Gilgamesh
Analysis
Gilgamesh and Enkidu

Gilgamesh and Enkidu form a complete
person by unifying their dual natures.
–
–
Enkidu: Nature (female force)
Gilgamesh: Civilization (male force)
Enkidu
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Enkidu once lived with the members of nature, lions,
bulls, ect…
Now he lives with human society and he starts to
confront the same fears as the people of Uruk- the
fear of the unknown, or the fear of that which is
different from the self.
Now that Enkidu is man, he has learned to fear
nature, since nature is more powerful than himself.
The Journey

Trip takes from “new moon to the full moon”
–
14-15 days plus 3 additional days (17-18 travel
days)
Moon Symbolism
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Full Moon: height of danger and evil, since
the moon represents the dark side of life
New Moon: (invisible to the eye) most
favorable interpretations
As they travel upstream the moon grows
bigger and bigger, representing the bad days
quickly approaching
Numbers

Shamash conjures up 13 winds that restrain
Humbaba.
–
North wind, south wind, east wind, west wind, icy
wind, whirlwind, scorching wind, hurricane, gale,
devil wind, blasting wind, storm wind, and typhoon

The number 7 is also mentioned several
times throughout Gilgamesh.

What does it all mean?
Significance with the number 13
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12 constellations of the Zodiac plus the sun
=13
Buddha and his 12 disciples
Jesus and his 12 apostles
Thirteen represents power whether it be
lucky or otherwise
Seven
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The number represents the amount of godly
power the creature, person, or god has (the
power is called holy me)
Seven also represents the seven moving
lights in the sky that follow more roving
patterns than do the more distant (fixed)
stars, so divinities often held powers in
multiples of seven.
Battle with Humbaba and the seven me


Society v.s. Nature
If Humbaba had 7 me, and Humbaba
represents nature, then the opposite force of
nature must contain the same amount of
power, since dualities balance themselves.
Battle with Humbaba and the seven me

Shamash tells Gilgamesh that he will remove
6 me from Humbaba, and adding them to his
own pool of me, then he can attack
Humbaba with 13 total me, manifesting into
13 winds that Shamash used to hold
Humbaba in a state of suspended animation.
Battle with Humbaba and the seven me

Humbaba has to have at least one me
because he represents the ugly side of
nature, and nature is not powerless.
Metaphor

“First entrap the bird, and where shall the
chicks run then?”
–
–
–
Enkidu tells Gilgamesh to kill Humbaba because if
he does not kill him, then Humbaba will continue
to kill other people.
Enkidu is saying, if Gilgamesh kills Humbaba (the
bird) then the chicks (society) can roam free.
If you kill the top guy then no one else has to die.
Killing of Humbaba

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Enkidu forgets his own nature and replaces it
with the more male dominate ones of his
king.
Now, both Enkidu and Gilgamesh are of one
mind, and no longer create the balance of
civilization v.s. nature, as their original union
represented.
Killing of Humbaba
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Because Enkidu killed his own kind, he
crossed into the opposite realm, and the
balance of duality was lost.
Both Gilgamesh and Enkidu are firmly on the
side of society.
Killing of Humbaba

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With the two of them on the side of society
the gods had to recreate the balance before
society overtakes nature completely.
“for every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction”
The Journey for Immortality
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Gilgamesh seeks out the only man who has
been granted immortality, Utnapishtim.
Utnapishtim means “He who saw everything”
Journey moved to the East
–
–
East: life and birth
West: death, the sun dies each day by thrusting
itself into the western grave
The Return Home
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When Gilgamesh wakes up from his sleep he
finds seven loaves of bread around him.
Each loaf is in a different stage of decay.
Once again we see the number seven.
It symbolizes the mortality of his life and
difficulty of the task and the extent to which
he failed at it.
Symbolism
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Magic flower of immortality is at the bottom of
the ocean
Symbolism: flower, snake, water – feminine
forces
Gilgamesh must learn to accept the feminine
forces so that he can live his limited life in
greater balance
Serpent Symbolism
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The serpent steals the flower because death
is the necessary side of the life/death duality.
Without death life is impossible to define.
The serpent is not evil at all.
Serpent Symbolism

The serpent has been looked at by nearly
every culture as a symbol of life, displayed by
the action of shedding its old skin, rebirthing
into a new (better) creature.
Serpent Symbolism

Male Forces
–
–
Looks like the male
anatomy
Tongue appears to be
like fire

Female Forces
–
–
Slithering is a female
action
Body moves as smoothly
as water
Symbolism
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Perfect Balance: serpent keeps Gilgamesh in
balance by ensuring his death
Flower’s name: “The Old Men are Young Again”
Sumerian word for that is “Gilgamesh”
If our protagonist and the flower are called the same
name, then what has Gilgamesh really found?
–
Himself