Knowledge on the Mind

Within The Epic of Gilgamesh a common theme can be observed, that of knowledge and evil. I believe this is something the authors were thinking about and sought to explain. It can universally be seen that knowledge comes with and understanding of evil, that is, the loss of innocence can be accompanied with a gain in knowledge. This can be seen after Enkidu has his sexual encounter with the woman. The story states how after he lost his innocence of mankind to her, “Enkidu [grew] weak, for wisdom was in him, and the thoughts of man were in his heart” (65).
Also, as we discussed in class, at the beginning of the book Gilgamesh is said to be very wise. This wisdom was gained through encountering evil throughout his long journey. When he started his journey, he really was not that bright at all, but as he raised hell all over the lands he gained knowledge and wisdom from his actions. Yet, Gilgamesh was not the only one affected by his actions. The people around his also gained more knowledge by being witnesses to his mischief.
This may have been on the mind of the authors of The Epic Of Gilgamesh because the ‘all knowing gods’ were losing their luster as humans gained more knowledge. I speculate that the authors of The Epic of Gilgamesh were concerned with ones gaining of knowledge and how it almost always is accompanied by an understanding or encounter with evil…because if the god were fully wise, they must then have been well versed when it comes to evil.