In this famous epic story, Endiku seems to have the role
of acting as foil to Gilgamesh and reminding Gilgamesh of what it is to be human. At
various stages in the narrative Endiku prevents Gilgamesh from completely forgetting who
he is and acts as a kind of link to humanity. Consider, for example, the following
incident. When Gilgamesh is about to kill Humbaba, Humbaba pleads for his life and
promises that he will serve the gods. Gilgamesh is tempted by this proposal, in spite of
the way that Humbaba is depicted as an evil, deceitful creature, and it is only Endiku's
words that encourage him to kill the giant after all:
Endiku feared his friend was
weakening
And called out: Gilgamesh! Don't trust
him!
As if there were some hunger in
himself
That Gilgamesh was
feeling
That turned him momentarily to
yearn
For someone who would serve, he
paused...
Throughout this
epic, therefore, we can see that Gilgamesh's weakness is his excessive pride. His
relationship with Endiku who is a human is something that helps to humble Gilgamesh and
to remind him of what it means to be human.
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