The Epic of Gilgamesh

The Epic of Gilgamesh Study Guide

The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient epic poem from Mesopotamia dating back to roughly 2000 BCE. It
is believed to be one of the earliest works of literature in human history. Scholars believe that its origins were in
ancient Sumerian poems that were later collected into an Akkadian epic in the 18th or 17th century BCE.
Hormuzd Rassam, an Assyrian archaeologist, first discovered the clay tablets that record the epic in 1853, in
modern-day Iraq. They were first translated by George Smith, a British Assyriologist, and were first published
in the early 1870s.

Eleven tablets make up the main body of the poem. A twelfth tablet was likely added later, but it is not
clear why. The twelfth tablet uses similar imagery and concepts but is not sequential to the other eleven. This
last tablet is sometimes omitted from translations for this reason.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Summary

Gilgamesh is the Priest-King of the city of Uruk. He is a tyrannical king who works his people to death
and takes what he wants from them. He kills the young men at will and uses the women as he pleases. The
people of Uruk cry out to the gods for help so that they can have peace.

The gods hear them and instruct Anu, the goddess of creation, to make a twin for Gilgamesh, someone
who is strong enough to stand up to him and who will ultimately save him. Anu makes Enkidu, a hairy wild man
who lives in the wilderness with the animals.

One day a trapper sees Enkidu by a water hole and is frightened. He tells his father of the wild man he
saw. His father tells the trapper to go to see Gilgamesh. He tells his son to ask the king for a temple prostitute
to bring back with him to seduce Enkidu. The trapper returns with Shamhat, a temple prostitute from the temple
of Ishtar, the goddess of love and war. They wait for Enkidu to reappear by the watering hole.

Enkidu returns and Shamhat reveals herself to him. They copulate for six days and seven nights. When
Enkidu is satisfied, he finds that the animals no longer accept him. Shamhat tells him to come back with her to
Uruk. Upon hearing of Gilgamesh, Enkidu decides he wishes to meet him. The two set out for Uruk, making a
stop at a shepherd's camp. There Enkidu learns that Gilgamesh will sleep with a newly married bride on her
wedding night, before her husband sleeps with her. He is outraged and decides he must stop Gilgamesh.
Meanwhile, Gilgamesh has several dreams foretelling the arrival of Enkidu.

The two meet in the streets of Uruk and a great fight breaks out between them. Gilgamesh is
triumphant but his encounter with Enkidu changes him. They become companions. Enkidu tells Gilgamesh of
Humbaba, a terrible monster who guards the Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh decides the two of them should journey
there and defeat the monster.

They make preparations and head to the Cedar Forest. They encounter Humbaba and with the help
of Shamash, the sun god, defeat him. They return to Uruk carrying his head. After a celebration, Gilgamesh
bathes himself and catches the eye of Ishtar. She tells him to become her lover, promising great riches and
rewards in return. Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar, telling her he is aware of her reputation as a scornful lover.

Ishtar is outraged and convinces her father, Anu, to release the Bull of Heaven to punish
Gilgamesh. The Bull of Heaven descends on Uruk, killing hundreds of men. Enkidu seizes the animal and
Gilgamesh kills it with a sword. Ishtar appears and threatens the heroes. Enkidu tears off one of the Bull's
haunches and throws it at Ishtar. Later that night, Enkidu has a dream that the gods are meeting in council.
 The dream proves true. The gods decide that one of the heroes must die for their behavior. They
choose Enkidu. Enkidu falls ill and suffers for twelve days before finally dying. Gilgamesh is shattered. He
mourns for days and tears his hair and clothes. He adorns filthy animal skins and journeys into the forest and
mountains. He has witnessed death and is now terrified of his own mortality. He seeks to escape it.

Gilgamesh decides to seek out Utnapishtim, the one being granted immortality by the gods. He travels
to Mount Mashu, a twin-peaked mountain that marks an entrance to a world in which mortals cannot venture.
He convinces the guards of the mountain, two Scorpion-man beings, to allow him to enter a long passage
under the mountain. He endures this terrible darkness for a full day.

When he emerges on the other side, he is in a wondrous paradise. He sees a tavern by the sea and
approaches it, frightening its owner, Siduri, with his appearance. Siduri allows him to enter the tavern after he
explains his story and his intention to find Utnapishtim. Siduri tells Gilgamesh of Urshanabi, the boatman, who
can ferry Gilgamesh across the Waters of Death to where Utnapishtim resides.

