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Rama's Quest In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

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In Rama’s case in The Ramayana his quest for greatness was forced upon him by his father and his wishes. He father banished Rama because his stepmother wanted to see her son rule and knew that Rama was to become king when his father retired from the throne. His stepmother wanted her son, Rama’s stepbrother, Bharate to rule so she forced the king to banish Rama so her son could take his place and rule. This happened because the queen was sneaky and recalled that the king had promised to grant her any two wishes she desired, so she chose to wish for Rama to be banished and Bharata to take the crown. The king ultimately kept his word and complied with his wife’s wishes and betrayed his son the right to take the throne by banishing him to the woods …show more content…

In the beginning Gilgamesh was oppressing his people and did not fit the profile of a noble ruler because he was cruel and abused his strength. His people even claimed, “His arrogance has no bounds by day or night” (Gilgamesh). Gilgamesh did not handle the tragic event of his friend’s death as well as Rama handled his banishment, but what makes Gilgamesh an epic hero is that he grew stronger and wiser from his journey. At the beginning of the journey, Gilgamesh was scared of many things being alone, losing his power, and ultimately of death because he did not think he could fulfill his life with restricted time. After his long journey and his encounter with Utnapishtum, Gilgamesh learned that all he can do is to live life to the fullest and not fear death, but instead he must embrace it as a reason to enjoy the present. By the end of the voyage, he returned to Uruk a wiser leader and in the end changed his cruel ways. He was cherished by his people for the rest of his life and even beyond it because of his change. His people even claimed after his death that there would never be anyone equal to him by saying, “the king, peerless, without an equal among men.” His change and journey is why he is a hero to the Mesopotamian culture. His story provides an example of how people should act, treat each other, and ultimately what their focus should be about. Gilgamesh does not start off with the heroic moral status, but his journey to get there is what makes him influential to his

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