Gilgamesh does not come home empty-handed at the end of his journey to seek immortality. As cliché as it may sound, he learned his lesson: immortality is unattainable. He cannot beat sleep, and thus he will never be able to conquer death. The inevitability of death is best described by Uta- napishti. “Ever do we build our households . . . the abducted and the dead, how alike is their lot” (87). Here Uta-napishti is telling Gilgamesh that in the end every man, no matter how rich he is, he will die. Uta-napishti tells Gilgamesh to not waste his time exhaust himself with “ceaseless toil”.
The question I have reading this is: why does Gilgamesh desire immortality? To me, the epic of Gilgamesh makes immortality seem undesirable. Uta-napishti, to gain mortality, had to forget his “city, the crowd and the elders” so that he can survive. He deserted his family and friends. And when he and his wife were granted immortality by the gods, they were sent to “dwell far away, where the rivers flow forth”. They are to be left alone for eternity, except during Gilgamesh’s visit. And if Gilgamesh is seeking to be a full-status god, immortality seems even more undesirable. The gods of Mesopotamia are fickle and careless. Ishtar brings destruction to innocent people when she becomes angry at Gilgamesh for rejecting her. Ea brings on a Deluge to wipe-out man-kind. Gilgamesh is just as bad as the gods, but at least is human enough to feel the pain of Enkidu’s death.
Gilgamesh in the end realizes that his immortality will have to come from people remembering him for his deeds. At the end, he tells the ferrymen that Uruk’s walls and buildings, will be endure.
-Ruby
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