The Search for Destiny in The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Odyssey, and The Aeneid
The search for destiny is reflected in the literary works such as "The Epic of Gilgamesh", Homer's "The Odyssey", and Virgil's "The Aeneid". The hero of each story travels to the land of the dead in order to satisfy their individual needs. And even though each one has a different motive for the journey, they share two things in common. First, each hero seeks to know something about his future or destiny. And second, their finds are not exactly what they were looking for. The nature of the quests into the underworld by the heroes Gilgamesh, Odysseus, and Aeneas range from immortality, happiness, and the need to know he is doing the right things in life but respectfully discover emptiness, sadness, and judgement.
After his friend Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh realizes that death is also imminent for him since he is part human. Thus, terrified of his future, Gilgamesh journeys into the underworld in search of immortality but instead finds
emptiness. Gilgamesh believes Utnapishtim, who resides in the underworld, holds the secret to avoiding death, since he himself was given immortality by the gods after the "Great Flood".
However, Gilgamesh finds the underworld to be empty. This emptiness is foreseen in his journey through the league of caves. Shamash flat out tells Gilgamesh that he won't find what he is looking for. But Gilgamesh is also given more subtle warnings. For instance, Siduri asks Gilgamesh why he is "in search of the wind" (38). Furthermore, the caves have "no light"; foreseeing that Utnapishtim will have no knowledge or secret about immortality (37). And the author repeatedly writes "nothing ahead and nothing behind" (37). This implies tha...
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Virgil. "The Aeneid". Trans. Robert Fitzgerald. The Norton
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As a natural phenomena that occurs frequently yet is still not completely understood, death has confounded and, to a certain degree, fascinated all of humanity. Since the dawn of our species, people have tried to rationalize death by means of creating various religions and even attempted to conquer death, leading to great works of literature such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Cannibal Spell For King Unis. Considered one of the earliest great pieces of literature, the Epic of Gilgamesh tells an adventurous yet profound tale about the god-like king of Uruk, Gilgamesh, and his quest to find immortality. While his name now lives on through the Epic, Gilgamesh did not attain eternal life as the plant of immortality was stolen from him by a snake.
This journey in particular was a hard one for Gilgamesh, not only because he was without his best friend but because it was just a physically demanding journey in and of itself. At several points during the journey it is easy to tell that Gilgamesh is growing afraid of death, and is frantic of sorts to find immortality. He is faced with many tests along the way, but in the end reached Utanapishtim, the survivor of the flood, and is at the verge of finding immortality. However things just do not go his way. Utanapishtim challenges Gilgamesh to a week without sleeping in order to gain the coveted virtue of immortality, however Gilgamesh fails almost instantly. Gilgamesh will not become immortal that way, but there is one other way. There is a plant that Gilgamesh can find and gain immortality from if he is pricked by it. However, after Gilgamesh finds the plant, he goes for a swim and a snake steals his plant and gains the immortality instead of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is simply not cut out for immortality like he thought he was. Gilgamesh is heartbroken about not gaining immortality and letting his best friend down, so he returns to
Upon arriving there he is greeted by Shamash, the Sun God, who tells him, "You will never find the/ life for which you are searching." This upsets Gilgamesh because he has traveled so far to now just "sleep and let the earth cover my head forever?" From leaving Shamash, Gilgamesh is sent to see Siduri. "Beside the sea she lives, the woman of/ the vine, the maker of wine…" and she does not want to allow Gilgamesh pass. Gilgamesh pleads with her that since he has seen her do not let him see death. She answers, "Gilgamesh, where/ are you hurrying to? You will never find that life for which you are looking." Once again Gilgamesh hears that what he is looking for does not exist. She tells him to enjoy life to its fullest because that is what a man is there for. That does not satisfy Gilgamesh and he wishes to know where to find Utnapishtim, the only man with eternal life. To find him, Gilgamesh must locate Urshanabi, the ferry woman. She then proceeds to take him over the Ocean and over the waters of death.
After Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh embarks on a crusade to bring Enkidu back to life. His quest takes him traveling across the sea of death in search of Utnapishtim. Gilgamesh spends a lot time and effort in search of Utnapishtim. He travels great lengths, as well as risks his life in attempting to bring life back to his lost friend. His journey finally takes him to Urshanabi. Urshanabi’s presence gives Gilgamesh a spark of hope of getting his friend back. Urshanabi then shatters this hope when he says; “The stone images are destroyed. If you had been as reverent with them as with your friend, they might have helped you cross." (p.69)
Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of his own mortality, sets out on a journey to search for a way to preserve himself. Although the journey that he endures is much larger than life, Gilgamesh comes to realize that he can never achieve immortality. Before the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh is a man without an equal match. He is an individual with overwhelming power, and it is because of this that makes Gilgamesh a very arrogant person.
