Analytical Essay: The Epic Of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh, is a tale about Gilgamesh a king of the city of Uruk. He is a king that works his people to death. He kills young men at will and uses women for pleasure. The people of Uruk cry out for help. The goddess Anu hears them and makes a twin for Gilgamesh, someone who can stand up to him but instead they become friends.

Gilgamesh proposes a great adventure; this requires cutting down a great cedar forest to build a great monument to the gods. To do this they have to kill the guardian of the Cedar Forest which is the great demon called Humbaba the Terrible. Enkidu, put it off because it was such a undertaking but in the end Gilagmesh and Enkidu kill the terrible demon.

The goddess of love and beauty offers to become Gilgamesh’s wife but he scorns her. The goddess Ishtar, ask her father the god of the sky’s Anu, to send down the bull of heaven to punish him. The bull comes down from the sky. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, work together to wrestle the bull and kill it. The gods meet in a council and agree that one of them should be punished

Gilgamesh still begs, so Utnapishtim gives him a chance. Utnapishtim gives him a test to stay awake for a whole week. Gilgamesh tries but fails. Utnapishtim’s wife ask Utnapishtim to give Gilgamesh mercy and tell him where the plan is. So Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh about the plant that will make him young again. The plant is in the bottom of the ocean surrounding the shore. Gilgamesh finds the plant and plans to share it with his elders to make sure it truly works before he tries it himself. On the way back, one night a snake steals the flower and sheds his skin and the snake becomes young again. Gilgamesh returns to Uruk empty handed and accepts that he is not going to live forever. He learns that the city he rejected, is a beautiful great achievement, and humankind will leave on forever, he will never be