The protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh, seeks immortality out of his fear of death. Gilgamesh was a legendary king of Uruk whose deeds made him the supreme hero of Sumerian literature. However, the debate whether the epic fulfills or does not fulfill the conditions of a quest story continues today. A quest story requires that the hero’s goal is an important objective and a series of hurdles that the hero must overcome to reach the goal. All of these elements are present in The Epic of Gilgamesh.

The main theme of the story is Gilgamesh’s desperate search for immortality. The story is considered by some to be “a protest against death” because of Gilgamesh’s negative emotions towards death. Gilgamesh loses his best friend, Enkindu and has trouble getting over his death. Gilgamesh spends days lamenting over his friend’s death. This is when Gilgamesh realizes how badly he wants immortality and makes it an important objective of his, the first requirement for a quest story.

The second requirement for a quest story is that the hero must face a series of challenges. The first challenge Gilgamesh is faced with is Humbaba, a giant from cedar forests in Lebanon. Gilgamesh defeats Humbaba along with Enkidu, beginning their friendship. They are then faced with another almost impossible challenge, the Bull of Heaven. The Bull of Heaven is a Green 2 monster sent against Gilgamesh and Enkidu by the fierce goddess of love and war, who the duo defeats. Gilgamesh displays his heroic qualities by defeating these two beasts of nature.

Another challenge that Gilgamesh is faced with is getting over the death of his friend Enkidu. Gilgamesh and Enkidu had a special relationship when Enkidu was alive. It is obvious that Gilgamesh loved him like a brother and had a lot of trouble moving forward from that miserable time in his life. Gilgamesh moves forward from that moment like a true hero, determined to find immortality. Gilgamesh’s next challenge is finding immortality. With the help of others, Gilgamesh finds a flower that symbolizes immortality, which is taken from him by a serpent. Gilgamesh shows that he is human by not retrieving the flower, proving that Gilgamesh is a hero because every hero is human.

Gilgamesh eventually dies just as all mortals do. Gilgamesh ignores the pessimists who tell him not to waste his time searching for immortality and is determined to find immortality, a quality that many people respected about Gilgamesh. The irony in the story is that his personal quest story is written in stone and lives on forever. Gilgamesh was a hero in the eyes of many Sumerian people and will always be remembered, just as all heroes are.