While I was reading the Epic of Gilgamesh I was starting to wonder if Gilgamesh was truly a hero. There may be many definitions of a hero, but to me, a hero is someone who is courageous, fearless and is willing to use his/her powers in order to help others. At the beginning of the poem Gilgamesh is described as being a very powerful, arrogant king who uses his authority and powers in negative ways such as raping his noble’s soon to be wives. This does not represent any type of hero to me because he used his powers in a negative way and molested and bullied his people.
One thing that caught my attention was how Gilgamesh was so concerned with fame. Right before the battle with Humbaba he mentioned that if he defeats him, he would get guaranteed fame. I think that a true hero should not be going into battles and taking on risky challenges just for fame and a good reputation. I believe that a true hero is humane and courageous, and is willing to sacrifice his/her life in order to protects his people or save someone’s life, regardless of the fame. A true hero puts himself in dangerous situations in order to serve as a protector or a defender, and not in order to become famous or earn good a reputation, which seemed to be the only thing on Gilgamesh’s mind. I also remember Gilgamesh getting scared when Humbaba threatened him in the forest, and if it wasn’t Enkidu, he would have probably been dead. Isn’t a hero supposed to be fearless?
Although Gilgamesh’s grieving over Enkidu’s death was obvious, I think that he was more upset because he realized that the same faith awaits him, which is very selfish. He went to visit Utnapishtim, in order to ask him questions about death and although he went through a challenging journey, I still could not find a hero in him. A real hero shouldn’t be afraid of doing what it takes in order to save something or somebody, even if it takes his/her life away. To me, a real hero would be willing to sacrifice his own life in order to save someone else. One of the reasons I believe that Gilgamesh was as brave as he was in his battles was because he thought he was immortal. However, if he knew that one day death awaits him too, I don’t think he would have been as courageous or would have taken on as many life-threatening challenges.
I respect Gilgamesh for his bravery in battles and for taking on journeys that no man would ever take, however I think that it takes way more than challenging journeys in order to be a hero. A real hero would never harass other people and misuse his/her powers. A real hero would never take on challenges in order to show off his/her strengths and hope to get recognition and fame in return. Finally, I think that a true hero is not afraid of dying or sacrificing his/her life for something valuable in return. Gilgamesh is nothing but a selfish guy who uses his strength in order to fool people about how brave he is.
I think I would argue that a hero is more frequently someone who is afraid but does what s/he must regardless of that fear. I just read the Green Lantern origin story and it seems to highlight that idea of doing what's right even when we're afraid to do so.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I very much agree that Gilgamesh is a selfish individual who is more interested in self-preservation than in doing good for his people. The question I want you to consider is this: does this seem to be an ideal for the Mesopotamians, or do they have a flawed hero? If they have a flawed hero, why would they do that?
I am going to defend Gilgamesh partly because he was the main character of my favorite story so far and partly because i can get some EC out of it. I think Gilgamesh was definitely a hero and you shouldn't think of him as a selfish man looking for fame. One thing I wanna bring up is many heroes had bad habbits, Gilgamesh's habbit just affected the lives and marriages of other people. Second he did use his powers for good things as well, he and Enkidu fought two great battles togther and Gilgamesh fought an internal battle by himself after Enkidu's death. And I dont think its fair to say that he was only looking for fame because his long quest to look for immortality. If he could have finish his task I think he would have been doing good deeds for his whole long life.
ReplyDeleteFuck u all
Deleteuh oh looks like someone's got their incel panties in a twist
DeleteI think of him as a selfish man looking for fame and Enkidu did not change him to be better. He raped women and killed "beasts" to get fame. He calls himself hero like,, which in of itself isn't a quality heros have. On his way to find immortality he beats people and destroys things because "that's just how higher men do." I see him more as a ruler than hero. Not only that but there was no need in killing Humbaba so I wouldn't call that a heroic fight. Internal battles do not make up a hero in itself but how they interpret those battles into the real world is. This is an argumentative essay.. please try to leave feelings at the web browser.
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