er primitive and crude compared to our own, there we find the same human characteristics we find in ourselves today - lust, power hunger, love, faith, fear of death, curiosity - all byproducts of the relationship between humans and society. The Epic of Gilgamesh which gives us a glimpse into that society and it’s people emphasizes the idea that society is the essence of humanity. For example, there is a character in the story that has lived in the wilderness for his entire existence, Enkidu. He is described as being “ innocent of mankind; he knew nothing of the cultivated land,” in other words society. ( Epic 63) Enkidu lives just like an animal until a Shepard boy brings him a harlot that seduces him. After that he finds it impossible to return to the wilderness. He is taken in by society, given food and clothes, bathed and oiled - “Enkidu had become a man.”(Epic 65) It wasn’t until Enkidu joined society that he started to develop human characteristics.Gilgamesh, the hero of the story, is the perfect example of the idea of humans wanting to fit the concept of a God. Firstly, Gilgamesh is 2/3 God and 1/3 human which in itself shows that humans want their heros to be like Gods. Secondly, Gilgamesh’s quest is to achieve immortality. “I have not established my name in the place where the names of famous men are written, yet I will raise a monument to the Gods.” (Epic 70) Gilgamesh is a perfect example of a human wanting to reach that ideal level.Thus, humanity is a result of the creation of society. What prompted humans to form these organized groups? We have yet to know. But it is this organized system of relationships that separate man from beast, and it is that same society that incited the idea of Gods. The necessity for explanation ( another human trait) required the concept of a God to explain the whys and hows of the univerese. It is somewhere in between God and beast that human...
