Why enkidu was created

And part of this broadening mind is that he wants a friend. This shows a development away from his solitary existence as he develops the need for human companionship—and also a development toward manliness, since Shamhat won't do. Along with his other human traits, Enkidu has also gained a healthy dose of testosterone-infused cockiness: "I will challenge [Gilgamesh] … Let me shout out in Uruk: 'I am the mighty one!

We have to remember that Enkidu is really a stranger in a strange land here. Shamhat puts some human clothes on him and takes him to some shepherds so they can initiate him into the parts of human civilization that her sexcapades didn't quite cover: i. But he still he "do[es] not know how to live" 1. Not like a human, anyway. So, we're guessing he feels rather confused and uncertain, or at least like his world has been rocked a little bit.

And not in the good way. Maybe all that "I'm gonna give Gilgamesh a beat-down" stuff is just him talking big because he's a little freaked out about this new world. He doesn't quite know how to act with the food and drink at first although the Old Babylonian version has him downing seven jugs of beer in no time flat , but he does become the shepherd's "watchman" 2. We can gather that he is accepting of this new life and what it offers him. He's trying to fit in. Once Enkidu and Gilgamesh become best buds, the truly zany and contradictory elements of Enkidu's personality start to stand out.

For example, when Gilgamesh suggests going to the distant Cedar Forest and doing battle with the monster Humbaba, Enkidu joins the elders of Uruk in arguing against the quest. It's too dangerous, he thinks, and besides, the god Enlil appointed Humbaba on purpose to be a terrifying guardian of the forest. It seems that Enkidu has some privileged info here. There is no room in the text for anyone to have told him this, so we have to assume he knew it when he was living with the animals.

Ishtar demands that the pair pay for the bull's destruction. Shamash appeals to the other gods to let both of them live, but only Gilgamesh is spared. Enkidu succumbs to a wasting illness. He represents the hero who wins fame but dies early. Gilgamesh responds to the loss of Enkidu by seeking out Utnapishtim in a quest for eternal life.

The deep, tragic loss of Enkidu profoundly inspires in Gilgamesh a quest to escape death by obtaining godly immortality.

Myths and Folklore Wiki Explore. Like all men, Enkidu bitterly regrets having to die, and he clings fiercely to life. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Themes Motifs Symbols. Important Quotes Explained. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics. Utnapishtim was the only man to escape death, since, having preserved human and animal life in the great boat he built, he and his wife were deified by the god Enlil.

Utnapishtim then made sacrifices and libations to the gods and, although Enlil was angry that someone had survived his flood, Ea advised him to make his peace.

So, Enlil blessed Utnapishtim and his wife and granted them everlasting life, and took them to live in the land of the gods on the island of Dilmun.