Introduction

The man considered to be the original hero.

The tyrant king who oppressed his people and treated his people as if they had no freedoms.

Gilgamesh. The king of Uruk.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is tale of a man with many facets, considered both hero and tyrant at once. One might question how both aspects could coexist - after all, a tyrant is he who inflicts evil upon those under his rule while a hero is he who offers salvation from evil. But the actions of Gilgamesh were not so simple as to fall into such easily defined roles.

Gilgamesh abused his people and did as he wished with them; but at his core, he intended to force his people to improve and become better than they were.

Gilgamesh saved his people from threats, but it was for his own reasons. Sometimes, they were threats that he himself had brought onto his nation.

That does not mean that Gilgamesh did not grow and change over his lifetime. In fact, this growth of character was compelled by another, one who taught him the value of others simply through his existence and friendship.

Enkidu. The creation of the gods.

Enkidu was a clay doll, a creation of life made for a specific purpose: to be a hero to the people. Enkidu became friends with Gilgamesh, and through their friendship, both Enkidu and Gilgamesh learned from each other, became more than they were.

The original tale of their friendship - of Gilgamesh's reign over Uruk - is but a broken one. Only fragments of the story survive, and they tell only of events, nothing more.

This tale is not that tale.

This is a tale of a friendship between two unique existences, between two people who teach each other how to become better than they are. A tale of people, not happenings. A tale of emotions, not simply actions.

This is the tale of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, not simply the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Bibliography: The Gilgamesh Epic from Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria by Lewis Spence. Web Source.