Epic of Gilgamesh: Die, Die Again
It is my deep regret that I will be unable to witness a coffeeshop conversation between Gilgamesh of Uruk and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel with any upcoming research papers (you know this semester is going to be good when it immediately causes me to invoke the name of Night from the Moderns). Though separated by thousands of years of history, both men subscribed to the same idea: that a man will always live on so long as he is remembered. I find it particularly intriguing that Gilgamesh was, however, turned away from this idea as a result of the same power which cemented it in Wiesel's mind: death.
When Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out to slay Humbaba, the king of Uruk explains that he has one real motivation: since only the gods can gain eternal life, he will accomplish the next best thing by establishing a name for himself that is forever imprinted upon history. This "life through remembrance" is exactly what Wiesel advocated after the Holocaust. I can't bring the exact words of the quote to mind, but his idea was that forgetting the dead is the equivalent of killing them a second time. It was witnessing so much death in the Holocaust that brought Wiesel to the realization that he, as a survivor, had this duty of remembering. Curiously, though, Gilgamesh held this ideal only until Enkidu perished. Witnessing his "brother's" death is what caused Gilgamesh to begin fearing for his life and searching for a means of gaining physical immortality instead of life through remembrance. He didn't care if he died while fighting Humbaba or the Bull of Heaven--not until someone close to him took the ultimate L.
It's funny how death is such a mentally shaking reality when it's one of the few things that all people of all nations through all time have in common. The sky is blue, water is wet, and people slowly decay into rotting, worm-eaten corpses. That's just how things work. If there were no Paradise and eternal damnation for the lost, death would be worse for the living who watch their loved ones fade away than it would be for the dead, who really wouldn't care that they were dead. As a man saved by the Lord I know that I really have no reason to fear death, but I'm certain that if you put a gun to my head I'd start praying for deliverance. Why? Is it because death is part of God's punishing curse, and as such man naturally revolts against it as we do all the commands of God?
P.S. I commented on Hannah and Cade’s posts.
When Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out to slay Humbaba, the king of Uruk explains that he has one real motivation: since only the gods can gain eternal life, he will accomplish the next best thing by establishing a name for himself that is forever imprinted upon history. This "life through remembrance" is exactly what Wiesel advocated after the Holocaust. I can't bring the exact words of the quote to mind, but his idea was that forgetting the dead is the equivalent of killing them a second time. It was witnessing so much death in the Holocaust that brought Wiesel to the realization that he, as a survivor, had this duty of remembering. Curiously, though, Gilgamesh held this ideal only until Enkidu perished. Witnessing his "brother's" death is what caused Gilgamesh to begin fearing for his life and searching for a means of gaining physical immortality instead of life through remembrance. He didn't care if he died while fighting Humbaba or the Bull of Heaven--not until someone close to him took the ultimate L.
It's funny how death is such a mentally shaking reality when it's one of the few things that all people of all nations through all time have in common. The sky is blue, water is wet, and people slowly decay into rotting, worm-eaten corpses. That's just how things work. If there were no Paradise and eternal damnation for the lost, death would be worse for the living who watch their loved ones fade away than it would be for the dead, who really wouldn't care that they were dead. As a man saved by the Lord I know that I really have no reason to fear death, but I'm certain that if you put a gun to my head I'd start praying for deliverance. Why? Is it because death is part of God's punishing curse, and as such man naturally revolts against it as we do all the commands of God?
P.S. I commented on Hannah and Cade’s posts.
Just a thought, but perhaps we are so opposed to death precisely because it is part of the curse. Perhaps we do not avoid death because it is God's punishment but because it is unnatural. Sure, we are accustomed to death as part of the world now, but it wasn't supposed to be. The original, perfect state of the world did not include death. Perhaps we hate death because, deep down, we know that it's not supposed to happen.
ReplyDeleteI suppose the question we'll all have to answer after we finish the book is whether Gilgamesh succeeded in gaining eternal life after all. Personally, so far, I think he did. Here we are, a bunch of 21st century college kids reading his story that is THOUSANDS of years old. My brain can't comprehend how old this story is or how it survived for this long. Like the prologue on pg 61 wanted, this story has been proclaimed to the world. Gilgamesh's name won't be forgotten any time soon. I know this story is fictitious, but still, can you imagine Gilgamesh's reaction if he knew his name lasted this long?
ReplyDeleteI can agree that both men look at death as being important, but they have COMPLETELY different motivations. Wiesel wants men to remember tragedy in order that it never be repeated. Gilgamesh wants men to remember him so that they can remember, well, him. One is completely unselfish while the other is self absorbed.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason death is so scary is because it is simply unknown. Humans do not like the idea of something unknown. When I have an exam coming up in a class, I am often very nervous. Not because I do not know the material, or I think that I am going to fail, I am nervous because the test and what is on it is unknown. We as Christians today can hold on to our faith knowing that we will go to heaven, but in the world of Gilgamesh, death was death. That was it. You're dead. I think the idea of forever nothingness is just too much for Gilgamesh to handle after seeing his brother die knowing he will never see him again. As far as us Christians being scared of death, I think it is because of the same thing, the unknown. Yes, we know and believe we will go to heaven, but we do not know exactly what heaven will be like. We know that it will better than anything we have ever experienced, but it is still a mystery until we get there.
ReplyDeleteI was reading your post and wanted to make a well thought response but then I got to your comment about water being wet and I lost full concentration.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to add that I think Gilgamesh realized his mortality when he saw death that close to someone he was "brothers" with. There's no indication of this but that may be the closest he was personally to someone's death which brought a great realization on his part. I think it caused him to be more focused on having his name last forever because he saw how quickly life can end.