“Gilgamesh answered, ‘For Enkidu; I loved him dearly, together we
endured all kinds of hardships; on his account I have come, for the common lot
of man has taken him. I have wept for him day and night, I would not give his
body for burial, I thought my friend would come back because of my weeping.
Since he went, my life is nothing; that is why I have travelled here in search
of Utnapishtim my father; for men say he has entered the assembly of the gods,
and has found everlasting life. I have a desire to question him concerning the
living and the dead.’” (page 39)
When reading The Epic Gilgamesh
I was stricken by the friendship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. It was so strong
and they really bonded like brothers. It reminded me of my brother and his best
friend Jeremiah. They had been friends as long as I can remember and Jeremiah
was like another brother to me. They went on all kinds of adventures when we
were younger. They seemed like epics to me, as a child. They were like brothers
and their bond reminded me of the one shared by Gilgamesh and Enkidu. Though
neither of them died like in the story we did all move away. It wasn’t a huge
move just across the river, but that was far enough to change things for a
while. When we first moved we all tried to hang out, but that was short lived. My
brother seemed off for a while without Jeremiah, but eventually he finally came
to terms with it. Soon it was 5 years later and we hadn’t seen Jeremiah since
he was in middle school and now he was graduating from high school. We all
finally came back together through a mutual friend of mine. When they were back
together it was like all those years apart never happened and they were still
best friends. I actually bought a copy of the book because I identified with the
friendship so much. It is amazing to me how even that long ago as story can
still seem somewhat relevant to me. Some stories are timeless and so are some
themes. An epic friendship will always hit home to me.
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