Gilgamesh and the Quest for ImmortalityThe tales of the hunt for immortality collected in the Epic of Gilgamesh describe the conflict felt in ancient Sumer. As urbanization swept across Mesopotamia, the social status changed from a nomadic hunting society to that of a static agricultural gathering society. In the midst of this ancient “renaissance”, man found his relationship to the sacred uncertain and precarious. The epic depicts the conflict created between ontological nostalgia for a simpler time and the dawn of civilization breaking out in the Middle East. In this epic, Gilgamesh attempts to achieve immortality through methods old and new. His journeys through the sacred and the profane in many ways characterize the confusion born of an unstable social climate. Therefore, society, by writing the story of Gilgamesh, guarantees not only his immortality, but also the immortality of the new order being established. At the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh hunts for immortality through the ways of old. He tries to achieve eternal life thanks to the fertility of young virgins promised to another. This action of Gilgamesh caused the people of Uruk to call upon the gods to restore the order that the foreign traveler had destroyed (p. 62). From the sacred order of the spirit of the goddess Aruru, Enkidu emerges from the profane desert (p. 63). It is said that a trapper came “face to face” with the chaotic ways of Enkidu and was “frozen with fear.” It is only through the love of a woman that order is established in Enkidu's life. He is then declared wise enough to challenge Gilgamesh and restore order in “Strong-Walled Uruk” (p. 65). So when Gilgamesh walks to the bridal bed to take part...... middle of paper ...... It is worth noting that in the last chapter, after the death spell has chased and killed Gilgamesh , the inhabitants themselves offer Gilgamesh's sustenance to the gods. It is therefore thanks to the praises of the citizens that he is declared immortal (p. 119). More importantly, the company ensures its continued success by demonstrating that indeed civilization was sanctioned by the gods. This representation, however slight it may be, would allow the new order to leverage itself to achieve its objectives. By representing to its people that the only way to maintain order, kill the profane, and gain immortality is through the tools of society, the Dawn of Civilization gained the support it needed to grant eternal life in the new world order. Indeed, it is thanks to these same tools developed by the ancient Sumerians that they and Gilgamesh still live today..