Gilgamesh finds Urshanabi and the two set out to find Utnapishtim. They reach a shore and Gilgamesh
meets an old man. Gilgamesh explains that he wishes to attain immortality. The old man is Utnapishtim, who
tells Gilgamesh that immortality is for the gods alone. Mortals must learn to accept death. He tells Gilgamesh
the story of how he was granted immortality by the gods. He asks Gilgamesh what he has done to deserve this
same gift.

Gilgamesh finally leaves with Urshanabi to return to Uruk. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh of a magical
plant at the bottom of the sea that can restore one's youth. Gilgamesh descends into the waters and retrieves
the plant.

On his way back to Uruk, Gilgamesh stops to bathe in a spring, leaving the plant by the water. A
serpent appears and steals the plant, leaving Gilgamesh weeping by the water's edge. He returns to Uruk with
Urshanabi. Upon seeing the great city, Gilgamesh understands that it is his legacy, and that if he rules well, it
will be his greatest legacy. Gilgamesh comes to understand that the most important thing in life is to have lived
and loved well.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Character List

1. Gilgamesh
 The protagonist of the story and the King of Uruk. He is credited with having built the city walls of
Uruk to protect its people. In most translations, he is described as being one-third man and two-thirds
god. His mother is Ninsun, a goddess. His father is Lugalbanda, a past King of Uruk.
2. Enkidu
 A wild man who becomes Gilgamesh's best friend. After being visited by Shamhat, the prostitute,
Enkidu is civilized and leaves the animal world behind to journey with Shamhat to Uruk. Enkidu
accompanies Gilgamesh to defeat Humbaba before he passes away. Gilgamesh journeys to the
Underworld to try to bring Enkidu back to life.
3. Shamhat
 A temple prostitute sent by Gilgamesh to civilize Enkidu. Shamhat seduces Enkidu and he sleeps
with her for six days and seven nights. She brings him back to Uruk with her where he first
encounters Gilgamesh.
4. Ninsun
 Gilgamesh's mother and a goddess. She prays for Gilgamesh and Enkidu before they embark to fight
Humbaba in the cedar forest.
5. Humbaba/Huwawa
 The Guardian of the cedar forest. Humbaba is defeated and killed by Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

6. Ishtar/Irnini
 Goddess of Love, Fertility, and War, and daughter of Anu. Ishtar sends the Bull of Heaven to attack
Gilgamesh after he spurns her advances.

7. Anu
 The father of the Sumerian Gods. Ishtar appeals to him for help after Gilgamesh spurns her
advances.

8. Urshanabi
 The boatman who takes Gilgamesh over the waters of the dead to see Utnapishtim.

9. Utnapishtim
 Instructed by Ea to build a boat before the flood that destroyed the city of Shurrupak. Utnapishtim is
granted immortality for his role. Gilgamesh seeks him out after Enkidu's death. Utnapishtim tells
Gilgamesh of the flood and tells him where to find a magic plant that can grant immortality.

10. The Bull of Heaven

 Referred to in some translations as "Gugalanna," the Bull of Heaven was sent to punish Gilgamesh
for rejecting Ishtar's sexual advances. Gilgamesh and Enkidu slay the Bull of Heaven and insult
Ishtar.

11. Siduri
 A barmaid and alewife that Gilgamesh encounters on his journey into the Underworld. Siduri resides
in a cottage by the sea. She discourages Gilgamesh on his pursuit for immortality but ultimately
directs him to the boatman Urshanabi.

12. Enlil
 The storm god, wind god, and god of destiny.

13. Lugalbanda
 The father of Gilgamesh, a great hero king of Uruk.

14. Aruru/Mammetum
 The mother goddess who established life and death.

15. Nergal
 Lord of the underworld.

16. Ninurta
 The god of war, chaos, and silence.

17. Shamash
 The god of light and the sun, he aids Enkidu and Gilgamesh in their fight with Humbaba.
18. Sin
 The god of the moon.

19. Sumuqan
 The god of cattle.

The Epic of Gilgamesh Glossary

 Akkadian
 A Semitic language, it is the source language for most versions of Gilgamesh read today.

 Apsu
 The great abyss of waters beneath the earth.

 Bitumen
 A thick tarlike substance used for waterproofing and as an adhesive.

 Carnelian
 A semi-precious reddish-brown mineral used for gemstones.

 Cedar Forest
 A sacred forest, home of Humbaba/Huwawa, who is its guardian.

 Cuneiform
 Meaning "wedge-shaped," it is the script used to record languages such as Sumerian and Akkadian.
Cuneiform was written by pressing a reed stylus into a clay tablet.

 Euphrates River
 One of the two great rivers of Mesopotamia, the other being the Tigris. Uruk is situated upon the
Euphrates.

 Harlot
 A priestess or servant in the Temple of Ishtar. Shamhat is one of these prostitutes.

 How-the-Old-Man-Once-Again-Becomes-A-Young-Man
 A magic plant that Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh can restore one's youth. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh
that the plant can be found at the bottom of the sea.

 King Ashurbanipal
 An Assyrian king who was the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. His court library, excavated
at Nineveh, contained a good deal of Mesopotamian literature, including the tablets on which the Epic
of Gilgamesh was inscribed.

 Lapis lazuli
 A semi-precious stone prized for its deep blue color. It is mentioned several times in the story, most
notably because Gilgamesh's story is said to be recorded on tablets made of it.
 League
  A unit of measurement equal to about a mile and a half.

 Mashu
 A mountain with twin peaks at the edge of the underworld. The sun is said to rise at the eastern peak
and make its way down through the western peak.

 Nisir
 The name of the mountain where Utnapishtim's boat came to land.

 Priest-king
 Gilgamesh is the priest-king of Uruk, the spiritual and political leader of the city.

 Seven Sages
 Said to have laid the foundation of Uruk, they were instructed in the arts of civilization by the gods who
gave them the plans for the city.

 Shuruppak
 An ancient city destroyed by the Flood during the leadership of Utnapishtim.

 Sin-Leqi-Unninni
 Possibly a priest, he is believed to have lived in Uruk during the Middle Babylonian period. He appears
to have produced the most recent version of the epic that is read today.

 The Flood
 An event that was already ancient by Gilgamesh's time, the Flood was brought by the gods for unclear
reasons against the city of Shurrupak, thereby destroying all living things.

 Uruk
 Erech in the Bible, Uruk was the great walled city ruled by Gilgamesh.

 Ziggurat
 A stepped tower atop which sacrifices were made to appease the gods.

Plot Overview
 The epic’s prelude offers a general introduction to Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, who was two-thirds god
and one-third man. He built magnificent ziggurats, or temple towers, surrounded his city with high walls, and
laid out its orchards and fields. He was physically beautiful, immensely strong, and very wise. Although
Gilgamesh was godlike in body and mind, he began his kingship as a cruel despot. He lorded over his
subjects, raping any woman who struck his fancy, whether she was the wife of one of his warriors or the
daughter of a nobleman. He accomplished his building projects with forced labor, and his exhausted subjects
groaned under his oppression. The gods heard his subjects’ pleas and decided to keep Gilgamesh in check by
creating a wild man named Enkidu, who was as magnificent as Gilgamesh. Enkidu became Gilgamesh’s great
friend, and Gilgamesh’s heart was shattered when Enkidu died of an illness inflicted by the gods. Gilgamesh
then traveled to the edge of the world and learned about the days before the deluge and other secrets of the
gods, and he recorded them on stone tablets.

The epic begins with Enkidu. He lives with the animals, suckling at their breasts, grazing in the
meadows, and drinking at their watering places. A hunter discovers him and sends a temple prostitute into the
wilderness to tame him. In that time, people considered women and sex calming forces that could domesticate
wild men like Enkidu and bring them into the civilized world. When Enkidu sleeps with the woman, the animals
reject him since he is no longer one of them. Now, he is part of the human world. Then the harlot teaches him
everything he needs to know to be a man. Enkidu is outraged by what he hears about Gilgamesh’s excesses,
so he travels to Uruk to challenge him. When he arrives, Gilgamesh is about to force his way into a bride’s
wedding chamber. Enkidu steps into the doorway and blocks his passage. The two men wrestle fiercely for a
long time, and Gilgamesh finally prevails. After that, they become friends and set about looking for an
adventure to share.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu decide to steal trees from a distant cedar forest forbidden to mortals. A terrifying
demon named Humbaba, the devoted servant of Enlil, the god of earth, wind, and air, guards it. The two
heroes make the perilous journey to the forest, and, standing side by side, fight with the monster. With
assistance from Shamash the sun god, they kill him. Then they cut down the forbidden trees, fashion the tallest
into an enormous gate, make the rest into a raft, and float on it back to Uruk. Upon their return, Ishtar, the
goddess of love, is overcome with lust for Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh spurns her. Enraged, the goddess asks her
father, Anu, the god of the sky, to send the Bull of Heaven to punish him. The bull comes down from the sky,
bringing with him seven years of famine. Gilgamesh and Enkidu wrestle with the bull and kill it. The gods meet
in council and agree that one of the two friends must be punished for their transgression, and they decide
Enkidu is going to die. He takes ill, suffers immensely, and shares his visions of the underworld with
Gilgamesh. When he finally dies, Gilgamesh is heartbroken.

Gilgamesh can’t stop grieving for Enkidu, and he can’t stop brooding about the prospect of his own
death. Exchanging his kingly garments for animal skins as a way of mourning Enkidu, he sets off into the
wilderness, determined to find Utnapishtim, the Mesopotamian Noah. After the flood, the gods had granted
Utnapishtim eternal life, and Gilgamesh hopes that Utnapishtim can tell him how he might avoid death too.
Gilgamesh’s journey takes him to the twin-peaked mountain called Mashu, where the sun sets into one side of
the mountain at night and rises out of the other side in the morning. Utnapishtim lives beyond the mountain, but
the two scorpion monsters that guard its entrance refuse to allow Gilgamesh into the tunnel that passes
through it. Gilgamesh pleads with them, and they relent.

After a harrowing passage through total darkness, Gilgamesh emerges into a beautiful garden by the
sea. There he meets Siduri, a veiled tavern keeper, and tells her about his quest. She warns him that seeking
immortality is futile and that he should be satisfied with the pleasures of this world. However, when she can’t
turn him away from his purpose, she directs him to Urshanabi, the ferryman. Urshanabi takes Gilgamesh on
the boat journey across the sea and through the Waters of Death to Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh
the story of the flood—how the gods met in council and decided to destroy humankind. Ea, the god of wisdom,
warned Utnapishtim about the gods’ plans and told him how to fashion a gigantic boat in which his family and
the seed of every living creature might escape. When the waters finally receded, the gods regretted what
they’d done and agreed that they would never try to destroy humankind again. Utnapishtim was rewarded with
eternal life. Men would die, but humankind would continue.
 When Gilgamesh insists that he be allowed to live forever, Utnapishtim gives him a test. If you think you
can stay alive for eternity, he says, surely you can stay awake for a week. Gilgamesh tries and immediately
fails. So Utnapishtim orders him to clean himself up, put on his royal garments again, and return to Uruk where
he belongs. Just as Gilgamesh is departing, however, Utnapishtim’s wife convinces him to tell Gilgamesh
about a miraculous plant that restores youth. Gilgamesh finds the plant and takes it with him, planning to share
it with the elders of Uruk. But a snake steals the plant one night while they are camping. As the serpent slithers
away, it sheds its skin and becomes young again.

When Gilgamesh returns to Uruk, he is empty-handed but reconciled at last to his mortality. He knows
that he can’t live forever but that humankind will. Now he sees that the city he had repudiated in his grief and
terror is a magnificent, enduring achievement—the closest thing to immortality to which a mortal can aspire.

The Epic of Gilgamesh.

This is one of the oldest written stories in the world and it's a great illustration of Joseph Campbell's
monomythic hero's journey, introduced last episode. Plus it has sacred trees, love struck goddesses, and a
fearsome demon named Humbaba. To Sumeria!

The Epic of Gilgamesh is more than 4,000 years old. Written versions of the story date back to 2100 BCE,
which gives it incredible historical value. For instance, several versions of the Gilgamesh story use both
Sumerian and Akkadian names for gods, which shows how the story might have passed orally between the
cultures of ancient Mesopotamia. This could also be considered syncretism, when two religious traditions
combine over time.

In this episode, we're going to work from a version of the epic written around 1200 BCE and see how
Gilgamesh himself fits into the hero's journey. A fair bit of warning though: in this story there is a brief mention
of rape.

At the start of our tale Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk, and he's both a bad guy and a bad king. His subjects are
unhappy, he disrespects the gods, and he's a serial rapist. So basically, he's the opposite of a hero. But
Gilgamesh, like many "heroes" has divine parentage, a goddess mom and a human, king dad. Somehow this
makes him two-thirds god and one-third man. Try not to think too hard about the math on that one. But either
way, he's still mortal and that's hard for him to accept.

Eventually Gilgamesh has a number of crazy adventures, he chops down some famous trees and meets his
best friend Enkidu, who helps Gilgamesh become a better man and a better king. When Enkidu dies,
Gilgamesh goes to the underworld to try to bring him back. He fails, however, and then must admit that he's
human after all. In the end, Gilgamesh is considered a hero not just for his incredible deeds, but for coming to
understand and accept his true nature.

