“Must I not die too? Am I not like Enkidu? Oh, woe has entered my vitals! I was afraid of death, so I roamed the steppe. (Gilgamesh Tablet IX. 1-5) One of the ancient compulsions of humanity has been to overcome death. This constraint is strongly represented in the Epic of Gilgamesh, as it creates much of the Epic. It reveals the importance of the perception of immortality and the universal fear of humanity: death. Immortality means to live forever, which indicates eternal life. In a more symbolic way, immortality could consist of enduring through the memory of one's achievements. This article focuses on the character of Gilgamesh and his quest for immortality after the loss of his friend Enkidu in Tablet VII. For such a powerful character, a demigod at that, Gilgamesh lets his human side emasculate his true power. Desperate for immortality, Gilgamesh deserts Uruk to begin his search for Utnapishtim, who had survived the great flood and been made immoral by the gods. As Enkidu obviously becomes an important part of Gilgamesh's life, at first he is depicted as Gilgamesh's complete opposite. ; his other half actually. Once Enkidu dies, Gilgamesh can no longer live in the same way. “Gilgamesh cannot understand that his friend, his soul mate, is now dead. He is confronted with the absurd nature of this loss, while realizing that the universe is indifferent to his suffering; there are no answers, no comfort. He begins to question the meaning of life or its insignificance. Suddenly, death becomes an undeniable reality for him, there is no going back. (Sadigh 83) Gilgamesh makes the fate of all mortals, death, his last eminent task to conquer. It begins with an immediate attempt... middle of paper... measures to stay alive as long as possible. However, in reality, they lose their lives in fear of avoiding death. Desperation for eternal life only corrupts humans into settling for fleeting and catastrophic means to avoid the fate of death. Even though Gilgamesh was one of the most supportive rulers before Enkidu's arrival, he is still a frequent subject in current literature as well as history. Maybe he gained immortality after all. Works Cited Dickson, Keith. “The Wall of Uruk: Iconicities in Gilgamesh”. Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 9.1 (2009): 25-50.Sadigh, Micah. “The foundation of existentialism in the oldest story ever told.” Existential Analysis: Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis 21.1 (2010): 76-88. "The Epic of Gilgamesh Vol. A." The Norton Anthology World Literature. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2012. 99-151.