Decoding The Epic of Gilgamesh

Finally he finds Utnapishtim and his wife. They are the survivors of the Great Flood and have been given the gift of immortality. As you know from the tale, they tell him of the flower of everlasting life and Gilgamesh finds it then loses it to the sneaky serpent. Immortality is lost.

But is all lost? Gilgamesh has indeed travelled where no other dares venture. He travelled the underworld and met the Great Survivors of the Flood. He held the secret to everlasting life in his hand for a brief moment. And he has lived to tell about it. That's it! That is the key to life! To live! Siduri was right, but Gilgamesh had to live and lose in order to realize it. Death is inevitable and immortality truly is reserved only for the gods. So life must be lived and enjoyed. One must take advantage of all that life has to offer otherwise life isn't worth living for death will soon come. Live a life worth remembering. Gilgamesh may have begun his journey 2/3 god and 1/3 mortal, but he returned fully a man, realizing his own inevitable mortality.

So the meaning of life then, from this tale, is simply to live and enjoy life.

Next time we will have a look at the parallels from the Epic of Gilgamesh with the stories in the Bible. Please join us...

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic