hieve great deeds. Despite being mortal, we are provided with optimism that gifted men can achieve what seems unachievable for humans. Gilgamesh achieves the feat of building the great wall of Uruk, responsible for the protection of his people from outside threat. He also is victorious in his match against a wild bull. Such feats provide optimism and hope that human beings can overcome the challenges and obstacles that threaten their survival. No one prevails like Gilgamesh on the field of battle. Above all, Gilgamesh is willing to go where no man has gone before and to take the road less traveled. As he tells his fellow warriors, "Listen to me men... / I want to make myself more mighty, and will go on a distant journey! / I will face fighting such as I have never known, / I will set out on a road I have never traveled" (Kovacs II.261-266). In achieving such feats and being of such character qualities, Gilgamesh is an exemplar or mirror reflection of the highest values and qualities respected by Mesopotamian culture.
Another of the character qualities illustrated by Gilgamesh is his absolute loyalty and willingness to sacrifice for his beloved friend Enkidu. Gilgamesh roams the corners of the earth searching for immortality to help bring Enkidu back from the land of the dead. Enkidu suffers a long and torturous death, but Gilgamesh remains steadfastly beside him pouring out his heart in reflecting on various memories. It is this traumatic experience that sets him off in search of immortality, a quest he will undertake in vain:
Enkidu, whom I love deeply, who went through every hardship with me,
The fate of mankind has overtaken him
And would not allow him to be buried
Until a maggot fell out of his nose.
I was terrified by his appearance,
I began to fear death, and so roam the wilderness.
T...