ey to meet the one man who survived the Great Flood (Freedman 1124).
Many of the elements in this epic can be found in other heroic epics, from the journey as a quest for some advantage to the slaying of a creature sent to do destruction. The epic also echoes certain social values in its celebration of the hero, its reverence for the gods, and its belief in the ruler-hero as a god himself. The people of this time also believe in fate and place their fate in the hands of the gods. Gilgamesh lives in a way that is ordained by the gods: "The destiny was fulfilled which the father of the gods, Enlil of the mountain, had decreed for Gilgamesh" (Sandars 118). The leader is not overly 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" (Sandars 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" (Sandars 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.
In ancient Sumeria, the people came more and more to depend on any leader who could accomplish such a feat and protect them from
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