Searching for Eternal Life

His friend dead, Gilgamesh becomes depressed and obsessed over how to live forever.  Most of his time is spent hunting and wandering as he fears death. Grief refuses to leave his emotions. In this condition he decides to look for Utnapishtim, who is the only mortal known to have entered the land of the gods, and therefore eternal life. Thinking that finding him might also bring rescue from eventual death, Gilgamesh goes on a long journey.

Before the journey gets very far, his life already comes under threat of death. A past dream warned him of deadly lions waiting among the mountain pass. He goes to sleep and then wakes up to find loins surrounding him on all sides.  Of course, he is a heroic figure and easily kills them with axe and sword. Eventually he reaches two great mountains guarded by scorpion-men. Behind them is the entrance to the underworld leading to the afterlife.  He discusses the reasons for passage and the two beasts let him through with a warning. The long cave that leads to the afterlife has absolutely no light.

The description of walking through the cave is a group of repetitions stating, "when he had gone one league the darkness became thick around him, for there was no light, he could see none nothing ahead and nothing behind him." The next sentence starts with, "After two leagues," and continues with the same words as the first. This continues almost the same until about the ninth league when a wind is felt. By the eleventh and twelfth league the sun bursts into sight.  Although the reading might sound boring, the effect is as if the reader traveled with Gilgamesh in the lonely, repetitive , and frightening pitch blackness.  Wanting to get to the end is exactly what the character is supposed to have desired.

What is found on the other side most likely represents what the ancient writer thought of heaven. The scene is of a wonderful garden full of brilliant plants with delightful fruits. Perhaps a modern reader might picture the Garden of Eden, another symbol of innocents and perpetual life. Here the gods live away from any mortals. To have any person, three quarters god though they might be, come here is beyond belief to them. At least one of them thinks he has come as a thief, until they learn it is Gilgamesh that stands before them. Then they are confused because of his dirty and depressed condition.

Again the story uses textual repetition as Gilgamesh explains to each god he meets why his, "cheeks so starved," and "face so drawn." When he does explain that his purpose is to find eternal life, they can't take him seriously. This angers him and he lashes out, smashing apart the boat that could take him to the man he wanted to see. After rebuilding the boat with fresh wood, a ferryman takes him across the vast ocean. There he finds Utnapishtim who questions the wisdom of the journey since, according to him, those who live and die already have their fate decided.

Symbols are thick in this chapter, starting with the wandering of Gilgamesh aimlessly in the world like each mortal not sure of the reason for existence. There is the sudden danger of lions surrounding him in the mountain pass similar to the struggles in life to survive. The dark cave with no light is a kind of death, although finding the light represents hope there can be something beyond the feared nothing. Each scene, description, repetition, and character has a meaning within this part of the story. There is no one true interpretation because the reader is free to supply their own. More than likely, the original meanings have been lost in time when generations of editors and contributors added layers. Trying to decipher these meanings can bring a deeper and more satisfying reading experience.

Writing assignments:

Read the chapter more than once and write out an argument for each possible symbol in the story.  What do they represent? Why do they represent that? Can there be other possible interpretations?

Write a symbolic story about any topic. Be sure to remember what your symbols represent. Have someone read it and come up with what they think are the meanings. Compare what was intended with what the reader came up with.

What are some big questions about life? Imagine having a discussion with yourself about those questions, asking and answering them. Don't worry if the answers are not final. Explore thoughts, feelings, possibilities, and why they are so hard to answer.

Vocabulary:

assembly
journey
leagues
despair
fate
cubit