Death is an inevitable and inescapable fact of human life, which is the greatest lesson Gilgamesh learns. Gilgamesh is bitter that only the gods can live forever and says as much when Enkidu warns him away from their fight with Humbaba.
Life is short, the two warriors tell each other on their way to the deadly confrontation in the Cedar Forest, and the only thing that lasts is fame. But when Enkidu is cursed with an inglorious, painful death, their bravado rings hollow. Shamash, the sun god, consoles Enkidu by reminding him how rich his life has been, but though Enkidu finally resigns himself to his fate, Gilgamesh is terrified by the thought of his own. Mesopotamian theology offers a vision of an afterlife, but it gives scant comfort—the dead spend their time being dead.
But life is woven in as well, and even though humans die, humanity continues to live. Gilgamesh and Enkidu learn all too well that the gods are dangerous for mortals.
Gods live by their own laws and frequently behave as emotionally and irrationally as children. Piety is important to the gods, and they expect obedience and flattery whenever possible. Thus, the world of The Epic of Gilgamesh differs markedly from that of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in which God is both a partner in a covenant and a stern but loving parent to his people.
The covenant promises that people will receive an earthly or heavenly inheritance if they behave well. Enkidu accompanies Gilgamesh and they spend much time in preparation. Eventually they find the monster and defeat him. Gilgamesh mourns Enkidu and decides to visit Utnapishtim , the only human who does not die. He goes to the mountains of Mashu and passes by the guardian scorpion-demons into the darkness.
It becomes light as he enters the Garden of the Gods and he finds Siduri the Barmaid, to whom he relates his quest. She sends him to cross the waters of death and he confronts the boatman, Urshanabi. They cross and Gilgamesh speaks with Utnapishtim. Utnapishtim recounts the tale of the flood; how the gods felt that the clamor of mankind had become intolerable and the gods were unable to sleep so they decided to exterminate mankind.
The god Ea warns Utnapishtim of the upcoming flood and instructs him to build a "barque" of specific dimensions and to "take up into the boat the seed of all living creatures. When the gods see the destruction of the flood they become remorseful at having agreed to such destruction.
After the flood, Enlil grants Utnapishtim and his wife with immortality for surviving the flood and giving the earth the chance to be replenished. When Gilgamesh realizes that he will not be able to gain immortality by the same means as Utnapishtim, Utnapishtim offers him a chance to attain immortality. He challenges Gilgamesh to remain awake for six days and seven nights.
He fails, but Utnapishtim's wife urges him to reveal to Gilgamesh a rejuvinative plant. Gilgamesh takes it, but looses it to a serpent before returning to Uruk. Gilgamesh returns to Uruk with Urshanabi and shows him, with great pride, all the splendor of his city, Uruk. In the first half of the story, Gilgamesh is heedless of death to the point of rashness, while in the second, he is obsessed by it to the point of paralysis.
In doing so, he incurs the wrath of the gods. He sets out on a quest to find Utnapishtim, the Mesopotamian Noah who received eternal life from the gods, in the hope that he will tell him how he too can avoid death. Gilgamesh dreams about a meteor, which his mother tells him represents the companion he will soon have. Enkidu interprets dreams during their journey to the forbidden forest.
In one a mountain falls on them, which Enkidu says represents the defeat of Humbaba. In another dream, a bull attacks them.
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