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The deep, tragic loss of Enkidu profoundly inspires in Gilgamesh a quest to escape death by obtaining godly immortality. [10] Enkidu has virtually no existence outside the stories relating to Gilgamesh. To the extent of current knowledge, he was never a god to be worshipped, and is absent from the lists of deities of ancient Mesopotamia.
Gilgamesh appeals Enlil to save Enkidu, but his appeal is ignored (222–230) Enki enters and requests that Utu open a passage that will allow Enkidu to return (231–243) The final part is a dialogue between Enkidu and Gilgamesh where Gilgamesh learns from Enkidu about the conditions of the underworld (244–end)
But before he dies, Humbaba screams out a curse on Enkidu: "Of you two, may Enkidu not live the longer, may Enkidu not find any peace in this world!" Soon later Enkidu becomes sick and dies. Gilgamesh and Enkidu cut down the cedar forest and in particular the tallest of the cedar trees to make a great cedar gate for the city of Nippur.
Tablet VIII describes Gilgamesh's inconsolable grief over his friend's death [2] [17] and the details of Enkidu's funeral. [2] Enkidu's death becomes the catalyst for Gilgamesh's fear of his own death, which is the focus of the remaining portion of the epic. [18]
Shamhat persuades him to follow her and join the civilized world in the city of Uruk, where Gilgamesh is king, rejecting his former life in the wild of the hills. Henceforth, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become the best of friends and undergo many adventures (starting with the Cedar Forest and the encounter with Humbaba ).
Humbaba begs to be spared, but Enkidu urges Gilgamesh to kill him, and he eventually follows his advice. [14] Before dying, Humbaba curses both of them, stating that they will never grow old, foreshadowing both Enkidu's premature death and Gilgamesh's fruitless quest for immortality. [62]
Gilgamesh (/ ˈ ɡ ɪ l ɡ ə m ɛ ʃ /, [7] / ɡ ɪ l ˈ ɡ ɑː m ɛ ʃ /; [8] Akkadian: 𒀭𒄑𒂆𒈦, romanized: Gilgameš; originally Sumerian: 𒀭𒄑𒉋𒂵𒎌, romanized: Bilgames) [9] [a] was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC.
The story follows the Sumerian king Gilgamesh, typically regarded as a historical figure, and his good friend, Enkidu through various adventures and quests that eventually lead to Enkidu's death. The second half of the epic deal with Gilgamesh, distressed about the death of his friend and his own impending mortality, as he searches for immortality.