Gilgamesh’s mother was in the beginning of the story, but his father wasn’t. The Sin-Leqi-Unninni version of Gilgamesh says his father is Ninsun’s husband, Lugulbanda, but it’s not clear if Lugulbanda is actually Gilgamesh’s biological father. Like Gilgamesh, Lugulbanda was a genuine historical figure. He precedes Gilgamesh on Uruk’s king list by two, and he would have more likely been his grandfather, considering the lengths of the recorded reigns. Like Gilgamesh, people worshipped him as a god after his death. …show more content…
An equal was required to counter and control his power. Gilgamesh was more god than mortal, and the narrator suggests that his equal, Enkidu, is a singular force of nature and he does not have great speech. Enkidu anticipates the hairy Esau of the Bible and possibly Ishmael, “the wild ass” of a man. He helps the animals to escape human dominance that mess with the balance of the world. When Enkidu must come to civilization, he has a woman for redemption. He confronts the strong power of a woman’s sexuality, which subdues him. Ishtar Uruk’s resident god, and the prostitutes in her service epitomize the values of that highly sophisticated urban