Superiority

The Epic of Gilgamesh supports the aspect of human nature that people need to assert their superiority over others. Throughout the text characters are constantly trying to prove they are superior to the others they come across. In the beginning of the text Gilgamesh leaves no son with his father and no virgin untouched to prove that he’s better than everyone else around him. No one else who tried to do that would be able to get away with it, which validates Gilgamesh’s feeling that he is superior to everyone else. Later on, when Enkidu goes to confront Gilgamesh, he proclaims “’I have come to change the old order, for I am the strongest here.’”(68) This declaration is to let everyone know that he is the strongest, and therefore superior to everyone else. Later on when Gilgamesh and Enkidu decide to kill Humbaba, Enkidu says “’…we will accomplish a work the fame of which will never die.’” (78) Human nature causes Enkidu and Gilgamesh to do something so incredible that it will never be forgotten, proving their superiority over others for all eternity. Once this is accomplished, everyone will know how inferior they are to Enkidu and Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh is also asserting his superiority when he turns down Ishtar’s offer of marriage. By turning her down he is once again proving that he is superior to her…she wants him and humbles herself by asking him to marry her, while Gilgamesh holds all the power, putting himself in a superior position by turning her down. Yet Gilgamesh is not satisfied with this. He wants to prove himself superior to all others by gaining eternal life, a feat he cannot accomplish. Despite this setback, Gilgamesh proves himself superior in the end by engraving the tale in the tablets for others to read, assuring his fame and superiority.