Thoughts on Gilgamesh

1) The story of Enkidu and the harlot could be the first appearance, of the theme of the Beauty and the Beast , in world literature. Enkidu is not literally a beast but a savage man. Having grown up among beasts, he has a wild appearance, acts and behaves like them and protects them against men. The harlot tames him through sex and love and in so doing breaks his bonds with the beasts forever.

2) Similarly the behavior of the goddess Ishtar is clearly an example of "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". On being rejected by Gilgamesh she threatens, literally, to open the doors of hell. It is Enkidu, however, who eventually pays the price for her fury, not Gilgamesh.

3) In the implicit glorification, or at least a positive appraisal, of the earthly aspects of human life, such as ambition, fame, quest for immortality, strength, beauty, sex etc and in the adventurous nature of the story and even in the interplay between men and gods, the story of Gilgamesh reads strikingly like a greek myth. Even the failure of Gilgamesh to achieve immortality is greek like. Man, in the greek world, though often heroic, is never the equal of gods and when he forgets the difference, he suffers.