Enkidu Dreams Of Life After Death In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

In The Epic of Gilgamesh, the character Enkidu dreams of life after death and describes it as a “house whose people sit in darkness” (35). From this, it can be gathered that Sumerians believed the afterlife to be a bleak and desolate place. It was that belief about the underworld which caused them to live a lifestyle of “carpe diem,” or “seize the day,” which is demonstrated throughout the epic. One example is Siduri, who tells Gilgamesh to give up his quest for immortality and instead “dance and be merry, feast and rejoice” (Gilgamesh, 39). As the divine winemaker, she values the fun and joy of the moment, and she thought Gilgamesh should do the same. Similarly, Sumerians lived in the moment because they thought that everyone would be equal