History has been riddled with war. In fact, for almost a century, we’ve been in an era of peace, with the lowest in-combat deaths in history. When you’re in the age where war is all around you, however, you have to make sense of it, find purpose in battle and conflict. It was important to find brotherhood with those you fought alongside with, they were all you had, and on the field, the higher cause no longer mattered, you were fighting for your brothers. In Gilgamesh and The Iliad we see the concepts of brotherhood and honor in different ways, but with one commonality: death. Gilgamesh with the death of his comrade, Enkidu, and Achilles with his closest friend, Patroclus. Both die in different circumstances, and they reconcile with them differently, but they were the deaths of those they fought alongside, overcame adversity and triumphed with, but were stripped away from them due to horrible circumstances. 

We start with the death of Enkidu, King Gilgamesh’s equal, who was created by the gods to be part beast, and was tamed by Gilgamesh’s consort, Shamhat. When Enkidu is brought into the city, he hears from Shamhat that Gilgamesh courts women before they get married, and Enkidu thinks of it as an abuse of power. Enkidu confronts him, and they wrestle, ending in a tie, making Enkidu the first being that the two-thirds divine Gilgamesh could be challenged by. After this bout, they become brothers, impressed with each other’s strength. Together, they battle with the fierce giant, Humbaba, and slay the Bull of Heaven, sent by Ishtar to ruin the city of Uruk as vengeance for Gilgamesh’s refusal to marry her. Through this, Enkidu is both a physical and emotional support for King Gilgamesh, interpreting his dreams in ways that give him confidence on the journey to fight Humbaba, and supporting his decision to fight even Gods. This support of Gilgamesh makes Enkidu the target of the gods’ true revenge, as they strike him down with an illness that takes twelve days to kill him. Gilgamesh then falls into a depression, leaving his throne for the wilderness, wearing only animal pelts, seeking eternal life, scared of death after it took his closest friend. Gilgamesh laments about the death of his equal often, his most powerful words being, “Enkidu, whom I so loved, who went with me through every hardship, the fate of mankind has overtaken him. Six days and seven nights I wept for him, I would not give him up for burial, until a worm fell out of his nose.” (79)  Gilgamesh loves Enkidu so much that he is not willing to give him up until he notices the body’s decay. On his journey for eternal life, Gilgamesh faces many struggles, but fails in his quest, and has to reconcile with the fact that he, like everybody else, will die. Enkidu ultimately makes King Gilgamesh a better ruler with his death, showing that he is not his only equal, but is on equal footing with all other men. 

The Iliad has another story of loss between men who have fought together, but the history is not as rich. The most we know about Achilles and Patroclus is that they have fought in wars before together, side by side, with endless amounts of mutual respect. This is a more grounded telling of the death of a comrade, as Patroclus dies in battle to the son of the King of Troy, Hector. This fuels Achilles’ rage, and because he is also a part divine being like Gilgamesh, Achilles is able to take on onslaught after onslaught of Trojan soldiers, slaying them with the goal of seeking vengeance. Achilles’ conquests lead him to the walls of the city of Troy, and seeing Hector, chases him down, forcing him into a corner where they must battle, with some help from the Gods, and they fight. Achilles is victorious, striking Hector down and taking his body, and in his rage tries to defile it by dragging it around Troy at first, and then his own encampment, every day when he wakes. The stronger similarity between Achilles and Gilgamesh, however, is their common reconciliation with death due to the death of their brother. Achilles does not feel fulfilled after his act of revenge, and continues to weep over his friend. It is the King of Troy, Priam, who comes to confront Achilles in his own encampment by himself (with some help from the Gods),  and is willing to pay ransom for his son’s body. Achilles finally recognizes the value of the life of a soldier when Priam puts it in perspective, telling him how Achilles’ own father would feel if the same happened to his son. This makes Achilles weep, thinking of both his father and Patroclus, and Priam weeps with him over his son. Achilles accepts the ransom and declares an armistice for Troy to hold Hector’s funeral. Through these trials, our flawed Achilles has realized the value of life, and that behind every man is family and friends, that he is not the only one affected by such tragedies.