But okay, let's backtrack. Because along the way Gilgamesh manages to check off nearly every single heroic
scene that we learned about in the last episode. We're going to count them up, one by one. Play along from
home! Every time you see a heroic scene, shout it out. But, uh, I'm pretty far away, so just make sure that you
shout like really, really loudly.

So things get started in the epic when Gilgamesh and Enkidu first meet. Right away they decide to wrestle
each other, and realizing that they evenly matched they reach a stalemate. This is a heroic trope in its own
right, just not one of Campbell's: think Robin Hood and Little John, Arthur and Lancelot, or Vin Diesel and
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in Fast Five.

After dusting themselves off and becoming BFFs, Gilgamesh and Enkidu return to Uruk to do kingly stuff, but
Enkidu - who's used to living in the wilderness - he gets bored. Gilgamesh proposes that they head to the
forest and face off against a terrifying demon adversary, Humbaba. Yeah, it's just, it's not a very threatening
name, I know. But trust me, he's a big deal, very terrifying, But, did you see what happened? This is what
Campbell would call Announcement of the Quest.

To prep for the journey Gilgamesh and Enkidu get Supernatural Aid in the form of some special weapons.
Then we get a quick the refusal of the quest as Enkidu, who knows the power of Humbaba, tries to warn
Gilgamesh: "Humbaba, whose shout is the flood weapon, whose utterance is fire and whose breath is death,
can hear for a distance of sixty leagues through the forest, so who can penetrate his forest? Debility would
seize anyone who penetrated his forest."

But Gilgamesh persists. Gilgamesh and Enkidu meet the goddess, Gilgamesh's mom, Ninsun. She's not
particularly happy with her son's plan but she blesses Gilgamesh and adopts Enkidu. In the forest, Enkidu
warns Gilgamesh about the gates, saying how afraid he is to cross the threshold, but once again Gilgamesh
persists and the two venture forth into the darkness of the forest now deep in the belly of the whale. And we're
going to follow them right in.

Creeping through the pine forest, Enkidu and Gilgamesh prepare to confront Humbaba. Before long the earth
shakes and the sky goes dark. Humbaba is upon them. Humbaba is massive, with the face of a lion, or, scales,
or vulture feet or a snake tail depending upon which version you read. But, nonetheless, very fearsome.

Undeterred, Gilgamesh and Enkidu leap into battle. With supernatural aid from the god Shamash, and some
divine winds that bind Humbaba, Gilgamesh slays the demon and removes its head. If you're keeping score at
home, this step is technically Atonement with the Father. Humbaba can be read as a terrible overbearing father
figure that must be, well, not so much atoned with as, you know, beheaded.

After the glorious battle Gilgamesh and Enkidu fell a bunch of sacred trees, build a raft, and sail home with
Humbaba's noggin. Once home Gilgamesh takes a bath and puts on some royal robes in anticipation of his
Meeting with a Goddess. In this case the goddess is Ishtar, who definitely has a thing for Gilgamesh. She says,
“Come to me Gilgamesh and be my lover.  Bestow upon me the gift of your fruit! You can be my husband, and
I can be your wife.”

Gilgamesh refuses Ishtar's advances though, maybe he just wasn't ready to share his fruit, which makes this
scene Woman as Temptress. Insulted, Ishtar sends the bull of heaven to kill Gilgamesh, who, with Enkidu, kills
the bull. But Enkidu, who just does not know when to quit, slaps Ishtar with a chunk of said bull. Not smart,
friendo. With that beefy slap Enkidu seals his fate. The life drains from his body, he gets sicker and sicker, and
dies.

With Enkidu dead Gilgamesh is at a turning point. He thought he'd finished his hero's journey. After travelling to
the ends of the earth, defeating his "dad," and returning home with a gross bloody trophy, he put on robes, he
was done. But now with the loss of his best friend Gilgamesh feels yet another call to adventure. So he leaves
Uruk to roam the country wondering, “Shall I die too? Am I not like Enkidu? Grief has entered my innermost
being. I am afraid of death and so I roam open country.”

Gilgamesh is on another heroic quest, this time to overcome death and live eternally. He resolves to find
Utnapishtim, who you might remember from a previous episode, he's the dude who was granted immortality
after surviving the great flood. Along the way, Gilgamesh crosses the mountains that guard the rising and
setting sun, and confronts monstrous scorpion men. Crossing the mountains means another crossing the
threshold, and crossing this threshold means Gilgamesh is in the belly of yet another whale, walking through
ten leagues of darkness.

