Gilgamesh’s Transformations To Become A Human
Prior to his journeys, Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, was a tyrant who was arrogant, and neglectful of his city. He was out of control and did whatever he wanted to do without consideration of the people who he hurt. However, as the plot progressed, Gilgamesh begins to undergo a transformation and slowly starts to learn what it is to be human, most remarkably in his two journeys.
In the first journey, Gilgamesh travels with Enkidu his then close companion. It is here that Gilgamesh’s transformation begins. He learns what friendship and companionship is and begins to depend on it which is a part of what it means to be human. Together, they approach Cedar forest to kill Humbaba and bring back cedar for Uruk. Gilgamesh faces a conflicting paradox with his feelings as humans often do - he wants to help by bringing Cedar back to Uruk but also wants to kill Humbaba for his own selfish desires. Along the way, Gilgamesh begins to have dreams that he cannot interpret. “Let the stiffness leave your arms, the tremors. Take my hand, friend, and we shall go together”. Here Gilgamesh begins to experience fear like he never has. This experience is significant in his becoming human as fear is a key emotion that all humans must face. Enkidu also reaches out to him to console him and Gilgamesh learns what it is to depend on someone other than himself and his own power. He is faced with weakness and is confronted with the fact that it may be possible that he needs to lean on someone else other than his own power which becomes another significant part in Gilgamesh learning what it is to be human.
Shortly after returning from Cedar forest, Enkidu dies and Gilgamesh is filled with sorrow. “I shall weep for Enkidu, my friend”. Gilgamesh’s growing humanism is reinforced again as he harbors emotions related to caring for someone else and suffering because of someone else’s predicament - this is also an indicator of his transformation to becoming a hero. Gilgamesh also feels something that is the core of human fears. “I shall die, and shall I not then be as Enkidu? I am afraid of death”. The fear of death. This prompts his second journey to the underworld to find a key to immortality. Throughout this journey, Gilgamesh is challenged by human limitations as he goes through days within the dark tunnel, and successfully crosses the river of death to finally meet the immortal man, Uta-napishti. Gilgamesh feels desperation and the role that he has been playing his entire life is switched as he now finds himself to be the one who is in desperate need for something at the hands of someone else. He learns what it is to be the one without control and power and in this sense is confronted with the feeling of weakness . Gilgamesh faces limitations that he never has before. Uta-napishti tells him to sleep for seven nights, however Gilgamesh fails. “Sleep like a fog already breathed over him”. This act is a representation of the physical limitations that Gilgamesh, like every other human faces. He awakes to be confronted with this reality and sees the decaying bread, a metaphor for his realization that much like the bread, he too, was decaying.
An important part of what makes a hero is learning what it must be to be human but to still prevail and do what is best. As his journey comes to an end, Gilgamesh steps out as a different person than who he was. He is no longer arrogant, and has been forced to learn humbleness as he knows he will face the same fate as everyone else. He is resolute with building Uruk to be the best it can be, thinking of its people as well. Becker argues that a part of being a hero is a desire to leave a legacy and leaving something behind whether it be children or building a temple. Upon returning, Gilgamesh has a revelation and accepts his mortality, shifting into his new role as hero for the city. “Survey its foundations, examine the brickwork”. Gilgamesh realizes that while he cannot live forever, he can live forever through his legacy: his efforts to build Uruk. In this way, he transitions to become a hero.
