refuses a marriage which could bear him children. Some could argue that raising children to be good people and make a positive mark on society is one of the greatest legacies that a person could leave behind in death.
As the story continues, the gods decide that one of the two heroes must be punished for their acts, and Enkidu is condemned to death, which shortly follows. Gilgamesh, overcome with grief because of his friend’s death, mourns for many days. More importantly, his friend’s death makes Gilgamesh painfully aware of his own mortality. In fact, I’m not sure if he was more upset that his friend was gone forever or that he would one day suffer the same fate. Nevertheless, as humans love to do, Gilgamesh decides to challenge nature and the fate that he has been dealt and seek out the Uta-napishti in order to find the secret to immortality.
While this story was written many years ago, the concepts that it tries to tackle are timeless. Humans will always try to circumvent nature because we never seem to be satisfied with what nature has dealt us. Death, however, is inevitable and will eventually come for us all. It’s up to each individual to decide if he wants to be remembered for the material things he possessed, which will eventually decay just like our frail bodies, or the the great deeds we did that make the world just a little better for future generations.