He, however, ruled with a tyrannical behavior in ways such as sending young men to fight in senseless wars, fulfilling his sexual satisfaction with young brides on their wedding night, and treating his people as if they were beneath him as human beings. Upon wrestling and defeating Enkidu in a battle, the two became extremely close as friends. Their friendship influenced and shaped Gilgamesh’s perception of the world, especially upon the death of Enkidu. Once his close friend passed away, Gilgamesh became more self-aware of his own mortality and sought for the answers of gaining immortality. Although this may seem like a selfish act of his part, Gilgamesh underwent a major character transformation during his journey in the underworld. Upon meeting and hearing the story of how Utnapishtim was granted immortality by the gods, Gilgamesh accepts the challenge put forth by Utnapishtim to stay awake for six days and seven nights. After failing the challenge, Utnapishtim was persuaded by his wife to provide Gilgamesh with a consolation prize due to his extensive journey to the underworld. He informed Gilgamesh of the existence of a magic plant at
On page fifty-five Enkidu tells Gilgamesh what he dreams about. “Enkidu began to speak to Gilgamesh: …;... 'Enlil was wroth at celestial Shamash: "How like a comrade you marched with them daily! '"” Enkidu describes this dream, in great detail, of all the horrors of the underworld. Additionally, Enkidu describes how the gods are planning on bring Enkidu to his death, while Gilgamesh is to be spared. Enkidu is very sick at this point and is unable to do anything else, but lie on the bed. After twelve days, Enkidu dies on the bed. Gilgamesh is scared, at this point, and is afraid he might be next to die. In order to avoid death, Gilgamesh is persuaded on a journey to find immortality. Gilgamesh is later forced to live the rest of his life without being immortal. This dream is crucial to show how a main character, Enkidu, is being
One of the main themes in the epic is that death is inevitable, which is shown through Enkidu's death. When Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh becomes very worried, because he realizes for the first time that everyone is going to die at some point in time. The fact that Enkidu is a close friend makes it even more visible to Gilgamesh that everyone is mortal. Then, along with this realization, comes the theme of denial. Gilgamesh does not want to accept the fact that he will die. He denies the truth, because he does not want to think about the truth or cope with the tragedy that has struck him. "And he-he does not lift his head. 'I touched his heart, it does not beat'" (Tablet VIII, Column II, 15-16). "'Me! Will I too not die like Enkidu? Sorrow was come into my belly. I fear death; I roam over the hills. I will seize the road; quickly I will go to the house of Utnapishtim, offspring of Ubaratutu. I approach the entrance of the mountain at night. Lions I see, and I am terrified. I lift my head to pray to the mood god Sin: For...a dream I go to the gods in prayer: ...preserve me!'" (Tablet IX, Column I, 3-12).
Gilgamesh goes on to seek eternal life. Death had never been a topic he had to deal with. Jacobsen explains, “death, fear of death, has become an ob...
This story teaches that death is an unavoidable and inevitable circumstance of mortal life, which is the most significant precept Gilgamesh learns. Gilgamesh is resentful that only the gods can exist eternally. Gilgamesh is frightened by the idea of his own destiny. Mesopotamian divinity proposes a perception of an afterlife; the deceased spend their period being dead in a netherworld. Death is inevitably entwined within the structure of creation. Life is also entwined, although mortals die, humanity maintains to live. The message that Gilgamesh returns with from his adventure is not primarily about death, but about life. Fragment of a tablet of The Epic of Gilgamesh is figure C down
The ancient Greeks were mainly concerned with the relationship between fate and free will. This concern weaves in and out of the culture's most highly regarded literary works, including one of the earliest and most well-known texts ever written - the Odyssey. Homer's thrilling tale of King Odysseus' trials and tribulations on his homeward voyage from Ilium is littered...
After the death of Enkidu, Gilgamesh tries to find immortality by trying to cross the ocean to find it.
... Gilgamesh is unable to go back to get another plant because he lost both the boat and his tools. Gilgamesh has the hope that this plant will free him from his burden of the idea of death; he says “I myself will eat it and so return to my carefree youth” (80). After the snake took the plant away Gilgamesh began to weep “Thereupon Gilgamesh sat down weeping, His tears flowed down his face” (81) showing that Gilgamesh is saddened by his reality. At this point Gilgamesh tells Ur-Shanabi “I have come much too far to go back, and I abandoned the boat on the shore” (81).
After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh comes to the realization that one day he too will succumb to the same fate as his friend.
Gilgamesh: Old man! Your ideas on death puzzle me. I do not understand how one can be so accepting of death. I believe that my purpose in life is to strive to be the most glorious and well-known person to walk this earth, and death has no part in my plan. Once I witnessed the death of my friend Enkidu I realized how short the lifespans of mortals are. I plan to visit Utanapishtim, the Immortal One, and learn to cheat death!