Gilgamesh
The Gilgamesh myth touches people even after so many centuries because it is about issues that touch all people in all times. These issues are the anguish of loss and death for all human beings. Myths reflect our will to understand what we cannot understand, and reconcile us to mortality. The earliest know Gilgamesh texts came from Sumer. The Sumerians were the first literate people of Mesopotamia, and their literature was preserved on clay tablets. On some of these tablets were stories specifically about Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. Gilgamesh's father is mortal and his mother is a goddess. Being part mortal, Gilgamesh must die eventually, which he discovers and accepts during the course of the myth. He is a bad ruler, who sleeps with all the women and takes away children from their families. His people ask the Gods for help, so the goddess Aruru creates Enkidu who will be almost Giglamesh's equal. Enkidu gets created in the woods and is covered with shaggy hair. He eats grass and water with the animals. A trapper who sees Enkidu is frightened, so he goes back and asks his father what he should do because Enkidu is freeing the animals from the traps. The father advises the trapper to go to
Soon after, Enkidu becomes sick and dies. He is as strong as Gilgamesh, knows the nature of the wilderness, and is insulting towards the gods. Gilgamesh is able to gain entrance to the mountain and travels a great length in the dark until he arrives in the jeweled garden of the Gods. Gilgamesh then washes himself off and puts on clean clothes and his crown. Sumerian, Babylonian, and Elamite belief systems were all incorporated into the Iranian's idea of life after death. One of them is the issue of heroes and kings in myth. His traits include being powerful, impulsive, and aggressive. Young adults too must take this important step in their lives, and relieve their fear to become wiser. There are several issues involved in the story of Gilgamesh. It is a typical young adult attitude to believe that we are above death. He wants to conquer the wilderness and build city walls. The Gilgamesh story is suited for young adults especially. Uruk and find Gilgamesh and tell him of the wild man. These conditions even exist today, as we often see the conflicts between cities and the outer areas in Iraq. He decides that he wants to slay the guardian monster of the cedar forest, Humbaba.
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Acceptance Essays
