The epic of gilgamesh1/10/2023 According to the Old Babylonian text of the Epic, the heavenly gods create Gilgamesh’s equal, a beastly Enkidu, to confront him about his immoral treatment of his citizens in Uruk (Abusch, 2001). Due to his parentage, he poses ‘extraordinary energy’ and uses that against the people of Uruk in order to oppress them (Pruyser and Luke, 1982). The hero is our case is Gilgamesh, the reigning king of Uruk and the offspring of a previous king, Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun, making the Epic’s hero, two-thirds god and one-third human (Dalley, 2008). The first stage in Campbell’s Hero’s Journey is Departure. This essay will look in-depth into how specific tales from ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ falls in line with Joseph Campbell’s analyzation of what every popularized the Hero’s Journey looks like, a concept that was theorized over 4000 years after the historic Gilgamesh supposedly reigned in Uruk (Dalley, 2008). This transformation may be physical, social or spiritual” (Kaushal, 2003). The term ‘hero’ is given to the character that “…tale takes him to a journey that ultimately transforms the hero forever. When ‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ is thoroughly examined, it is seen that Gilgamesh does go through the Hero’s Journey as depicted by Campbell, despite what characteristics would morally constitute one as a hero. The three main stages of the Hero’s Journey as follows: Departure, Initiation and Return (Campbell, 2004). Each of the steps is a key plot that a ‘hero’ or the protagonist usually partakes in, in order to gather the valuable wisdom and life-lessons that allows him to go through such hero’s journey. In Campbell’s book, ‘The Hero with a Thousand Faces’, he outlines many specific steps in what is organized into three main stages of the Hero’s Journey. Gilgamesh’s hero status can be corroborated by Joseph Campbell’s cycle, a Hero’s Journey. The story follows many of Gilgamesh’s immoral adventures with his accomplice, Enkidu, and then later adventures on its own, yet Gilgamesh’s journey of self-discovery and wisdom bestows him with the ‘hero’ title, that is usually given to the main protagonist of many Mesopotamian and other ancient mythological tales. This epic poem from the ancient Mesopotamian civilization, centres around the infamous king of Uruk, who is, at the beginning of the story, unfit to rule his people but through guidance from the heavenly gods, Gilgamesh becomes the wise king that gives this epic poem a hero’s ending (Pruyser and Luke, 1982). It is the longest written literature in Akkadian cuneiform that regales about the protagonist, Gilgamesh’s adventures. His name is remembered forever.‘The Epic of Gilgamesh’ significantly studied by global scholars since it’s discovery in the ruins of the Library of Ashurbanipal in 1853 (Dalley, 2008). For the rest of his rule, he becomes a good person and king until death. On his journey home, he discovers he has to turn into a good king so that his legacy would forever live on. Gilgamesh gets back to Uruk and is full of fear of dying. Unfortunately, Gilgamesh falls asleep before he gets to Uruk and a snake ingests the plant, and it becomes young again. Gilgamesh is sent back to Uruk but with a plant that could make him young again when eaten. Utnapishtim rejects the request from Gilgamesh for immortality. Gilgamesh keeps on and goes on to meet Utnapishtim, who was rumored to have immortality from the Gods. The scorpion tells Gilgamesh that there is no immortality. On the journey, he encounters a great scorpion, and they engage in battle. Gilgamesh decides to seek immortality after this event. Enkidu gets ill and dies in the arms of Gilgamesh. The sins that Enkidu and Gilgamesh commit together become too many to the extent the gods get angry and make the decision to have Enkidu killed as punishment to Gilgamesh. Then they kill the bull of heaven who had been sent by Ishtar after Gilgamesh rejects her. Their first victim is Humbaba in the forest. Gilgamesh and Enkidu develop a great friendship later. Enkidu becomes angry and attacks Gilgamesh. Shamhat takes Enkidu to Gilgamesh, as the latter was to rape a peasant girl. Enkidu becomes human and learns to be civil. Enkidu behaves like a beast, and so he is tamed by Shamhat by lying with him for six nights and seven days. The Gods Ishtar and Anu see this and hence create Enkidu, who was Gilgamesh’s equal and send him to Uruk to challenge the king. Gilgamesh rules Uruk and is cruel to his subjects. His father is Lugulabanda a minor god and his mother Lady Ninsun known for her wisdom. It focuses on King Gilgamesh, a cruel half god half human king. This story is set during Mesopotamian times.
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