Kingship

Kingship

In these last few weeks, I’ve read both the Epic of Gilgamesh and Beowulf. It is interesting to read these two works back to back. They have several similarities. Both are quite old, both cover the lives and values of epic heroes, and both deal with issues ranging from martial heroes to life, death, and the hereafter.

Yet, the two approach things very differently. For one thing, Gilgamesh’s view of his people is only really covered in the first part of the epic. He mostly views his people as a means of pleasure: free sex, the right of life and death, taxes, and an endless audience to show off his amazing prowess martial prowess. Beowulf shows a very different approach to power. For one thing, the story opens with Beowulf crossing the wine-dark sea to risk his life fighting for a neighboring kingdom. The story ends with him going out to do battle with a dragon that he knows will kill him to defend his people. Gilgamesh views his people as a source of power, Beowulf sees his people as an entity that he is responsible to protect. Beowulf goes to power when he is young to win glory, and when he is old to defend and protect. Gilgamesh roisters and wastes his youth tormenting his people, and when he is old he goes to battle a dragon just to prove how amazing he is.

Another difference is the manifestations of friendship. Enkido is everything to Gilgamesh. When Enkido dies, Gilgamesh goes crazy for days, and finally storms the home of the gods to find a way to put off his own demise. It is interesting to note that he never asks for Enkido to return, he just doesn’t want to die himself. Though Beowulf himself has no truly intimate friends, he does repeatedly express his love both of his men, his fellow kings, and his people. When they die, he offers gifts, songs, and aid to the survivors. Yet, when they die, Beowulf has a sense of acceptance. The key appears to be that in Gilgamesh’s world, when the dead are gone, they are gone. Death is the end. Only the special, or exceptionally cheeky get made deities and therefore have eternal life. To Beowulf, there is an after life. All his men have the option of going to heaven, so when they die, or when he dies, there is heaven to look forward to. So, he need not fear death, or grieve wildly the deaths of those he loves. He mourns them, but there is no despair in death.

Finally, Gilgamesh ends in despair. He lives, he loves, he defeats the dragon, he encounters the gods, and he loses it all. He realizes that he is dust, the world will end in dust, and there is nothing left to live for. Beowulf ends with the death of the hero, but he ends with hope. He lives, he loves, he saves his people, he meets God, and he knows that as he ends, he will attain heaven—perfect peace and life.

If you conflate the two stories, they seem to cover a lot of the same subject matter, and could be mistaken for dealing with similar subjects, however, the two cover the same territory, yet end at polar opposites. They two stories stand as prime examples of how an essential belief can completely change the entire scope of a life.