rom the events of the story that Gilgamesh was not to obtain everlasting life and it is no coincidence that all of his efforts fail in one way or another. This is another example of mans lack of control where the gods are concerned The Odyssey demonstrates how the gods favored certain men over others. When man had the gods "on his side," he was sure to complete whatever task was at hand. Upon his return home, Odysseus, Eumaios, Philoitios, and Telemakhos are able to kill all the suitors, although there were many suitors and only four of them. This is because Athena favored Odysseus and therefore made it possible for the four men to slaughter the vast number of suitors. The gods also favored Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh prayed to Shamash for strength and safety when he and Enkidu were to travel in the cedar forest. Gilgamesh is then able to kill Humbaba regardless of the fact that Humbaba is a giant and some type of god. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are only able to slay this giant through the divine intervention of Shamash. The gods seemed to favor both Gilgamesh and Odysseus because of their semi-godlike characteristics. Gilgamesh is two-thirds god and the King of Uruk. While Odysseus is not formally a god, he does possess the cunning and physique necessary to be a god, along with being the King of Ithaca. Odysseus experiences numerous near-death events, yet always overcomes the ordeals without any harm. He succeeds in blinding the Cyclopes to escape their island; goes to the underworld and back; avoids being killed by the Laistrygonians; protects himself and his men from the Sirens songs; navigates between Scylla and Charybdis; and heeds the advice of Teiresias not to eat Helios cows. The god Shamash also protected Gilgamesh from the Bull of Heaven and Humbaba. This despite the fact that neither Odysseus nor Gilgamesh possess high moral standards. Gilgamesh initially was seducing the women of Uruk and Odysseus raped all the Kikone wome...
