Comparing Gilgamesh And The Descent Of Inanna

Charles de Montesquieu contradicts the human tendency to be apprehensive towards death in one statement: "We should weep for men at their birth, not at their death." The struggle to accept this revelation is demonstrated in the Babylonian epic poem known as, The Epic of Gilgamesh, through an extraordinary man's journey to achieve immortality, and his eventual acceptance of death's inevitability. The guarantee of death's arrival is further explored in Descent of Inanna, an epic in which Inanna abandons her post as the holy priestess of heaven to explore and later test the absoluteness of death. Death and its relationship to human nature is explored in both the texts, The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Descent of Inanna, by emphasizing its totality

and its role in the journey to achieve wholeness by acting as an equalizer among the world's varying hierarchical structures.
The opening passage of Descent of Inanna describes the goddess leaving her familiarities to descend to the underworld.

It states, "My lady abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld. Inanna abandoned heaven and earth to descend to the underworld. She abandoned her office of holy priestess to descend to the underworld" (Descent of Inanna, 52). Immediately, the gravity of Inanna's influence is established by emphasizing her absence which consequently reiterates the consideration that took place when deciding to abandon her office as holy priestess of heaven. Additionally, she is seen to be opening her ear to the great below (Descent of Inanna, 52). Here it is evident that Inanna is seeking to fulfill a certain kind of wisdom that heaven, or in other words, life, is not granting

her.
Similarly, Gilgamesh's greatness and god-like qualities are quickly introduced in The Epic of Gilgamesh. He is described as, "Gilgamesh the tall, magnificent and terrible, who opened passes in the mountains, who dug wells on the slopes of the uplands, and crossed the ocean" (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 2.37-40). This depiction of a man who is nearly all-powerful sets a tone that he is capable of withstanding things that which most men succumb. Throughout the epic, Gilgamesh struggles with the reality of death and how it awaits a man of his stature in all its totality and durability.
With the support of her faithful servant and confidant Ninshubur, Inanna begins to plan her descent to the Underworld. Once she arrives she is asked why she wishes to visit where no man returns, and she answers, "Because of my older sister, Ereshkigal, her husband, Gugalanna, the Bull of Heaven, has died. I have come to witness the funeral rites" (Descent of Inanna, 55). When this reasoning is considered literally, it demonstrates the respect and compassion that comes along with sibling relationships. When this answer is considered within the context of The Epic of Gilgamesh, it becomes clear that Inanna is descending to take responsibility for her indirect influence in the Wild Bull's death. By witnessing the funeral rites, she is not only paying her respects for the death of her sister's husband, but she is also learning what the afterlife entails which consequently and perhaps intentionally makes her understanding of existence more whole. As a holy priestess of heaven, this wisdom allows her to be a better leader as she has gained the knowledge of what it means to be alive and to die in its totality.
Like Inanna, Gilgamesh too has a companion that helps him understand the gravity of death. Enkidu, Gilgamesh’s confidant, was created to tame him as he was beginning to understand the capabilities of his power. Enkidu was made from the wild and behaved accordingly, to tame Enkidu Shamhat, the harlot engages in sexual intercourse with him. After this occurs it is suggested that, “Enkidu had defiled his body so pure. Enkidu was weakened, could not run as before, but now he had reason, and wide understanding” (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 8.199-202). Enkidu does not experience a physical death, but instead experiences the death of his ignorance. Now that he is given the ability to reason, he is able to conceptualize the idea of mortality, leading to his eventual demise, which in turn makes Gilgamesh question his feelings towards his own mortality.
Inanna is faced with the harsh realities of death head on when she is allowed through the seven gates of the Underworld.