Eventually, stumbling through the dark, Gilgamesh has another Meeting with the Goddess. This time it's Siduri,
the goddess of beer and wisdom, two things that don't often go together. Siduri tells Gilgamesh that to meet
Utnapishtim, Gilgamesh must cross lethal waters with the boatman Urshanabi. Gilgamesh thanks Siduri for the
beer, sets off and finds Urshanabi. Immediately, Gilgamesh bashes Urshanabi over the head, which just that
seems very very rude, I mean why would Gilgamesh treat Urshanabi so… Urshabbily.

Anyway, I suppose maybe clobbering is the only way that Gilgamesh knows how to communicate with people
who aren't goddesses. In addition to bashing Urshanabi over the head, Gilgamesh smashes all of the things of
stone, which is unfortunate because it turns out that those things of stone are the tools Urshanabi needs to
cross the water. So Gilgamesh has yet another task - he must cut down trees to make punting poles. Finally
Urshanabi shows Gilgamesh how to use the poles to cross the lethal waters and reach Utnapishtim, but when
he does, Gilgamesh can't exactly celebrate.

Utnapishtim challenges him, he asks, “Why have you exerted yourself? What have you achieved? You have
made yourself weary for lack of sleep, you only fill your flesh with grief, you only bring the distant days of
reckoning closer. Mankind's fame is cut down like reeds in a reed-bed. Nobody sees the face of death, nobody
hears the voice of death. Savage death just cuts mankind down.”

This isn't exactly the answer Gilgamesh was hoping for. Is Utnapishtim just gonna turn him away? Is he
doomed to remain mortal? Gilgamesh persists, so Utnapishtim tells him his own story, about the flood, been
chosen by Ea, the gods granting him immortality. And this is a revelation to Gilgamesh, the truth of immortality,
and it serves as his apotheosis .

Utnapishtim decides if Gilgamesh really wants to be immortal, fine, but to prove his worth he has to complete a
Road of Trials with just one simple task, Gilgamesh must stay awake for six days and seven nights. No
problem, Gilgamesh says, easy, he snorts, he plops down on a rock, and having walked into the darkness for
over ten leagues, instantly falls asleep. Whoops.

Even though Gilgamesh failed his test, Utnapishtim gives him an out. If he really wants to avoid death, there's
a secret plant, a root like a camel thorn. If he can track it down it'll bring him great rejuvenation, this will be his
Ultimate Boon.

So does Gilgamesh get his magic plant? Yes and no. He manages to find it growing deep underwater, and by
tying stones to his feet manages to sink down snip a sample and float back up to the surface. After this, he
sets off for his great return to civilization. But, after all that, on his way home, boon in hand, Gilgamesh decides
that he should stop and take a bath. While he's soaking, a snake slithers up, sneaks behind him, curls around
the plant, and disappears. As he towels himself off he sees the plant is gone and is just defeated. He sits down
and weeps. Gilgamesh must return home empty-handed.

So - what is heroism? Gilgamesh is a mighty warrior who stands up to terrible monsters and discovers the
secret of immortality, but who ultimately fails in his quest. Over the course of the story, he has almost all the
experiences set forth in Campbell's monomyth, sometimes more than once. But is this what makes him a
hero?
Really, Gilgamesh is kind of an ambivalent figure. His journey has many successes, but also many failures. His
bravery, or lack of respect, allows him to challenge and kill Humbaba, but also gets Enkidu killed. He proudly
announces that he's up to Utnapishtim’s challenge but he simply isn't. At the end of the epic, Gilgamesh comes
to terms with his limitations as a human. This completes the journey, achieving the final, crucial step: having
the power and wisdom to live a good life, not an eternal life, but a good one. In Gilgamesh's case, that means
one where you aren't a terrible king.

Eva Thury and Margaret Devinney sum up Gilgamesh's heroism pretty well: "Gilgamesh wants to escape
human limitations, to get answers to questions not available to his contemporaries, and perhaps most
importantly, he want to overcome mortality both for himself and others. But ultimately his story shows us that,
despite his extraordinary talents, in these matters he is not different from other humans. Thus we see that it is
precisely his human limitations that make him truly heroic." 

So is he perfect? No. Is he even a role model? Definitely not. But can he serve as a symbol for an aspect of
the human condition, of growing past mistakes and accepting limitations? Maybe. And perhaps that is what
makes him a hero.