Theme Of Enkidu's Death In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

As an epic focused on the exploits of a partially divine king, Gilgamesh is deeply concerned with power and authority, particularly as they relate to what it means to be a good king. This theme is established at the outset of the epic, Enkidu’s creation is a response to the absoluteness of Gilgamesh’s power, although this successfully abates Gilgamesh’s brutal treatment of his people, it is Enkidu’s death that permanently alters his behavior. Enkidu’s demise at the hands of the gods is more than a deep personal loss, Gilgamesh’s impotence to prevent the death is an unprecedented inversion in the dynamics of power that catalyzes Gilgamesh’s shift from an abusive and irresponsible king to a mature ruler.

The first moments of the epic cast Gilgamesh

as a great hero, yet also a tyrannical king, eager to exert his power over his subjects, a central fault in his character. Gilgamesh is “tall, magnificent and terrible” (1.37), encapsulating the extremity of his character, “tall” indicates his unparalleled physicality, his heroism and divine blood makes him “magnificent”, but as a king, he is “terrible”, by “day and by night his tyranny grows harsher” (1.69). It is to this end that Enkidu is created, as an “equal” to Gilgamesh, he will be a worthy target of Gilgamesh’s competitive attention. Not only does Enkidu’s creation as a peer establish Gilgamesh’s authoritarianism as legitimate source of concern, it suggests that Gilgamesh’s tyranny is the result of his power as a king and warrior being uncontested. This equivalence is also reflected in the language used to describe Enkidu after his creation, like Gilgamesh, he is “tall”, and “the hair of his head grows thickly as barley” (1.107), a phrase applied verbatim to Gilgamesh. These repetitions connect Enkidu to Gilgamesh, their similarity is a fated bond,

A major aspect of Gilgamesh’s reaction to the loss of Enkidu’s is his desire to circumvent death, thereby gaining power over it. Even in the realm of death, Gilgamesh asserts the life of Enkidu , “the rulers of the underworld [will all kiss your feet.] 8.87” This highlights both Gilgamesh's desire for his friend to live on, and the importance of power in his image of his friend. Even the “rulers” of death will be under the degrading authority of Enkidu and Gilgamesh. This vision of Enkidu’s position in the underworld is a deliberate inversion of the circumstances of his death. In stating he had been “robbed” by a “wicked wind”, Gilgamesh at once denotes the cruelty and unfairness of the death, by likening it to theft, and his own powerlessness, the comparison of the gods to wind implies a force beyond human control (8.49). The use of “wind” also constitutes a denial of role Gilgamesh had in causing Enkidu’s death, “wind” implies a random, arbitrary event, in actuality, Enkidu was killed in retaliation to Gilgamesh insulted the goddess Ishtar.
Complicating Gilgamesh’s reaction to Enkidu’s death at the hands of gods is that in life, the two had acted with equally unquestionable force.

Gilgamesh stresses the depth of his loss by comparing Enkidu to “the axe at my side”, “the dirk at my belt”, and “the shield at my face” (8.45-46) - telling metaphors - combat is so central to Gilgamesh that the death of his closest companion is best expressed by a comparison to the tools of war. This connection between death and Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s companionship is further exemplified in Gilgamesh’s mournful recall of their achievements together: they “seized and [slew] the Bull of Heaven,/destroyed Humbaba” (8.53-55). However, in the next line, Gilgamesh shifts tense into the second-person present, directing disbelief at the lifeless body of his friend “Now what is this sleep that has seized [you?]” (8.56), this reapplication of the word “seize”, establishes a parallel between the formidable prowess of Enkidu and Gilgamesh in combat and the unilateral force visited upon Enkidu, placing the once unstoppable warrior in the position he had subjected others to. Gilgamesh’s realization of the limitations of his power as a warrior king causes him to reject his imperfect power. He tears his thick hair, a quality emblematic of his physical power, and casts of his royal garb “[like] something taboo” (8.64), implying disgust at his incomplete

kingship.
In facing Enkidu’s death, Gilgamesh must recognize his own mortality, and his own powerlessness to prevent his own death, a . Immortality becomes Gilgamesh’s last hope to regain his sense of power and control, so Gilgamesh seeks the Uta-napishti, who knows how to avoid death.