The Road Of Immortality And Glory - 940 Words

The Road to Immortality and Glory â€Å"Gilgamesh† and â€Å"The Illiad† are epics that tell a character’s struggle to gain immortality and glory. Gilgamesh and Achilles’s motivations to gain immortality and glory are quite different. However, their journeys in trying to achieve these things are quite the same. Through the journey of trying to obtain immortality and glory, Gilgamesh and Achilles teach their audience the true way a person is able to gain immortality and glory in life. Although greatness, honor, and dignity are shared influences on the motivations of both characters, their personal motivations for wanting to achieve such things are different. Gilgamesh’s motivation comes from the death of his companion, Enkidu. Gilgamesh states, â€Å"Shall I not die too? Am I not like Enkidu? Oh woe has entered my vitals! I have grown afraid of death, so I roam the steppe. (59. lines 3-5) Enkidu’s death instills anguish and panic in Gilgamesh regarding his own fate. These feelings of uncertainty and anxiety send Gilgamesh on a pursuit to find immortality, so that he can live forever. Achilles, on the other hand, is motivated by glory, respect, and honor. It is imperative to Achilles that he be known as the greatest warrior. This title is crucial to Achilles because of the immortal fame it would bring him. Each character’s motivation for wanting to personally gain superiority is different. For Gilgamesh, it took the death of a companion before death and immortality became a fear forShow MoreRelated The Immortal Heroes of Homer’s Iliad Essay1419 Words   |  6 PagesThe Immortal Heroes of Homer’s Iliad In Homer’s Iliad, a warrior can only attain heroism and immortality by embracing an early death. 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