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The Epic of Gilgamesh Underlying Meaning blend time, we introduced the ancient mythical tale, The Epic of Gilgamesh. You read a brief paper of the tale and learned a little of its origins and discovery. Now we are hand out(a) to get into the tale itself and engage a deeper look in an case to decode some of its hidden or underlying meaning. We will search the notion of The Double and the quest for never-failingity in our search for the meaning of life. We think of from the epic tale that Enkidu, the wildman, was Gilgameshs beloved friend. So what can Enkidus injection into the theme reveal to us then? Lets look more closely at this figure. Enkidu is an innocent savage, a wildman, content to live among the beasts. After an encounter with a trapper he undergoes a kind of culture shock and is tamed by a harlot or sacred prostitute. Here, sex is sacred it is a civilizing force that separates gays from Nature for the animals now reject Enkidu. Paired with Gilgamesh, the ii fi gures represent the Double. Enkidu embodies the instincts while Gilgamesh represents the intellect. Both of these aspects make up humankind. Through his friendly relationship with Enkidu, Gilgamesh learns much about what it is to be human. He learns love and compassion, as headspring as death and loss as Enkidu dies. But Enkidu rages against his death It is human instinct to fight death, to fight to live Enkidu is soon appeased though by the sun god Shamash who gives death meaning in remembrance of those who have passed on, of Enkidu who will pass on. So we take on in this story a meaning for death - meaning in being remembered. Gilgamesh, however, is not so easily appeased in Enkidus death. He grieves heavily over the loss of his lamb friend and vows to find the key to everlasting life. So he sets out on his journey, his journey through the underworld, through the otherworld. Is Gilgamesh now just understanding man without instinct, without Enkidu? Death, loss, mortality are too much for Gilgamesh to bear. Why fag on earth to end up in a solemn afterlife? Gilgamesh will have none of it. He seeks to become immortal like the gods, after all, he himself is 2/3 god. He does find answers to the questions of life and death on his journey.