Gilgamesh Hero's Journey

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This week, we read the “Epic of Gilgamesh” by Anonymous, and I was surprised by Enkidu’s death and Gilgamesh’s unriddling fear of morality. From the tale’s beginning, I could identify that the story follows the Hero’s Journey trope, challenging the main character’s personal growth since “he has outgrown his old life” (Winkler). And like all hero’s journeys, the hero(s) need a force that drives them to evolve. In this instance, fate played as a motivator for Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

From the beginning to the end of the epic, Fate plays a driving force guiding the actions of both Gilgamesh and Enkidu. As a king, Gilgamesh is destined for greatness, however, he also faces the inevitability of his mortality. His journey to seek immortality is driven by his recognition that he is human. A factor that helped him realize this was Enkidu, Gilgamesh's companion, succumbing to his awful fate when he died of a severe illness, even though he was of divine creation. Although the pair knew of what was to become of Enkidu, Enkidu informed Gilgamesh “There is no gold statue that can cure this illness, beloved friend. What Enlil has decided cannot be changed. My fate is settled. There is nothing you can do” (Anonymous 70). …show more content…
Not only did they initiate the events, but they also intervened in the lives of mortals. For instance, Enkidu was created by the Goddess Aruru, known as the mother of creation, to balance the power Gilgamesh had during this time. Shortly after becoming close with Gilgamesh, he was killed by Enlil for killing the Bull of Heaven. Both his birth and death manifested by divine will. Likewise, Gilgamesh was made from the gods but also part human, due to his father, King Lugalbanda, being human. Gilgamesh also encountered divine beings such as the sun god Shamash, the originally mortal now immortal flood survivor, Utnapishtim. These encounters set in motion Gilgamesh’s

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