Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Epic of Gilgamesh, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Civilization and the Fall from Innocence
Heroism in Nature vs. Comfort in the City
Friendship, Love, and Sexuality
Mortality and Meaning
Pride and the Gods
Summary
Analysis
The epic begins with the words “I will proclaim to the world the deeds of Gilgamesh.” The narrator tells of Gilgamesh’s wide experience of the world and of his returning from a long and tiring quest with the story written on tablets.
Like many epics and quest narratives, the outside world, beyond the city, is where true challenges and transformations take place. The ultimate meaning of the quest is in bringing back what was learned to share with civilization.
Themes
Gilgamesh was created by the gods with strength, beauty, and courage. He was two-thirds god, and only one-third man. As ruler of Uruk, he built the city’s great walls and temples. The narrator praises the walls.
