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Epic of Gilgamesh: A Reaction Man has his own place in life. This is as evident now as when The Epic of Gilgamesh was written. Throughout time men have thought that they were destined for greatness; for more than their place. Gilgamesh was such a man. He lived his life in the knowledge that he was semi-divine and lived as if he deserved all that he saw and wanted. Through the gain and loss of his counterpart, Enkidu, Gilgamesh learns more of a man’s place in life and, eventually, accepts this truth. In the beginning of the story, the praise of Gilgamesh is mixed with criticism of his arrogance. His own subjects complain “Gilgamesh sounds the tocsin for his amusement, his arrogance has no bounds by day or night. No son is left with his father, for Gilgamesh takes them all, even the children; yet the king should be a shepherd to his people. His lust leaves no virgin to her lover, neither the warrior’s daughter nor the wife of the noble; yet this is the shepherd of the city, wise, comely, and resolute.” (19) Gilgamesh clearly had the admiration of the