Gilgamesh Entry #2

At this point in the epic I don’t see Gilgamesh as a true hero. To me, there is a list of qualities that a hero must have in order for me to direct to him as one. Beginning with the ordinary, a hero must be somehow strong. It does not matter if it is physically, mentally or spiritually. It just has to have an extraordinary strength, a well developed ability. With this said, here is where I begin to see the difference between a regular gifted person and a true hero. A hero must be inhumanly brave. This also fits in the category of strengths I was talking about above. Being just very courageous is not enough. A hero has to be able to confront anything. Although heroes are allowed to feel scared, what makes them one is the fact that they can make fear an easy obstacle to overcome. Their bravery is stronger than death itself. Finally, the third and last quality a hero must have. The quality that I believe Gilgamesh lacks; generous heart. A true hero must have a heart big enough for everyone to fit inside it, everyone but him. He must accomplish his deeds in benefit of his people, and not to satisfy his own ego. He must act according to his heart, not his brains. Here is where I see a flaw in Gilgamesh. He might be the strongest of them all, the king of Uruk, Gilgamesh the great, but he lacks this third gift. He will try to defeat Huwawa, the guardian of the Cedar forest just so he can reestablish his position as the strongest of them all. In other words, he wants to feed his ego. So until this point in the epic I don’t consider him a true hero.