Once her sister learns of her arrival she instructs, "As she enters, remove her royal garments. Let the holy priestess of heaven enter bowed low" (Descent of Inanna, 57). She is then stripped of all of the royal garments she was previously wearing, causing her to be naked. This nakedness, and the removal of her royal garments is symbolic of the vulnerability of death. Despite her royal stature, Inanna is stripped of such royalty to demonstrate that death does not play favorites. Furthermore, sharing blood with the queen of the Underworld does not spare her of the phenomenon of death. Ultimately, Inanna quickly learns that death does not stop to consider who a person is or what they have accomplished, instead it waits for each person with the same permanence and inevitability just the

same.
Contrastingly, Gilgamesh interacts with death for the first time through the death of his companion, Enkidu. After Enkidu dies from exhaustion Gilgamesh exclaims, “[Six days] I wept for him [and seven nights:] I did not surrender his body for burial [until a maggot dropped from] his [nostril.] [Then I was afraid that I too would die,] [I grew fearful of death, [and so wander the] wild” (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 84.235-238). Up until this moment, Gilgamesh had only been associated with the ideas of valor, strength, and the ability to overcome. It is Enkidu, who is an extension of Gilgamesh himself, and his death that solidify the idea of death’s absoluteness. Once again, the idea that death does not show favoritism is demonstrated through an ultra-powerful character being confronted with the ideas of their own death.
The inescapable nature of death is further emphasized in Descent of Inanna once Inanna arrives in the Underworld. When Inanna presents herself to her sister, she is swiftly killed and Father Enki creates the androgynous beings, kurgarra and galatur to save Innana by winning back her corpse and sprinkling the food and water of life on it to revive her. Inanna is brought back to life and is allowed to escape death under the condition that she finds someone to take her place. As Inanna ascends, the galla accompany her. They are described as:
The galla, the demons of the underworld, clung to her side. The galla were demons who know no food, who know no drink, who eat no offerings, who drink no libations, who accept no libations, who accept no gifts. They enjoy no lovemaking. They have no sweet children to kiss. They tear the wife from the husband's arms, they tear the child from the father's knees, they steal the bride from her marriage home (Descent of Inanna, 68).

The galla are the physical embodiment of death in that they do not know what it means to feel or hold value to sentimental attachments; nor do they have any concept of fairness. Moreover, the requirement of their presence as Inanna picks who will take her place in the Underworld further emphasizes the inescapable qualities of dying. Even if she herself is allowed to escape, she must choose to end a relationship with someone she cares about deeply, which is individually representative of a death itself.
Gilgamesh understands inevitability of death near the end of the epic in which he loses the possibility of immortality for the final time. He is told about a plant that will grant him immortality if he eats it. Once he has the plant, he bathes in a pool of cool water and a snake steals the plant away from him, taking away his last ditch effort to escape mortality. Once he realizes the snake steals the Plant of Heartbeat he wails,
[For whom,] Ur-shanabi, toiled my arms so hard, for whom ran dry the blood of my heart? Not for myself did I find a bounty, [for] the “Lion of Earth” I have done a favour! Now far and wide the tide is rising. Having opened the channel I abandoned the tools: what think would I find that served as my landmark? Had I only turned back, and left the boat on the shore! (The Epic of Gilgamesh, 99.303-318).

This theft is what forcefully requires Gilgamesh to accept his impending death despite the lengths he went to insure his immortality. Additionally, snakes were originally used as a symbol of wisdom; and to have a snake take away Gilgamesh’s last chance at immortality exhibits the wisdom he gains as he is forced to accept mortality.
To conclude, death does not take into account the accomplishments of a person, the content of their character, or even the time or lack of time they are alive when deciding who it will strike next. In world where change seems to be the only constant, death is also guaranteed no matter the person. For those that are extraordinary, whether it be through royal lineage, or insurmountable strength, the idea of immortality is especially daunting--and even seems unfair. However, as demonstrated through Descent of Inanna and The Epic of Gilgamesh, not even the holy priestess of heaven or a man who is two parts god one part human can escape death--whether it be through physical termination or through the death of a loved one. Ultimately, death is the great equalizer, and is the answer at the end of the journey to achieve wholeness.