The end of mankind

This tablet in Gilgamesh showed me that since the beginning of civilization we have always been looking for certain things. This book showed me some of the beliefs of that time and that mankind have always been searching for certain things and that the gods have been testing us. At the beginning of this chapter Gilgamesh approaches a cabin where a man directs him to the boatman which makes him construct a boat. I liked this because it showed me that not everything was easy and that you have to work in order to get it. On page 75 the gods say “Let there be now a test of Gilgamesh”. This impressed me and showed me that since the beginning humans were being tested and they had to prove themselves.

In these tablets I realized what mankind was really looking for and it made me wonder if we got it. Gilgamesh is given a flower which does as said on page 79 “How-the-old-man-once-again-becomes-a-young-man.” All humans have always wanted more and especially more life. There was a point in history when humans couldn’t get more of anything except to live longer. It is said a snake steals the flower but how could the author know from so early in history that that is what mankind will get to. My favorite quote in the entire book was on several pages but I took it from page 56. “now Enkidu has undergone the fate the high gods have established for mankind.” This impressed me even more because in that time mankind was only starting and the author already knew that mankind will eventually come to an end. This made me realize that we have blocked out those beliefs and that today we don’t say that with such certainty. It made me ask myself when it is that mankind will come to an end.