Mortality: The Problem of Death in “The Epic of Gilgamesh” and Ancient Mesopotamia
The epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and it is among the earliest known works of literary writing. According to scholars, epic of Gilgamesh originated as a series of legends and poems from Sumeria about the mythological hero king called Gilgamesh. These legend s and poems were put together into a longer Akkadian epic much later[1] .The most complete version of the epics that is still in existence up to date is preserved on twelve clay tablets from the library collection of the seventh century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.Epic of Gilgamesh was originally called ‘He who Saw the Deep[2]’. Gilgamesh was possibly an actual ruler in the late early dynastic 11 period. The concept of immortality becomes a debatable issue in Gilgamesh epic since he is in search of attaining immortality .
The tale of the Epic of Gilgamesh informs the readers as much about the society of Mesopotamia in which the story was as it does about the life of the hero-king Gilgamesh himself[3] . The story of Gilgamesh started to acquire form four thousand years ago and the end result of revisions and additions on the tale present a portrait of an epic hero who is larger than life itself and a character whose exploits symbolize the most high ideals and values of the pagan culture that he represents.
Two thousand years ago, Mesopotamia consisted of societies that were very harsh and dangerous and brave action was needed from heroes and mostly the kings. The period of Gilgamesh’s existence was filled with a lot of trouble and discord, when history was in its premature stages and society was just starting to develop. Gilgamesh’s astounding physical exploits portrayed unconcealed expressions of courage and goodness in the face of the powers of darkness, evil and chaos.
Beowulf and Sundiata stories are a reflection of the cultural requirements of two other societies and periods and their study can be compared to Gilgamesh and his place and time. The Epic of Gilgamesh talks about the then culture in Mesopotamia, its culture, religious and mythical beliefs, psychology and the art of the Sumerians of that period[4]. It was an era of immense vagueness, immense fear, and nevertheless, the tale of is a reflection of hope by the Sumerians as it was in order for them to endure the darkness that faced them.
The story of Beowulf written in the 18th century A.D is another story from a different culture that portrays some of the traits and concerns of the story of Gilgamesh[5]. The story reflects the faith of the Christians that was not present in Gilgamesh. Just like Gilgamesh, Beowulf kills monsters and leads men. He was another hero who was larger than life itself for performing splendid feats in fighting evil foes which are a threat to the community[6]. However, unlike Gilgamesh, Beowulf character lived in a time that was more civilized than when Gilgamesh lived. However, was still a character that was evolving from pagan beliefs to Christian beliefs. The battle between pagan and Christian is perceived to be the ultimate passage through which Beowulf is mourned by his fellow countrymen.
The Epic of Gilgamesh story is about Gilgamesh who is the king of Uruk. Two third of Gilgamesh is god and one third of him is human. He is a character who is split and he does not seem to be sure of what his limitations are, and as a result, he ends up becoming a reckless and an arrogant king [7]. The citizens of Uruk finally feel so scared of their king that they end up calling the god of the sky, Anu so that he can free them from their king who was so full of wrath.
Anu then gives an order to Aruru the goddess to create Enkidu who is the first man to be the competitor to Gilgamesh, in an effort to give him a companion, so that he could receive peace to his soul. Aruru creates Enkidu the first man on earth and he starts to live with animals until one day, he finds love to a female who is a human being [8].Consequently he discovers that he is actually a human being and instead living with animals he should be living with people in the city.
The origin of ‘epic of Gilgamesh’ can be traced back to the ancient Mesopotamia which was written originally on twelve clay tables in cuneiform script. Even though a number of passages are still lost, most of the work has since been recovered through widespread findings that are archaeological all over the world[9]. despite the fact that literary scientists have for a long time had the knowledge of this text, few people in the society of today have had the opportunity to recognize its very continuation, even if its literary, cultural, and religious effect and influence on prominent works, cannot be simply overrated.
The ‘epic of Gilgamesh’ is about a relationship between Gilgamesh who became distracted and disheartened by his rule and also by his close friend Enkidu. Enkidu is a wild man who was created by the deities as an equal of Gilgamesh. The purpose of Enkidu is to distract Gilgamesh from oppressing Uruk citizens [10].Uruk and Gilgamesh take quests that are dangerous and in the end they displease the gods. To begin with, Gilgamesh and Enkidu embark on a journey to the mountain of cedar in order to conquer Humbaba who is the monstrous guardian of the mountain. Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu later end up killing the Bull of Heaven that has been sent by the goddess Ishtar for the purpose of punishing Gilgamesh because he spurned her advances[11].
Enkidu gets sentenced to death by the gods at one point and this leaves Gilgamesh all by his own with his own fate [12]. It is at this time that he realizes that he has to search his inner self and get rid of the questions on immortality that have been bugging him, so that he can get renewed strength to understand existence and therefore be able to appreciate it for its beauty and the beautiful journey that it really is.
