Gilgamesh

“hear me, great ones of Uruk, I weep for Enkidu, my friend, bitterly moaning like a woman mourning I weep for my brother, O Enkidu, my brother” (pg. 28). The image shows the low point of Gilgamesh’s life which caused him to go on a journey to find an internal life. Although he obviously failed in that, he did find achieve something much more important. Going off on that journey he was mourning, bitter, proud, and pretty much out of control as a ruler. When he returned he obviously made peace with himself and his fate. Gods gave him an Enkidu who was his equal and then the gods took him away when he became the most dear to Gilgamesh. The unfairness of this  might feel very familiar to anyone who ever lost a loved one.  The rage, the feeling of how very real death is, and how frightening. Gilgamesh saw death with his very own eyes in the eyes of his beloved brother. Using his immortal strength he tried to defeat death but fortunately, he makes peach with himself as a mortal and gathers wisdom from that  as king.

The overall story sounds like a balance of power. In the beginning Gilgamesh is corrupt as a ruler so Enkidu is made and he checks his Gilgamesh’s power. After Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh must go on this journey to learn to check his own power and comes back successful. The End.