Gilgamesh: Man's First Story

Gilgamesh: Man's First Story Summary | Plot Summary

Gilgamesh begins with the life of the King in jeopardy. The elders of the city of Uruk go to the gods to complain of Gilgamesh's orders for continuous labor on the city walls. They ask the gods to create a man superior in strength and skill to the King who will ultimately prove his destruction. After some debate, the man is created and laid in the middle of a forest without human companionship of any kind. In this forest, the man, Enkidu, through his acquaintance with the gentle animals who are his only friends, learns more mercy than hostility. When Enkidu finally does emerge from the forest, with the young priestess sent in by Gilgamesh to retrieve him, the wild man does give a half-hearted attempt at destroying the King. The two do battle in front of the gate to the Temple of Ishtar, Gilgamesh proves to be a more than worthy opponent and Enkidu finds that he possesses too much respect for Gilgamesh to destroy him. The respect is reciprocated and the two men - rather than fighting to the death - become close companions.

Together they participate in many contests and feats of strength. Though Enkidu is content with this life, Gilgamesh is not. He convinces his friend that they must slay a great monster, named Humbaba. It's a monster that lives high on a mountain above the city and spits fire and ash down on the population, ruining buildings and crops. They succeed in this enterprise, and, in doing so, Gilgamesh attracts the eye of the goddess Ishtar. Gilgamesh, however, is well aware of Ishtar's propensity for taking and disposing of lovers and he refuses her advances as he and Enkidu turn back to Uruk.

The two arrive in triumph to their home city, but, as a part of the continuing vengeance of Ishtar, Enkidu dies - not as a hero or as a warrior, but as a common, ordinary man. Unable to cope with this, Gilgamesh goes on a quest to find the secret of immortality from his immortal ancestor Utnapishtim. He travels over the Mountains of Mashu, through the caverns by which the sun passes to the Eastern Garden, and across the deadly Bitter River to find Utnapishtim. After an unproductive meeting with his ancestor in which the latter reveals that he received immortality as a random gift of one of the gods, not through any grand or noble act, Gilgamesh travels instead to the gate of the underworld where he is able to speak with his friend, albeit in a changed form. With this, Gilgamesh is content and can lie down and die himself.