The focus of the latter part of the epic is on the distressed reaction of Gilgamesh to the death of Enkidu, which takes the form of a pursuit for immortality. Gilgamesh tries to learn the secret of everlasting life by embarking on a long and dangerous journey so that he can meet the perpetual hero of the flood Utnapishti. In the end, the emotional words told to Gilgamesh in the middle of his pursuit predict the ultimate result: “You will never find that life for which you are looking. When the gods created man they allotted to him death, but life they retained in their own keeping” [13]. Nevertheless, Gilgamesh was widely celebrated king by posterity for his building accomplishments, and also for bringing back the cultic knowledge that was long lost to Uruk due to his meeting with Uttnapishti. The story of Gilgamesh is read widely through translation and the Gilgamesh who is the hero has become an icon of popular culture.
Instead of the epic of Gilgamesh story being more about the gods, it is more about the mortality of humans and their weaknesses. Gilgamesh is so distressed by Enkidu’s death and he decides to rail against how unfair it is for Enkidu to die. Loosing a loved is so unyielding and the pain seems to be permanent [14].The actual success of the story of the epic of Gilgamesh and possibly the reason as to why it continued so long, is because, in as much as it is strange and has extinct gods and goddesses is because it is a story that shows friendship, love and loss in form of death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh stays with him and grieves with so much pain until maggots start coming out of Enkidu’s body[15]. That is when he decides to set out in pursuit of immortality.
Gilgamesh then embarks on a journey to look for the legendary Utnapishtim and his wife. Utnapishtim and his wife both survived the great flood because they built an ark and took all animals of every species with them into the ark before they eventually landed on the mountain of Nimush [16]. They then waited until a bird came back with a sign that the land was now dry. In exchange for his compassion, the gods gave him immortality.
Many people have recognized the similarity between this story and the biblical story of Noah and the ark. However, the variations of both stories existed for centuries and this most probably indicated the possibility of a real flood in the area. The epic of Gilgfamesh also has some similarities with the Odyssey; for instance, Gilgamesh sails to the periphery of the world so that he can cross into the world under just like Odysseus. Ioannis Kakridis, a Greek scholar has convincingly argued that Gilgamesh was a basis for Homer’s epic [17].
In every opportunity Gilgamesh gets, he does not succeed in finding immortality which appears to be a doomed pursuit for humanity. This is seemingly the moral of the ‘epic of Gilgamesh’ and it is summed up in a very appealing way by a tavern-keeper who goes with Gilgamesh on his quest[18]. He however notifies him that it is only the gods who can live eternally and instead of pursuing his insane quest for immortality, he should instead let his belly be full and he should always enjoy himself by day and night [19].The tavern-keeper also tells Gilgamesh that he should gaze on the child who holds his hand and that he should let his wife enjoy his repeated embrace.
Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality can be sympathized with. Animals are afraid of pain; however, they can not put their fear in the concept that one day they will no longer exist. Human beings on the other hand, live with this knowledge for the rest of their lives[20]. That one day, they will die and the problem is they do not even know how they will die. They do not know if their deaths will be painful or peaceful, they can only wish.
When Gilgamesh accepts his mortality and thus his humanity, he is strangely enough able to live like a normal human again however at the same time, accomplish his ideal as a god. Gilgamesh according to the ancient Sumerian texts, in reality becomes a god and goes on to live for eternity[21]. What is even more fascinating in this tale is the accomplishment of the structural meaning behind Gilgamesh’s name[22]. When the name is split up into words that are smaller and then translated into separate concepts, then put together in a linguistic way, the name ‘Gilgamesh’ means ‘The Tree of Godlike Balance’. According to the myths of Sumerians, the tree is perceived as a connection that is organic between the earth and the sky, human lives and the life of the gods. The kings were mostly compared to a tree in the essence of a spiritual hierarchy.
Conclusion
There is a thing about the concept of mortality that appears to be unfair. Mortality appears to be both random and without meaning and totally egalitarian in its reach. Finally Gilgamesh realizes that he will not be given mortality that he has so effortless been searching for and he finally resigns himself to his ultimate end. In the end, the familiarity of loving another person and coming to terms with the confines of human life is what makes him a great king. As the story comes to the end, we are made to remember that it was he who built the walls of Uruk, an undertaking that will live on long after him.
References.
Nancy K. Sandars. The epic of Gilgamesh Volume 1972 of The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Version with an Introd, Penguin Classics, 1972
Maureen Gallery Kovacs. The epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press
Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Akkadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
Danny P. Jackson. The epic of Gilgamesh G – Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
[1] K. Sandars. Nancy. The epic of Gilgamesh Volume 1972 of The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Version with an Introd, Penguin Classics, 1972
[2] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[3] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[4] K. Sandars. Nancy. The epic of Gilgamesh Volume 1972 of The Epic of Gilgamesh: An English Version with an Introd, Penguin Classics, 1972
[5] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[6] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[7] Danny P. Jackson. The epic of Gilgamesh G – Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
[8] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[9] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[10] Danny P. Jackson. The epic of Gilgamesh G – Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
[11] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[12] Maureen Gallery Kovacs. The epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press
[13] Danny P. Jackson. The epic of Gilgamesh G – Reference,Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers
[14] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[15] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[16] Maureen Gallery Kovacs. The epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press
[17] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[18] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[19] Maureen Gallery Kovacs. The epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press
[20] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[21] Andrew George. The epic of Gilgamesh: the Babylonian epic poem and other texts in Acadian and Sumerian. Penguin Classics,
[22] Maureen Gallery Kovacs. The epic of Gilgamesh. Stanford University Press
