Gilgamesh Epic

The ancient Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh has earned a preeminent place in world literature because of its universal themes of love, loss, despair, and coming to terms with fate. Its motifs and themes have echoed throughout the early religious traditions of the Middle East. Introduced to the modern world in the late 19th century, the story struck a chord with biblical and classical scholars, who recognized the motifs of a forfeited paradise, initiation by seduction, a catastrophic flood, and the powerful love between heroes, one of whom dies. Along with the Enuma Elish, the Epic of Atrahasis, and other discoveries, the Epic of Gilgamesh excited research into the shared Mesopotamian-Mediterranean religious imagination. Today, the stories are studied as biblical and Greek Ur literature and also as classics in themselves.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is not of one shape, size, and theme in all its manifestations. Related texts [Page 447]exist in half a dozen languages and adaptations, stemming geographically from Mesopotamia to Anatolia and historically from the 21st to the 7th century BCE. Few scholars believe that the actual exploits of one historical king stand behind these. Sumerian king lists date a King Gilgamesh to 2700 BCE, cult lists deify him by 2500 BCE, and he becomes the subject of song by 2100 BCE. Yet narratives about him reflect a significant evolution of authorial interest, from praise for a superhero (two-thirds god, one-third human) to, ultimately, meditations on human arrogance, love, and certain death. The versions known as Old Babylonian (ca. 1700 BCE) and Standard Akkadian (1300–1200 BCE) are masterpieces in their unique ways, the latter synthesizing the tale of a primeval flood with a despairing hero's vain quest for immortality. Across and also within these stories, Gilgamesh the tragic hero supersedes Gilgamesh the mighty god-king.

The universal appeal of the Standard Akkadian version is tied to its twin themes of love and death. The love between the cohorts Gilgamesh and Enkidu is figured in a variety of ways. They are bride and bridegroom, adoptive brothers, and hybristic adventurers. The themes of love and death unite squarely when Enkidu rages against his imminent demise and the loss of innocence that led to it. The sun god admonishes him: Had Enkidu not left his innocence behind in the wilderness, he would not have known profound love and joy with Gilgamesh. Later, Gilgamesh weeps for the dead Enkidu like a grieving woman and possibly as a spouse. The death of Enkidu impels Gilgamesh to undergo a futile search for immortality. Eventually, the only immortal human—a Noah-like figure named “He Has Found Life”—reports to Gilgamesh the story of the flood and that all humans now are destined to die. Gilgamesh returns home sobered but also wiser. The Standard Akkadian version concludes by offering enduring works of architecture and literature as consolations for death, whereas the Old Babylonian version offers love and family.

Essential parallels are often drawn among the Mesopotamian figures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, the biblical David and Jonathan, and the Homeric Achilles and Patroklos. The power of all three stories may be gauged by their continued resonance today.

...