Artyom Yeranosyan Final

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh’s best friend Enkidu dies an untimely death as punishment for helping Gilgamesh kill the Bull of Heaven. When he sees his friend draw his last breath, Gilgamesh tears off his clothes and rips out his hair to show his intense emotions at the loss of his best friend. He continues to grieve by pacing and circling around Enkidu’s body to protect him. Gilgamesh begins to mourn his friend by speaking of all the people and things that should mourn him as he does. “May the men of the mountains and hills mourn you … May the roads of Enkidu to the Cedar Forest mourn you…” Gilgamesh then thinks back to their great battle with Humbaba and how they defeated him together. Gilgamesh continued to grieve and ordered a golden statue to be made of his friend to honor all of his deeds for the city.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu fighting Humbaba

In the months following Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh had lost touch with his kingdom and his old way of life. He did not wear any fine clothes or anything of value. He stopped looking after himself and let his hair grow wild and unkempt. Gilgamesh had killed a lion and began to wear its skin on his head to honor Enkidu’s life and birthplace in the steppe. He then roamed the steppe for weeks, weeping and thinking of his friend and questioning when his own life will end. Enkidu’s death had a immense impact on Gilgamesh and the city of Uruk as it changed his life and the people mourned his death. When Gilgamesh later meets with an innkeeper, we learn that he is looking woe in the vitals. His great grief had caused him to look ill and tired. In Homer’s Iliad, we see how Achilles mourns the death of his close friend Patroclus in a similar way.

Patroclus was Achilles’ best friend and they have known and fought alongside each other for a long time. In Book 16 of the Illiad, Patroclus is pushing the Trojans back to their walls when he is wounded by Apollo and soon after, killed by Hector. When Achilles heard the news of Patroclus’ death, he lost control of his emotions. He grabbed a handful of dirt and poured it over himself to show that in the end, everyone will die and become dirt as their body rots. He dirties his clean white clothes and weeps angrily while pounding the ground with his fists. Like Gilgamesh, Achilles tore out his hair with anger.  Antilochus bent over Achilles and wept with him and held his hands as so Achilles would not kill himself in his rage. Achilles let out a loud wrenching cry for the loss of his friend which caused dismay among the Trojan soldiers as they retreated knowing Achilles will surely join the war now.

Achilles holding Patroclus’ body

Achilles had Patroclus’ body specially prepared and cleaned for the funeral. It was washed with boiling water to clean it of any blood. It was then anointed with oil and all of the wounds were closed with a special ointment that had been aging for nine years. Patroclus’ body was then placed on a bier and covered in a linen cloth and a white robe. Achilles and his men gathered around his body and spent the night mourning his death. Achilles then vowed not to bury his body until his killer was dead. Patroclus’ death had a significant impact on Achilles as this was the event in the story that lead to his joining of the war and turning the tide of the battle. Achilles chose to display his grief for Patroclus with anger as he went to war to kill Hector. After exacting his revenge, he continued his display of grief by tying Hector’s body to the back of a chariot and dragging it in dirt for days to honor Patroclus.

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