If you missed my article on Eset, you could find it here.
Gilgamesh is the great king from Uruk, whose legend has persisted for at least four millennia. Gilgamesh’s father is the Priest-King Lugalbanda. His mother is the Goddess Ninsun making him a demigod. His sister is Inanna, the Goddess of love and war. Inanna is the most popular of the Mesopotamian Goddesses.
By the Gods, Gilgamesh is thought to be too arrogant. They want to take him down a few pegs. They think Enkidu is the guy to do it, and people think he and Gilgamesh are even opponents. Their duel is historical, but Gilgamesh beats Enkidu. (This makes me think of the duel my husband and his cousin did on WoW) In the best finger to the Gods I can think of, the two guys become best friends. They pal around together and see what they can dig up to do.
This attracts the attention of Ishtar, and she tries to seduce Gilgamesh. He says no, and she has a temper tantrum. In her tantrum, she sends her brother-in-law, the Bull of Heaven, to kill Gilgamesh. Unfortunately, when Enkidu helps Gilgamesh in the fight, he kills the Bull earning Enkidu a death sentence. After Enkidu is killed, Gilgamesh falls into a depression. He searches for the meaning of life and immortality.
In his quest for immortality, he fails (seemingly). Actually, Gilgamesh finds it twofold. First, prayers to Gilgamesh can be found that address him after he died. As if he is a judge in the Underworld. My research says that he was, in fact, granted Godhood after he died. Second, he is still talked about today, over four thousand years later, give or take a couple of hundred years.
It was hard to find anything more than a history lesson on Gilgamesh. I apologize for not bringing you a whole lot. Even before he reached Godhood, he had an extended life and super strength. For generations after, kings in the region of the world that Uruk used to be in claimed him as an ancestor somehow, to make themselves more worthy.
Do you like playing Gilgamesh in Smite? Who is your favorite to play? Let me know in the comments below. Until next week…
