Gilgamesh
is certainly prideful and arrogant, particularly at the beginning of the epic. His arrogance is
enough for his people to ask the gods to intervene. He sleeps with brides on their wedding day.
He makes everyone stand at attention when he passes and do whatever he commands. In short, his
arrogance makes him a tyrant with no concern for the rights and well-being of his
people.
We even see Gilgamesh's arrogance come into play when he spurns the
sexual advances of the goddess Ishtar. He does not just tell her no, though. He launches into a
vulgar tirade against the goddess full of insults. His pride leads him to continually insult the
gods throughout the epic. After killing the guardian of the forest, Humbaba, Gilgamesh
celebrates his victory by destroying the trees themselves. This really gets the gods angry at
him.
It is shows of arrogance like these which continually call the gods's
wrath down on Gilgamesh. They want to teach him the lesson that he is a mere mortal, albeit
a...
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