0;Gilgamesh is finest among the young males! Gilgamesh is proudest among the males” 9 He is not only spiritually content, but also physically appealing. He represents the ideal man through wealth, handsomeness, and power. These traits were also important of the Egyptian pharaohs. Because the city valued their leader to such a great extent, they built massive pyramids as royal tombs. They also believed that heroes were gods living on earth.10 This helps comprehend the importance of Gilgamesh’s part divinity, part human character. Hammurabi of the Babylonian empire proclaimed that the gods named him “to promote the welfare of the people…to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy wicked and evil, so that the strong might not oppress the weak…” 11 The strength of these heroes and their “divinity” demonstrates what kind of leaders were respected and worshiped in Mesopotamia. Moreover, this makes clear the reasons why Uruk featured Gilgamesh as such a powerful hero.Although Gilgamesh depicts these traits of the ideal man, part of it is a faade. Gilgamesh appears to be brave and valiant, but he has moments of extreme coward ness. When Gilgamesh was in the Pine Forest he admitted his fright when saying to Enkidu, “My heart trembles lest he…suddenly” Enkidu confirms this by responding, “My friend, why do you talk like a coward? And your speech was feeble, and you tried to hide.”12 Although Gilgamesh presents himself as an infallible, fearless warrior, he truly holds a dual nature. As well as his display of weakness, Gilgamesh also shows unkindness towards his people, for he was their king but not their shepherd. His overbearing behavior lead Gilgamesh to “not leave young girls alone”13 He raped the daughters and wives of his own community. While not infallible, the warrior fought to protect the community in times of crisis and jeopard...
