Journal of Heroic Literature

Journal of Heroic Literature

An Examination of Immortality and Corporeal Abnormality in the Epic of Gilgamesh: Focusing on the Characters Utnapishtim and Gilgamesh

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of English Language and Literature, Il.C., Islamic Azad University, Ilam, Iran.
2 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Il.C., Islamic, Ilam Branch, Ilam, Iran.
10.22034/heroic.2026.3.5.03
Abstract
This paper explores the Epic of Gilgamesh through the perspective of body studies and the notion of vulnerability. It seeks to show how the encounter between Gilgamesh’s vigorous body and Utnapishtim’s aged body creates a new vision of heroism and human fulfillment. The central aim is to question the traditional idea of heroism based on physical strength and to propose an alternative model founded on wisdom and the acceptance of human fragility. The method is a qualitative reading of the epic with an interdisciplinary approach: direct passages from the Epic of Gilgamesh is woven with contemporary theories of the body and vulnerability to shape a fresh interpretation. The findings suggest that Gilgamesh’s powerful body, despite its might, is defeated by death, sleep, and natural limits, while Utnapishtim’s weakened and aging body, through its acceptance of limitation, becomes a source of wisdom and insight. In comparison with the Iranian tradition, figures such as Zal, Esfandiar, Sohrab, Khidr, and Alexander reflect the same pattern: the non-normative or broken body emerges as a reservoir of meaning and knowledge. The conclusion is that the Epic of Gilgamesh offers a renewed model of heroism—one grounded in wisdom, the embrace of vulnerability, spiritual immortality, and the acceptance of death—which can enrich interdisciplinary studies in literature, philosophy, and culture.
Keywords
Subjects

  1. Abusch, T. (2001). The Development and Meaning of the Epic of Gilgamesh: An Interpretive Essay. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 121(4), 614–622.
  2. Ardestani Rostami, H. (2025). Islamic and Semitic references in ancient narratives/Shahnameh. Heroic Literature, 3(1/4), 57–70.  https://doi.org/10.22034/heroic.2025.3.4.04  [In Persian]
  3. Davis, L. J. (1995). Enforcing Normalcy: Disability, Deafness, and the Body. London:  Verso.
  4. De Villiers, G. (2020). Suffering in the epic of Gilgamesh. Old Testament Essays, 33(3), 690–705.
  5. Ferdowsi, A. (1995). Shahnameh (S. Hamidianan, Ed.; R. Aliyev, A. Bertels, & M. Osmanov, Eds.). Dad Publication. [In Persian]
  6. Foucault, M. (1977). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Pantheon Books.
  7. Garland Thomson, R. (1997). Extraordinary Bodies: Figuring Physical Disability in American Culture and Literature. New York: Columbia University Press.
  8. George, A. (2003). The Epic of Gilgamesh: A New Translation. London: Penguin Classics.
  9. Mitchell, D. T., & Snyder, S. L. (2000). Narrative Prosthesis: Disability and the Dependencies of Discourse. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
  10. Nouri, A., & Kermanshahi, M. (2023). The wise elders’ remedy in the mythological section of Shahnameh. Heroic Literature, 1(1), 185–202. https://doi.org/10.22034/heroic.2023.1.1.12 [In Persian]
  11. Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. London: Macmillan Education.
  12. Rahbar, H. (2010). A comparative study of the Quranic revelation narrative and the Sumerian-Babylonian myth of Noah’s flood. Philosophical Research, 11(43), 261–284.  https://doi.org/10.22091/pfk.2010.167 [In Persian]
  13. Raza’i Isfahani, M.A., & et al. (2011). Interpretation of the Holy Quran (A selection from Tafsir Mehr with translation). Hayat-e Nasim. [In Persian]
  14. Sattari, J. (1995). The myth of immortality. Markaz Publishing. [In Persian]
  15. Shamlou, A. (2025). Gilgamesh. Cheshmeh. [In Persian]
  16. Siebers, T. (2008). Disability Theory. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
  17. Tabatabaei, S. M. H. (2010). Bihar al-Anwar al-Jami’ah li Durar Akhbar al-A’immah al-Athar (Vol. 12). Islamiyyah. [In Persian]
  18. Tigay, J. H. (2002). The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic. Wauconda, IL: Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers.
  19. Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.
  20. Zabihnia Omran, A. (2023). The quest for immortality in the Gilgamesh elegy based on Irvin Yalom’s existential theories. Metaphysics, 15(36), 65–81. https://doi.org/10.22108/mph.2023.135723.1456 [In Persian].