The epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest Mesopotamian story. In this poem, every literary ingredient of other cultures are together; values, jealousy, immortality, loyalty, and also the manly love between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, were recorded in only some mud tablets. The epic of Gilgamesh covers a lot of fundamental and universal ideas. One of the most important is friendship, based on the one between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. These two, both different and similar heroes, started a friendship based on loyalty and respect after they engaged in a fight and Gilgamesh forgave Enkidu's life. This powerful relationship carries the narrative throughout all the epic. Loyal, Enkidu fought by Gilgamesh's side, regardless of how he thought the outcome might have been. He was the underlying reason for Gilgamesh being as successful as he was. Enkidu's presence and loss alters Gilgamesh throughout the book (Wolf, 392). The love they feel for each other can be interpreted different, everyone is free to imagine how far this relationship could have reached. Some people think it is a platonic relationship , some people think it is more of a brotherhood and other people, as in my case, think that the relationship could have reached love and homosexuality between these two heroes. In my opinion, the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu represents the origins of homosexuality since the values given to the people, at this era, were very closed and straight.
The legendary Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, very near of the Eufrates river (just after the universal flood), was a man of extraordinary beauty and magnetism. Unfortunately, his tyrannical attitude provoked the rage of the god Anu that, to limit his power, sent Enkidu, a man that was created by the goddess Araru from the mud, to fight against him. The beautiful hero and the savage encountered in a long melee fight and Gilgamesh won, forgiving the life of his opponent who, very grateful, he became very close to him and a devoted servant, swearing an eternal friendship.
