The Desire for Everlasting Life and Gilgamesh Essay

The desire for everlasting life or immortality has been the first and the oldest quest of mankind. At the beginning of time, man was designed to live forever. When God created Adam, he created him to dwell on the earth and to fill it with his offspring’s. At no time was he told that this was a temporary arrangement. He was to live forever unless he ate from one certain tree. If he ate from that tree, then he would die. We are then left with several questions, if he had not eaten from that tree, would he still be alive? If he was meant to live forever, was that desire instilled in him? And as his descendants, was the desire to live forever instilled in each of us as well? That desire is in all mankind. From the beginning of†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"I’ll establish my name: Gilgamesh, who joined battle with fierce Humbaba (they’ll say). An eternal name I will make for myself.† (pgs. 19, 20) But in this respect, he makes the same mistake that Adam made; he takes something that does not belong to him, Humbaba’s life, and because of that, he looses the life of his best friend, his companion, Enkidu. Not only that, but now he may also have lost the chance at the one thing he truly desires, immortality. He too angers his gods, and he too is punished with the loss of Enkidu’s life, and perhaps his own as well. With the death of his dearest friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh now begins to actually fear death and begins searching for the one man that was made immortal by the gods to ask him how to overcome death. In Gilgamesh’s own words, the death of his friend Enkidu has shaken him to the core. When speaking of his death he says â€Å"Enkidu, whom I so loved, who went with me through every hardship. The fate of mankind has overtaken him. Six days and seven nights I wept for him†¦I was frightened..I have grown afraid of death, so I roam the steppe, my friend’s case weighs heavy upon me..my friend whom I loved is turned into clay†¦Shall I too not lie down like him, and never get up forever and ever?† (pg. 78) Where before Gilgamesh wanted immortality so that he could continue a life of fame andShow MoreRelated Immortal Life vs. Immortal Name: Gilgamesh and Beowulf Essay1433 Words   |  6 PagesImmortal Life vs. Immortal Name: Gilgamesh and Beowulf Death. Fate. Immortality. Destiny. All are subjects that we tend to avoid. While most of us hope for life after death, we tend not to dwell on this subject because we are uncomfortable with the unknown. On those rare occasions when we allow ourselves to think about the fact that our days are numbered, we wonder if death can be cheated and immortality gained. Some have suggested that being remembered is just as enduring as living forever. 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