16. What has Gilgamesh achieved at the end of the poem?

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Gilgamesh has accomplished creating the walls to his city, Uruk, learning death is inescapable, changing from a tyrant king to an exemplary king and hero, and killing the beast, Humbaba. The great walls of Uruk, one of Gilgamesh’s finest achievements, stood taller and stronger than all others in Mesopotamia and possessed craftsmanship which surpassed all others. Additionally, when his friend, Enkidu, is lamenting about the House of Dust while dying a horrible death, Gilgamesh tries to avoid this fate by trying to achieve immortality. He journeys to Utnapishtim because he is the only being to gain immortality. After he fails Utnapishtim’s test for immortality, Utnapishtim’s wife insists that Utnapishtim Tell Gilgamesh of the plant that would restore Gilgamesh to youth. Once Gilgamesh has obtained this plant a serpent eats it while he is sleeping and because of this, Gilgamesh realizes that his quest for immortality is futile. Also, at the beginning of the epic Gilgamesh is shown to be a tyrant king. Enkidu, his friend, changes him into an exemplary king and hero because Gilgamesh bad behavior conflicted with Enkidu’s personality. Another accomplishment of Gilgamesh’s is the slaying of the beast, Humbaba. Gilgamesh and Enkidu journey to the Cedar forest where they slay the beast in order to obtain the lumber from the trees of the forest and from the biggest tree they create large doors for the gates of Uruk. Even though Gilgamesh did not accomplish gaining immortality, Gilgamesh accomplished many other critical things such as, creating the walls to his city, Uruk, learning death is inescapable, changing from a tyrant king to an exemplary king and hero, and killing the beast, Humbaba.

William Urdahl

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