Pursuit Of Eternal Life In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

Pursuit of Eternal Life The “Epic of Gilgamesh” is a historic story of the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh. The story portrays the short lived friendship of Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The story begins as Shamat the prostitute seduces Enkidu and convinces him to go to the city of Uruk and meet Gilgamesh. From that moment on, the two were very close. They planned a trip to the forest of cedars to defeat the monster known as Humbaba so that Gilgamesh could show his power to the citizens of Uruk. However, Enkidu tried vainly to dissuade Gilgamesh in going to the forest. Despite Enkidu’s plead, the two continued on their adventure to the forest where Humbaba lives. Once they arrived, they found the monster and killed him. In Gilgamesh
He overcomes many obstacles to reach this man, some of which no mortal had ventured through before. Finally, when he meets Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh explains his desire to be immortal and his fear of death. Utnapishtim challenges him to "not sleep for six days and seven nights" ("The Epic"). He is determined to complete this challenge and prove to Utnapishtim and himself that he deserves immortality, however "sleep breathes over him like a fog," and he is unable to stay awake ("The Epic"). Eventually he is awoken and thinks he has only been asleep for a few minutes. He is still full of despair confident that death is fast approaching. His journey ends in failure, but also leads to an important epiphany. Even if death itself invokes fear. We know it exists but not where it leads. The mystery of death, leaves fear and sadness to cultivate in the mind of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh says, "Nobody sees the face of Death. Nobody hears the voice of Death". He goes on, nothing that "death is a picture that cannot be drawn”. This form or force that is death cannot be explained. Gilgamesh believes that something that cannot be heard or seen but that can strike and kill at any moment is something to be feared. Death gives us no clues as to what happens after life. We can only speculate as to how this mysterious element operates. Ultimately, all we know is that the human body decomposes. This grim outlook, this life constantly being empty, leaves Gilgamesh feeling only empty and mournful. But he also discovers that it is better to die happily than live in