The Epic Of Gilgamesh, By Walter Burkert - 970 Words

Walter Burkert states that all heroic quests are about getting something out of the adventure. â€Å"To get something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he writes, â€Å"is to realize some deficiency, or receive some order to start; to have, or to attain, some knowledge about the thing wanted; to decide to begin a search;†¦then to bring back the object†¦Only after all that, with success established, has the action of ‘getting’ come to its end.† I personally agree with Burkert’s claim and I believe that it fits perfectly with â€Å"The Epic of Gilgamesh†, as the hero of the story is always in search for something. Towards the end, we realize that the main theme of the story is accepting mortality. This is what Gilgamesh was looking for all along and this is what he â€Å"gets† from his whole adventure. Gilgamesh is the king of Uruk. He is a demigod, the son of Lugalbanda and the goddess Ninsun. At the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh is introduced as an extraordinary person. He is supposed to have achieved complete knowledge. â€Å"He who saw the Deep, the country’s foundation, [who] knew†¦, was wise in all matters!† (pp. 1) Gilgamesh is described as a true hero: â€Å"Surpassing all other kings, heroic in stature, brave scion of Uruk, wild bull on the rampage!†(pp. 2) Besides possessing virtues like knowledge and courage, Gilgamesh was â€Å"tall, magnificent and terrible.† (pp. 2) All of these qualities represent the peak of our hero’s life, the period after his search had come to an end. As we keep on reading, we learn