d by the gods:
The destiny was fulfilled which the father of the gods, Enlil of the mountain, had decreed for Gilgamesh (The Epic of Gilgamesh 118).
The leader is not revered and is seen as embodying the fate, security, and stability of the people and their kingdom. When Gilgamesh dies, the people lament. Every aspect of life is ascribed to a god or gods--the death of Gilgamesh is attributed to Ereshkigal, the Queen of Death, and "to all the gods of the dead" (Gilgamesh 119). The people see the world as a place of dangers, ruled by different gods who behave as rulers of their particular kingdom. Humbaba is such a ruler, and his domain is the forest known as "the Country of the Living," "lying somewhere on the outer bounds of earth and reality" (Gilgamesh 33). The people value the warlike strength of Gilgamesh because he can protect them from these other gods, as well as from other rules who might attack them. At the same time, as is shown in the creation of Enkidu, Gilgamesh himself is ruled by the gods and subject to their strictures, though his strength and power are such that he becomes a god himself in the end. The gods speak to individuals through their dreams, and dreams foretell the future and provide lessons which come directly from the gods.
The hero is also revered in the society of Beowulf, a poem which includes both the pagan religion of early Britain an
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