Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh develops throughout the journey
The Epic of Gilgamesh is an Akkadian epic poem about the hero, Gilgamesh, who makes multiple journeys and undergoes changes in his personality. At first, Gilgamesh is a tyrant who cares only about himself not his people; however, he changes with appearance of his true friend, Enkidu. Loss of his companion makes the king become more selfish. During the journey to find immortal help Gilgamesh understand that he has his own duties as king of Uruk. Through the adventures, Gilgamesh has changed to become a better king, so the adventures he goes through can be also called as a spiritual journey of personal growth.
At the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh’s personality does not match with that of the king. He enforces, droit de seigneur, which forces brides to sleep with the king before they do with their husbands: “Though powerful, pre-eminent, expert and mighty, Gilgamesh lets no girl go free to her bridegroom” (I 75-76). Because of Gilgamesh’s tyranny, his citizens even pray to Anu for mercy and even call their king a savage wild bull: “A savage wild bull you have bred in Uruk-the-Sheepfold, he has no equal when his weapons are brandished” (I 81-82). To change or degrade the power of Gilgamesh, Anu creates a wild man, Enkidu who becomes civilized by Shamhat and hears about Gilgamesh’s terrible policy. Enkidu stands strong against the king, but they eventually get along with each other thanks to the kinship forged between two strong heroes. Having a really close friend does not change the selfish king’s personality that much. The first thing Gilgamesh offers to Enkidu is an adventure to kill Humbaba, a monster who guards the Forest of Cedar: “In the Forest of Cedar, where Humbaba dwells, let us frighten him in his lair!” Gilgamesh proposes (Y 100-101). As the one who is on the king’s throne, an epic journey just to earn fame and honor is meaningless. He is leaving his people, who depend on him as their leader and...
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