Exploring the Eternal Spirit in the Multiple Identities of Gilgamesh

Abstract

Gilgamesh is the world's first heroic epic. It is about 3000 lines long in total. The epic tells the story of Gilgamesh's life as a man, a god, a hero, and a king. He has multiple identities, therefore, he is inevitably possessed of a heavy sense of responsibility and mission. This paper combines humanities texts analysis to analyse the topic. The research question is to explore the eternal spirit of Gilgamesh in his four identities. Through analysis, this paper demonstrates the power of a consistent spirit under different identities, both human and God, that is, freedom and courage. Such spirits represents the common will of mankind and God. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the fate of man is determined by the gods. Everyone will experience the same death fate. Nevertheless, the spirit of freedom and courage in Gilgamesh helps him many times to overcome the fear of death, to cross the distance of space and to fight against his fate. Freedom and courage help you protect your basic rights as human beings. Freedom and courage are the paths to truth without being constrained by anything, including fate.