rs the punishment. This situation gives the reader two major avenues of insight into the way Mesopotamians dealt with death. The reaction of Enkidu upon learning of his fate, and the reaction of Gilgamesh to the loss of his friend.Learning of ones imminent demise necessarily provokes strong emotional responses. Its difficult to retain ones dignity in such a circumstance. This type of reaction must also have been experienced in Mesopotamia, as can be seen in the plaintive, almost hysterical, tone of Assurnasirpal in On Occasion of Illness. Nowhere in Mesopotamian literature is there a more poignant example of this then in Enkidus reaction to his dream of death. He curses the Cedar Door, fashioned from the towering cedar they removed from the forest. He is cursing his own creation as time and labor wasted. He then curses the trapper, who was the first to recognize his greatness and report of it to Gilgamesh. Here he curses what was previously his good fortune, because it led eventually to his misfortune / death. Finally, he curses the Harlot, wishing upon her all sorts of unsavory punishments. It is here that Shamash moves to scold Enkidu. Shamash acts as the conscience of the dying person. By cursing his past, he is cursing the very life he wants to keep. Enkidu realizes the foolishness of this approach and confers instead a blessing on the harlot. Through this act he comes to accept his fate with dignity.Loss of a loved one is an unfortunate inevitability of human existence. The death of Enkidu provokes a series of philosophical musings in Gilgamesh. The first problem that the loss of a loved one invariably produces is in regards to ones own mortality. I am going to die! - am I not like Enkidu?! What was previously known only as an abstract concept in the mind has now become undeniably real. I fear death, and now roam the wilderness. The spirit grows restless thinking every moment might be its last. I saw lions, and I was terrified! T...
